Construction begins on controversial lithium mine in #Nevada

Opponents say the Thacker Pass lithium project was rushed in the name of the green transition.

by Gabriela Aoun Angueira, March 3, 2023

"'It’s an important place not only because a terrible massacre occurred, but also because it’s a place where people gather, it’s a place for ceremony, for hunting,' said Michon Eben, tribal historic preservation officer for the Reno Sparks Indian Colony, a government that includes members from the the #Paiute, #Shoshone and #Washoe tribes. The colony is advocating for Peehee Mu’huh to be on the National Register of Historic Places. 'It’s really hard to be a tribal member and see our homelands destroyed,' said Eben.

"#ThackerPass also comprises thousands of acres of #sagebrush and is a nesting ground for the sage grouse and a migration corridor for pronghorn #antelope. Environmental groups including the Great Basin Resource Watch and Western Watersheds Project say the mine would cause irreversible #ecological damage, and that the project’s impact was not adequately studied.

"'It got by the environmental impact statement process in just under a year and I would expect a project of this scale and complexity to take 3 to 5 years,' said John Hadder, director of Great Basin Resource Watch. 'That’s sloppy permitting on the side of the federal government.'

"Tribes, #environmental groups and a cattle rancher are all plaintiffs in a combined case against the Bureau of Land Management, or BLM, and #LithiumNevada, a subsidiary of #LithiumAmericas. On February 6, a federal judge in Reno ruled that the BLM had complied with federal law in approving the mine, with the exception of one matter regarding waste disposal, which the judge ordered the BLM to revisit. The plaintiffs filed an appeal in the 9th Circuit and an emergency motion to block construction before the appeal hearing. The appeals court rejected the injunction and set the hearing date for June. "

https://grist.org/climate-energy/construction-begins-lithium-mine-nevada-controversial/

#PeeheeMuhuh #NotGreen #EnvironmentalRacism #NativeAmericans

@WesternWatershedsProject "Opponents argue the #ThackerPass project—which would tap into the largest known source of lithium in the United States and was approved during the final days of the Trump administration—was unlawfully authorized and will irreparably damage lands and wildlife.

"Three #NativeAmerican tribes—the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, Burns Paiute Tribe, and Summit Lake Paiute Tribe—are also suing in a bid to block construction of the mine, claiming that claimed BLM withheld key information from the Nevada State Historic Preservation Office and misrepresented how much the agency consulted with tribes prior to approving the project."

#PeeheeMuhuh #NotGreen

"It's a truly unfortunate outcome for the land, wildlife, and cultural resources of this area," WWP staff attorney Talasi Brooks said in a statement. "This massive open-pit mine has been fast-tracked from start to finish in defiance of environmental laws, all in the name of 'green energy,' but its environmental impacts will be permanent and severe."

#ThackerPass #PeeheeMuhuh #NotGreen

https://www.commondreams.org/news/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-2659487512

BREAKING: We've asked the 9th Circuit to halt the devastation of #PeeheeMuhuh and#ThackerPass pending a review of our appeal. Motion linked at URL. (Billboard credit People of Red Mountain)

https://westernwatersheds.org/2023/02/conservation-groups-ask-ninth-circuit-to-block-destruction-at-thacker-pass/

"The project will begin by stripping away all surface vegetation in the project area, and that will completely destroy that area's ecological and cultural values," [WWP's Talasi] Brooks asserted.

Not if we can stop it! We're trying!

#PeeheeMuhuh #ThackerPass

https://kiowacountypress.net/content/conservation-groups-seek-emergency-halt-nevada-lithium-mine

Photo: People gather for a ceremony at Sentinel Rock, at Thacker Pass, Nevada on Sunday, Sept. 12, 2021. Credit: Spenser Heaps

Told ya we weren't done fighting to protect #PeeheeMuhuh and #ThackerPass.

#MediaRelease
Today, we filed an emergency injunction to try to stop construction pending our appeal to the Ninth Circuit.

https://westernwatersheds.org/2023/02/conservation-groups-seek-emergency-halt-of-destructive-lithium-mine-pending-court-appeal/

We condemn Judge Du's approval of Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in Northern Nevada

This week, a federal court upheld the Bureau of Land Management's 2020 permit, allowing the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine to proceed in Northern Nevada.

Here is the response from People of Red Mountain:

"Federal Judge Miranda Du and her decision with the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine has just slithered into the malicious patterns of Americans law and a corporate-priority government.

People of color are not treated with respect and equality in United Corporations of America and capitalism is the #1 threat to our climate future.

Peehee Mu'huh will be added to the list of environmental and religious injustices to Indigenous people."

#PeeheeMuhuh #FalseSolutions #ThackerPass #Lithium

[alt decription - 4 slides with the above text in red and black, the first slide also shows a picture of Thacker Pass in Northern Nevada]

Many column inches this week on the #PeeheeMuhuh / #ThackerPass problematic court order.

>> Critics argue digging for lithium poses the same ecological threats as mining for any other mineral or metal in the biggest gold-mining state in the U.S. They say efforts to downplay potential environmental and cultural impacts amount to “greenwashing.” <<
https://www.seattletimes.com/business/us-judge-refuses-to-block-nevada-lithium-mine-construction/

“We don’t know yet what the next steps will be, but we know we won’t stop fighting this destructive mine,” said Greta Anderson, deputy director of Western Watersheds Project in a statement Tuesday. “We need to find truly just and sustainable solutions for the climate crisis, and not by digging ourselves deeper into the biodiversity crisis.” #PeeheeMuhuh #ThackerPass #SageGrouse #Biodiversity

https://www.nevadacurrent.com/2023/02/07/thacker-pass-lithium-mine-clears-most-legal-challenges-minus-a-judge-ordered-waste-rock-review/

This ruling ain't great, folks, but there's fight in us yet. #PeeheeMuhuh #ThackerPass #SageGrouse

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/judge-largely-affirms-federal-permit-for-thacker-pass-lithium-mine-near-winnemucca

“All the Indigenous tribes are going through what we’re going through here,” Michon Eben said during the demonstration Thursday. “If it’s not a mining company, it’s a pipeline company. If it’s not a pipeline company, it's an electric company. The list goes on and on and on. And all we do as Americans is just keep building and getting bigger and bigger. We're not solving the problem.”

#RenoSparksIndianColony #ThackerPass #PeeheeMuhuh

https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/fate-of-thacker-pass-lithium-mine-permit-to-be-decided-soon-with-1872-mining-law-a-focus

WWP was at this hearing and can attest that this news release from #LithiumNevada is complete spin. #ThackerPass will be protected. You can't mine your way out of a climate crisis. #PeeheeMuhuh https://finance.yahoo.com/news/lithium-americas-provides-following-hearing-110000877.html