129-654: The Thacker Pass lithium mine is a lithium clay mining development project in Humboldt County, Nevada , which is the largest known lithium deposit in the US and one of the largest in the world. There has been significant exploration of Thacker Pass since 2007. The Bureau of Land Management issued a Record of Decision approving development of the mine in January 2021. Construction began in March 2023 after an emergency appeal
258-511: A diagonal relationship with magnesium , an element of similar atomic and ionic radius . Chemical resemblances between the two metals include the formation of a nitride by reaction with N 2 , the formation of an oxide ( Li 2 O ) and peroxide ( Li 2 O 2 ) when burnt in O 2 , salts with similar solubilities , and thermal instability of the carbonates and nitrides. The metal reacts with hydrogen gas at high temperatures to produce lithium hydride (LiH). Lithium forms
387-509: A magistrate judge ordered that if People of Red Mountain failed to obtain counsel by May 2, 2022, the court will recommend that their claims be dismissed. No new counsel had appeared before the court by that date, resulting in a magistrate judge issuing a Report and Recommendation to dismiss the group's claims without prejudice. On April 4, 2022, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Burns Paiute Tribe dropped their appeal to
516-404: A rhombohedral crystal system (with a nine-layer repeat spacing); at higher temperatures it transforms to face-centered cubic and then body-centered cubic . At liquid-helium temperatures (4 K) the rhombohedral structure is prevalent. Multiple allotropic forms have been identified for lithium at high pressures. Lithium has a mass specific heat capacity of 3.58 kilojoules per kilogram-kelvin,
645-622: A Plan of Operations for its proposed lithium clay mining development project with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the federal mining regulator. In January 2020, the company announced the publication of a Notice of Intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Thacker Pass lithium project. On January 15, 2021, BLM issued their Record of Decision approving the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine. Opponents of
774-494: A committee of Fort McDermitt Tribal members calling themselves People of Red Mountain intervened in the lawsuits. People of Red Mountain is not a federally recognized tribe so it has no legal standing. The tribes are demanding consultation under the Archaeological Resource Protection Act . The Fort McDermitt Tribal Council initially had a project engagement agreement with Lithium Americas but
903-530: A country format. Many of Winnemucca's residents are employed by large mining companies such as Newmont and Barrick Gold and by many companies servicing the gold mining industry. Carry-On Trailers employs over 100 residents at their manufacturing facility in the Airport Industrial Park. Winnemucca also has a decent and growing Nevada tourism base. Other area employers include Winnemucca Farms, casinos, hotels, motels and restaurants located in
1032-593: A fairly large number of both lithium mineral and brine deposits but only comparatively few of them are of actual or potential commercial value. Many are very small, others are too low in grade." Chile is estimated (2020) to have the largest reserves by far (9.2 million tonnes), and Australia the highest annual production (40,000 tonnes). One of the largest reserve bases of lithium is in the Salar de Uyuni area of Bolivia, which has 5.4 million tonnes. Other major suppliers include Australia, Argentina and China. As of 2015,
1161-407: A flame, lithium compounds give off a striking crimson color, but when the metal burns strongly, the flame becomes a brilliant silver. Lithium will ignite and burn in oxygen when exposed to water or water vapor. In moist air, lithium rapidly tarnishes to form a black coating of lithium hydroxide (LiOH and LiOH·H 2 O), lithium nitride (Li 3 N) and lithium carbonate (Li 2 CO 3 , the result of
1290-444: A global rush for critical minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt, and copper could violate their basic rights and endanger their local ecologies and cultural heritage. Some international frontline communities affected by mining have called for a just transition that would prevent or minimise this damage to Indigenous cultures and the environment. Thacker Pass is the traditional homeland of several related Indigenous nations, including
1419-522: A higher than usual concentration of lithium (such as Centaurus X-4 ) orbit massive objects—neutron stars or black holes—whose gravity evidently pulls heavier lithium to the surface of a hydrogen-helium star, causing more lithium to be observed. On 27 May 2020, astronomers reported that classical nova explosions are galactic producers of lithium-7. Although lithium is widely distributed on Earth, it does not naturally occur in elemental form due to its high reactivity. The total lithium content of seawater
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#17327867175681548-495: A household in the city was $ 46,699, and the median income for a family was $ 53,681. Males had a median income of $ 47,917 versus $ 26,682 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 21,441. About 7.5% of families and 9.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under the age of 18 and 8.1% of those 65 and older. The Winnemucca Indian Colony of Nevada has its headquarters in Winnemucca. It
1677-490: A lawsuit challenging the BLM's permitting of the project, claiming threats to sage grouse habitat, old growth sagebrush, golden eagle nests, endemic springsnails , and Endangered Species Act–listed Lahontan cutthroat trout, bighorn sheep , and pygmy rabbits . These opponents of the mine have claimed that the review process was rushed and that the public input process was questionable. Regional Indigenous tribes have intervened in
