Nevada’s mining industry may soon get a reprieve after the Republican-controlled U.S. House passed industry-friendly legislation Wednesday, undoing a consequential court decision that restricted mining companies’ use of federal lands.
An ancient supervolcano formed millions of years ago in present-day Nevada may be hiding the largest deposit of lithium found anywhere in the world. And one U.S. mining company owns the rights to a small portion of it.
Federal land managers have pulled their approval for a controversial lithium exploration project less than a mile from a treasured wetland habitat home to a trove of species found nowhere else in the world.
Construction of what may become the nation’s largest lithium mine can proceed after a U.S. appeals court denied a last ditch effort by tribes and conservationists to block the controversial project.
America’s quest to rid itself of fossil fuels and move toward electric vehicles is clashing with environmentalists who are trying to protect areas proposed for lithium mining.
The Biden administration says the mine will help wean the U.S. off fossil fuels, but opponents say it will destroy water supplies and wildlife habitat.
A mining company with eyes on an area between Las Vegas and Reno rich in lithium and boron was dealt a setback by the Bureau of Land Management over an endangered plant.