Lithium Rush: U. S. Eyes Stake in Canadian Mining Firm

The U. S. government is looking to get a piece of the action in the lithium mining world. They are in talks with Lithium Americas, a Canadian company, about taking an equity stake. This comes as they renegotiate a big loan for a mine in Nevada. Lithium Americas' stock shot up on the news. It more than doubled in a day! The company is worth about $1. 5 billion now. This isn't the first time the U. S. has done this. They already have a stake in another mining company, MP Materials. The mine in question, Thacker Pass, is a big deal. It's expected to be a major source of lithium in North America. Lithium is super important for making electric vehicle batteries. General Motors is also involved in this project. They have a stake in the mine and plan to buy lithium from it once it's up and running. The loan for Thacker Pass needed to be renegotiated because the initial terms weren't met. The U. S. government is asking for an equity stake in exchange for pushing back some of the loan repayments. This would help reduce risk for taxpayers. A final deal hasn't been made yet. But the talks are going well, and the U. S. supports the project. However, since Lithium Americas is a Canadian company, any deal might need approval from Canada too. Lithium Americas has confirmed they are in talks with the U. S. Department of Energy and GM. But GM hasn't said much about it yet.