Qualla: Thacker Pass Lithium Mine

Thacker Pass Lithium Mine: Introduction

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The electric vehicle revolution needs lithium, and Thacker Pass has more of it than anywhere else in America. Buried in the clay soils of Humboldt County, Nevada, within the ancient McDermitt Caldera, lies 13.7 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, enough to supply batteries for 800,000 electric vehicles every year. General Motors has invested over $1.2 billion to secure access to this resource. The U.S. Department of Energy has taken a stake. Construction began in March 2023. Yet the land that holds this white gold is also claimed as sacred by multiple Indigenous nations, a place where Paiute and Shoshone communities have harvested traditional foods and medicines for generations. Thacker Pass has become a flashpoint where America's climate ambitions collide with Indigenous rights, environmental concerns, and uncomfortable questions about what it costs to build a greener future.

Thacker Pass Lithium Mine: Buried Treasure in an Ancient Volcano

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

The lithium at Thacker Pass formed millions of years ago when volcanic activity created the McDermitt Caldera, a massive collapsed volcano straddling the Nevada-Oregon border. Mineral-rich waters deposited lithium into clay sediments over geological time, creating the largest kno...

Thacker Pass Lithium Mine: The Weight of Water and Sagebrush

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Environmental reviews estimate the mine will consume 2,600 acre-feet of water annually in its first phase, rising to 5,200 acre-feet, approximately 1.7 billion gallons, when fully operational. A local rancher protested the transfer of water rights from Quinn River Valley crop irr...

Thacker Pass Lithium Mine: Sacred Ground, Disputed History

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Thacker Pass is traditional homeland for multiple Indigenous nations: the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation, the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, the Lovelock Paiute Tribe, the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, and the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, among others...

Thacker Pass Lithium Mine: The Climate Calculation

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Proponents frame Thacker Pass as essential to America's climate strategy. The mine could supply lithium for 800,000 electric vehicle batteries annually, reducing gasoline consumption by an estimated 317 million gallons per year. With transportation accounting for nearly 30% of U....

Thacker Pass Lithium Mine: The Fight Continues

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Two members of Deep Green Resistance began occupying Thacker Pass the day the Bureau of Land Management approved the mine in January 2021. Over the following months, protests drew hundreds to rallies in Reno and brought Indigenous demonstrators from reservations across the region...