1806-644: A major source of artificial lithium fractionation, with the light isotope Li being retained by industry and military stockpiles to such an extent that it has caused slight but measurable change in the Li to Li ratios in natural sources, such as rivers. This has led to unusual uncertainty in the standardized atomic weight of lithium, since this quantity depends on the natural abundance ratios of these naturally-occurring stable lithium isotopes, as they are available in commercial lithium mineral sources. Both stable isotopes of lithium can be laser cooled and were used to produce
1935-421: A secondary reaction between LiOH and CO 2 ). Lithium is one of the few metals that react with nitrogen gas. Because of its reactivity with water, and especially nitrogen, lithium metal is usually stored in a hydrocarbon sealant, often petroleum jelly . Although the heavier alkali metals can be stored under mineral oil , lithium is not dense enough to fully submerge itself in these liquids. Lithium has
2064-485: A single valence electron that, in the presence of solvents, is easily released to form Li . Because of this, lithium is a good conductor of heat and electricity as well as a highly reactive element, though it is the least reactive of the alkali metals. Lithium's lower reactivity is due to the proximity of its valence electron to its nucleus (the remaining two electrons are in the 1s orbital , much lower in energy, and do not participate in chemical bonds). Molten lithium
2193-476: A solid mineral, as opposed to potassium, which had been discovered in plant ashes, and sodium, which was known partly for its high abundance in animal blood. He named the new element "lithium". Arfwedson later showed that this same element was present in the minerals spodumene and lepidolite . In 1818, Christian Gmelin was the first to observe that lithium salts give a bright red color to flame. However, both Arfwedson and Gmelin tried and failed to isolate
2322-785: A station on the Transcontinental Railroad . Winnemucca is near the half-way point between Salt Lake City and San Francisco along Interstate 80 , which passes through town. US Route 95 also goes through Winnemucca. Local aviation needs are served by the Winnemucca Municipal Airport , located about 5 miles southwest of downtown. There are no scheduled passenger services. The closest commercial airports are Reno–Tahoe International Airport in Reno and Elko Regional Airport in Elko . The Humboldt Sun ,
2451-404: A typical year. The highest recorded temperature in Winnemucca was 109 °F (43 °C), on July 11, 2002, and the lowest recorded temperature was −37 °F (−38 °C) on December 22, 1990. Freezing temperatures have been observed in every month of the year. As of the census of 2000, there were 7,174 people, 2,736 households, and 1,824 families residing in the city. The population density
2580-489: A variety of binary and ternary materials by direct reaction with the main group elements. These Zintl phases , although highly covalent, can be viewed as salts of polyatomic anions such as Si 4 , P 7 , and Te 5 . With graphite, lithium forms a variety of intercalation compounds . It dissolves in ammonia (and amines) to give [Li(NH 3 ) 4 ] and the solvated electron . Lithium forms salt-like derivatives with all halides and pseudohalides. Some examples include
2709-427: A very low density (0.534 g/cm ), comparable with pine wood . It is the least dense of all elements that are solids at room temperature; the next lightest solid element (potassium, at 0.862 g/cm ) is more than 60% denser. Apart from helium and hydrogen , as a solid it is less dense than any other element as a liquid, being only two-thirds as dense as liquid nitrogen (0.808 g/cm ). Lithium can float on
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#17327867175682838-661: A wide variety of natural processes, including mineral formation (chemical precipitation), metabolism , and ion exchange . Lithium ions substitute for magnesium and iron in octahedral sites in clay minerals, where Li is preferred to Li, resulting in enrichment of the light isotope in processes of hyperfiltration and rock alteration. The exotic Li is known to exhibit a neutron halo , with 2 neutrons orbiting around its nucleus of 3 protons and 6 neutrons. The process known as laser isotope separation can be used to separate lithium isotopes, in particular Li from Li. Nuclear weapons manufacture and other nuclear physics applications are
2967-515: Is a federally recognized tribe of Western Shoshone and Northern Paiute Indians in northwestern Nevada . Amtrak , the national passenger rail system, provides service to Winnemucca. The California Zephyr provides a daily service in both directions between San Francisco and Chicago. The Winnemucca passenger rail station , at 209 West Railroad Street, is now unstaffed. Amtrak tickets for railway transportation in Winnemucca can be purchased online. Historically, since 1867, Winnemucca has been
3096-533: Is a byproduct from oil refineries , and may be sourced from as far away as the Alberta oil sands . The facility would produce 5,800 tons of sulfuric acid per day, requiring 75 semi-trucks of molten sulfur to be delivered daily from Winnemucca . Burning the sulfur to produce sulfuric acid is an exothermic reaction, allowing the plant to generate most of its own electricity. After the slurry is reacted with sulfuric acid, it will be pressed through filters which separate
3225-564: Is actually [BuLi] 6 and MeLi is actually [MeLi] 4 ) which feature multi-center bonding and increase the coordination number around lithium. These clusters are broken down into smaller or monomeric units in the presence of solvents like dimethoxyethane (DME) or ligands like tetramethylethylenediamine (TMEDA). As an exception to the duet rule, a two-coordinate lithate complex with four electrons around lithium, [Li(thf) 4 ] [((Me 3 Si) 3 C) 2 Li] , has been characterized crystallographically. Lithium production has greatly increased since
