The $2.3-billion Thacker Pass lithium mine project in northern Nevada surmounted a key obstacle this week when the a San Francisco federal appellate court rejected a legal challenge by environmental groups and Native American tribes to its US Bureau of Land Management project approval inearly 2021 thay they said was improper and should be overturned.
The three judge appeals court panel upheld a lower court in early 2023 that dismissed the plaintiffs' claim that the agency permit was "an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with” the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).