ESG-S Report Released
Lithium Americas Publishes Comprehensive 2025 ESG-S Report Detailing Thacker Pass Progress
Lithium Americas Corp. has released its 2025 ESG-S report, covering January 1 through December 31, 2025, as the company pushes its Thacker Pass lithium mine in northern Nevada toward production. The report logged 1.69 million work hours with zero lost-time incidents and a total recordable injury rate of just 0.21, according to National Post.
CEO Jonathan Evans said the report reflects "the dedication of our people" and that the company "deepened community engagement" throughout the year. The mine is designed to produce 40,000 tonnes of battery-quality lithium per year. Mechanical completion is targeted for late 2027, according to Toronto Sun.
Thacker Pass Financing and Construction Milestones
The project sits in the McDermitt Caldera, home to the world's largest known lithium resource. The U.S. Department of Energy committed a $2.23 billion loan under its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program to fund processing facilities. Lithium Americas drew down $435 million of that loan in October 2025. A second drawdown followed in early 2026, according to Calgary Sun.
General Motors holds a 38% joint venture stake and has contributed over $625 million in cash and letters of credit. By December 31, 2025, the company held $905.6 million in total cash and restricted cash. The project is expected to create 2,000 jobs at peak construction and 360 permanent roles once operational, enough lithium to supply roughly 800,000 electric vehicles per year.
Report Meets Global Standards on Safety and Environment
The 2025 ESG-S report was prepared in line with the Global Reporting Initiative Universal Standards (2021), GRI 14: Mining Sector (2024), and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The company's workforce grew 18% in 2025. Women make up 38% of the full-time team, according to Montreal Gazette.
On the environmental side, the company installed 19 piezometers — sensors that track underground water pressure — to monitor groundwater. The mine uses a "zero liquid discharge" design, meaning no wastewater leaves the site. Lithium Americas also set aside $47 million in financial assurance for eventual site cleanup and restoration.
Indigenous Rights Groups Call the Project 'Green Colonialism'
The site is known as Peehee Mu'huh, or "Rotten Moon," to the Paiute people — a name tied to an 1865 massacre of Indigenous families there by the U.S. Cavalry. In February 2025, Human Rights Watch and the ACLU published a 133-page report alleging the mine violates Indigenous rights. In May 2026, Amnesty International accused the project of breaching international human rights standards, according to Sault Star.
Gary McKinney of the People of Red Mountain said "the Thacker Pass mine stands as a warning" about how U.S. law gives Indigenous peoples little protection for ancestral lands outside reservations. Critics argue the company's consultation process does not equal consent. Amnesty says the Bureau of Land Management treated unanswered letters to tribal governments as confirmation of no concerns — a practice it calls "stolen consent."
Fort McDermitt Tribe Signs Agreement; Federal Officials Back Project
Not all Indigenous voices oppose the mine. The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe signed a Community Benefits Agreement with Lithium Americas. The company amended that deal in 2025 to add enhanced job training programs, according to Brantford Expositor.
U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen, along with Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, have visited the site and framed it as an "energy independence" win. Federal officials argue the McDermitt Caldera is critical to reducing American dependence on China for battery materials. The ongoing dispute over Indigenous consent is also becoming a test case for reforming the 1872 Mining Law, a statute critics call an outdated relic of the colonial era.
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