Lithium Americas
{{Short description|Canadian mining company}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox company
| key_people = Kelvin Dushnisky (Chairman)
Jonathan Evans (President and CEO)
Pablo Mercado (CFO)
| industry = Mining
| products =
| production =
| production_year =
| traded_as = {{Unbulleted list|{{NYSE|LAC}}|{{TSX|LAC}}}}
| revenue = -$42.60 million (loss) (2024)
-$3.90 million (loss) (2023)
-$67.79 million (loss) (2022)
| assets = {{Increase}} $1,044.9 million (2024)
| num_employees =
| name = Lithium Americas Corp.
| logo = File:Lithium_Americas_Corp_Logo.svg
| type = Public
| foundation = {{start date and age|2023|10|03}}
| location_city = Vancouver, British Columbia
| location_country = Canada
| homepage = {{url|https://www.lithiumamericas.com/}}
| footnotes = Financials as of March 28, 2025.{{cite web |title=Lithium Americas Corp. 10-K Filing FY24 |url=https://www.stockinsights.ai/us/LAC/10-K/fy24-af71 |website=stockinsights.ai |access-date=28 March 2025}}
}}
Lithium Americas Corp. is a Canadian mining corporation. It is currently developing the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine in northern Nevada.
History
The first incarnation of Lithium Americas Corp. was founded in the summer of 2009, and was a spin-off of Argentinian lithium operations in Caucharí-Olaroz owned by Latin American Minerals Inc and Grupo Minero Los Boros, an Argentinean borax producer.{{cite web |title=Magna buys stake in small lithium miner |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/magna-buys-stake-in-small-lithium-miner/article4388253/ |website=The Globe and Mail |access-date=12 April 2024 |language=en-CA |date=7 January 2010}}{{cite web |title=Latin American Minerals spins out lithium project |url=https://www.northernminer.com/news/latin-american-minerals-spins-out-lithium-project/1000330538/ |website=The Northern Miner |access-date=12 April 2024 |date=11 June 2009}}
In September 2015, Lithium Americas merged into another Canadian junior mining company, the Western Lithium USA Corporation.{{cite web |last1=Keevil |first1=Matthew |title=Western Lithium, Lithium Americas eye strategic merger |url=https://www.northernminer.com/financial-matters/western-lithium-lithium-americas-eye-strategic-merger/1003693547/ |website=The Northern Miner |access-date=12 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811103710/https://www.northernminer.com/financial-matters/western-lithium-lithium-americas-eye-strategic-merger/1003693547/ |archive-date=11 August 2020 |date=15 July 2015}}{{cite web |title=Western Lithium and Lithium Americas Announce Completion of Merger |url=https://lithium-argentina.com/investor-relations/investor-news/news-details/2015/Western-Lithium-and-Lithium-Americas-Announce-Completion-of-Merger-09-04-2015/default.aspx |website=Lithium Argentina |access-date=12 April 2024}} The Western Lithium USA Corporation was founded in 2008 as a spinoff of Western Uranium's lithium project in the King Valley (now known as Thacker Pass).{{cite web |title=Western Uranium counts down lithium spinoff |url=https://www.northernminer.com/news/western-uranium-counts-down-lithium-spinoff/1000220633/ |website=The Northern Miner |access-date=12 April 2024 |date=21 April 2008}} Post-merger, on March 22, 2016, Western Lithium announced it would rename itself to the Lithium Americas Corp.{{cite web |title=Western Lithium Announces Name Change to Lithium Americas and Provides Corporate Update |url=http://www.westernlithium.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/WLC_NR_March_22_2016.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418022219/http://www.westernlithium.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/WLC_NR_March_22_2016.pdf |archive-date=18 April 2016 |date=22 March 2016}}
The current incarnation of Lithium Americas Corp. was created on October 3, 2023 after the close of trading from the separation between the previous Lithium Americas and its South American operations, now also a separate entity, Lithium Americas (Argentina) Corp.[https://lithiumamericas.com/investor/overview/default.aspx Lithium Americas, Investor Overview]{{cite news |last1=Dixon |first1=Ted |title=Lithium Americas insiders buy as stock slides |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/markets/inside-the-market/article-lithium-americas-insiders-buy-as-stock-slides/ |access-date=12 April 2024 |work=The Globe and Mail |date=26 October 2023 |language=en-CA}}
The primary project of Lithium Americas is the development of a lithium mining operation near Thacker Pass in northern Nevada. On January 15, 2021, the American Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision approving the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine.{{citation|title=Humboldt River Field Office issues a Record of Decision for the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine|date=January 15, 2021|url=https://www.blm.gov/press-release/humboldt-river-field-office-issues-record-decision-thacker-pass-lithium-mine|publisher=Bureau of Land Management|access-date=March 16, 2021}} On January 31, 2023, General Motors announced a $650 million investment into Lithium Americas, with GM gaining full access to the first phase of lithium production.{{cite web |last1=Clifford |first1=Catherine |title=GM to invest $650 million in a lithium company to support its electric vehicle business |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2023/01/31/gm-to-invest-650-million-in-lithium-company-to-support-ev-growth.html |website=CNBC |access-date=12 April 2024 |language=en |date=31 January 2023}} Initial construction on the project began in March 2023, with production of the mine beginning in 2026, and full production expected in 2027.{{cite web |last1=Burmeister |first1=Tim |title=An exciting time at Thacker Pass |url=https://elkodaily.com/news/local/business/mining/an-exciting-time-at-thacker-pass/article_43146572-cca0-11ee-8c6e-c32e58ed619a.html |website=Elko Daily Free Press |access-date=12 April 2024 |language=en |date=6 March 2024}} On March 14, 2024, the Biden administration announced a $2.26 billion loan for the construction of the Thacker Pass mine.{{cite news |last1=Scheyder |first1=Ernest |title=US government to lend Lithium Americas $2.26 bln for Nevada's Thacker Pass mine |url=https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/lithium-americas-get-226-bln-us-doe-loan-nevada-mine-2024-03-14/ |access-date=12 April 2024 |work=Reuters |date=14 March 2024}}
In October 2024 Lithium Americas announced a substantial investment increase from General Motors, bringing GM's total commitment to the Canadian mining company to $945 million—up from $650 million. The agreement forms a joint venture between GM and Lithium Americas to develop the Thacker Pass mine in Nevada, the largest known lithium deposit in the U.S. This investment is expected to support increased lithium production.{{Cite news |last=Hodgson |first=Camilla |date=2024-10-16 |title=General Motors increases investment in lithium mine to nearly $1bn |url=https://www.ft.com/content/ebeeca69-a560-45e9-a4c9-7204bdd82e11 |access-date=2024-11-07 |work=Financial Times}}