THACKER PASS
Thacker Pass, the largest known lithium resource in the United States and the next large scale lithium mine.
29.3% IRR
at $12,000/t lithium carbonate
$2.6 B
NPV (after-tax) at $12,000/t lithium carbonate
60,000 TPA
Annual production capacity of battery-grade lithium carbonate
46 YEARS
Mine life at a strip ratio of 1.6
PROJECT SUMMARY
| SUMMARY (PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY DATED AUGUST 1, 2018. USD) | SUMMARY (PRE-FEASIBILITY STUDY DATED AUGUST 1, 2018. USD) |
|---|---|
| Location | Humboldt County, Nevada, USA |
| Ownership | 100% |
| Mining method | Open-pit (continuous mining) |
| Annual production capacity | 60,000 tpa Li2CO3 (Phase 1 - 30,000 tpa for 3.5 years) |
| Mineral reserves | 3.1 million tonnes of LCE at 3,283 ppm Li |
| Mine life | 46 years |
| Strip ratio (waste-to-ore mined) | 1.6:1 |
| Pit depth (max) | 120 m |
| Initial capital costs | $1,059 million (Phase 1 - $581 million) |
| Cash costs (average LOM) | $2,570/t Li2CO3 ($4,088/t before by-product credits) |
| EBITDA (average annual) | $520 million (Phase 1 - $246 million |
| NPV (8% discount, pre-tax) | $3.9 billion |
| NPV (8% discount, after-tax) | $2.6 billion |
| IRR (pre-tax) | 36.6% |
| IRR (after-tax) | 29.3% |
* All economic results at $12,000/t of battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li2CO3)
See the technical report titled “Technical Report on the Pre-Feasibility Study for the Thacker Pass Project, Humboldt County, Nevada, USA” dated effective August 1, 2018 and filed on SEDAR on August 2, 2018
Alexi Zawadzki
President of North American Operations
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Thacker Pass received a Record of Decision in January 2021 from the US Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is expected to begin construction in early 2022.
Thacker Pass is situated at the southern end of the McDermitt Caldera, approximately 100 km northwest of Winnemucca, in Humboldt County, northern Nevada.
In 2018, Lithium Americas completed a pre-feasibility study (PFS) on a two-phase project with a production capacity designed to reach 60,000 tpa of battery- quality lithium carbonate (Li2CO3) and 46-year mine life. A feasibility study ( FS) for Phase 1 is expected by the end of 2021.
The Project will be developed as an open-pit mining operation using conventional continuous mining equipment. Given the soft, clay nature of the deposit, minimal blasting and crushing is anticipated. The ore will then be processed in a leaching circuit using sulfuric acid to liberate the lithium from the claystone. Following the leaching process, the lithium bearing solution will be purified using crystallizers and reagents to produce battery- quality Li2CO3.
The Project has been designed to avoid environmentally sensitive and rugged terrain. The flat and expansive terrain allows for a very compact footprint and allows for future potential expansions.
The Thacker Pass operation will include a co-located sulfuric acid plant that will convert molten sulfur into sulfuric acid. This process produces steam, which we will use to generate carbon-free power for the processing facilities. Co-locating a sulfuric acid plant reduces the number of trucks on the road, as each ton of sulfur can create three tons of sulfuric acid, and sulfur is much safer to transport.