3354-481: Is also found in brown dwarf substellar objects and certain anomalous orange stars. Because lithium is present in cooler, less-massive brown dwarfs, but is destroyed in hotter red dwarf stars, its presence in the stars' spectra can be used in the "lithium test" to differentiate the two, as both are smaller than the Sun. Certain orange stars can also contain a high concentration of lithium. Those orange stars found to have
3483-437: Is apparently caused by the "mixing" of lithium into the interior of stars, where it is destroyed, while lithium is produced in younger stars. Although it transmutes into two atoms of helium due to collision with a proton at temperatures above 2.4 million degrees Celsius (most stars easily attain this temperature in their interiors), lithium is more abundant than computations would predict in later-generation stars. Lithium
3612-682: Is credited with reintroducing and popularizing the use of lithium to treat mania in 1949. Shortly after, throughout the mid 20th century, lithium's mood stabilizing applicability for mania and depression took off in Europe and the United States. The production and use of lithium underwent several drastic changes in history. The first major application of lithium was in high-temperature lithium greases for aircraft engines and similar applications in World War II and shortly after. This use
3741-586: Is difficult. One reason for this is that most lithium classification schemes are developed for solid ore deposits, whereas brine is a fluid that is problematic to treat with the same classification scheme due to varying concentrations and pumping effects. In 2019, world production of lithium from spodumene was around 80,000t per annum, primarily from the Greenbushes pegmatite and from some Chinese and Chilean sources. The Talison mine in Greenbushes
3870-532: Is expected to triple over the next 5 years, increase tenfold by 2030, and potentially increase 50-fold by 2040. The US government is concerned that, as of 2021, almost all the lithium used in the US is imported, which the Department of Energy says is a "strategic vulnerability". The Biden administration policy sees the United States securing a larger share of the lithium-battery supply chain through “safe, equitable and sustainable domestic mining ventures”. While
3999-427: Is found in trace amount in numerous plants, plankton, and invertebrates, at concentrations of 69 to 5,760 parts per billion (ppb). In vertebrates the concentration is slightly lower, and nearly all vertebrate tissue and body fluids contain lithium ranging from 21 to 763 ppb. Marine organisms tend to bioaccumulate lithium more than terrestrial organisms. Whether lithium has a physiological role in any of these organisms
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4128-409: Is highly reactive and flammable, and must be stored in vacuum, inert atmosphere, or inert liquid such as purified kerosene or mineral oil. It exhibits a metallic luster . It corrodes quickly in air to a dull silvery gray, then black tarnish. It does not occur freely in nature, but occurs mainly as pegmatitic minerals, which were once the main source of lithium. Due to its solubility as an ion, it
4257-479: Is home to the Buckaroo Hall of Fame and Heritage Museum. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Winnemucca had a vibrant Chinatown. The Chinese originally came to the area as workers on the transcontinental Central Pacific Railroad , which reached Winnemucca in 1868. Some remained or returned to settle. During the 1890s, around 400 Chinese formed a community in the town. Among their prominent buildings
4386-463: Is inspirational on so many levels! I stand in awe of these women." Rod McKuen 's poem "Winnemucca, Nevada", in his book Come to Me in Silence , describes his first desk in school. The town serves as the namesake for the alternative country band Richmond Fontaine 's 2002 album, Winnemucca , which prominently features the town in the opening track "Winner's Casino". Winnemucca is cited in
4515-783: Is less common in the solar system than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements even though its nuclei are very light: it is an exception to the trend that heavier nuclei are less common. For related reasons, lithium has important uses in nuclear physics . The transmutation of lithium atoms to helium in 1932 was the first fully human-made nuclear reaction , and lithium deuteride serves as a fusion fuel in staged thermonuclear weapons . Lithium and its compounds have several industrial applications, including heat-resistant glass and ceramics , lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium metal batteries , and lithium-ion batteries . These uses consume more than three-quarters of lithium production. Lithium
4644-480: Is not understood. Even the exact mechanisms involved in lithium toxicity are not fully understood. Petalite (LiAlSi 4 O 10 ) was discovered in 1800 by the Brazilian chemist and statesman José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva in a mine on the island of Utö , Sweden. However, it was not until 1817 that Johan August Arfwedson , then working in the laboratory of the chemist Jöns Jakob Berzelius , detected
4773-464: Is present in biological systems in trace amounts. It has no established metabolic function in humans. Lithium-based drugs are useful as a mood stabilizer and antidepressant in the treatment of mental illness such as bipolar disorder . The alkali metals are also called the lithium family, after its leading element. Like the other alkali metals (which are sodium (Na), potassium (K), rubidium (Rb), caesium (Cs), and francium (Fr)), lithium has
4902-422: Is present in ocean water and is commonly obtained from brines . Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride . The nucleus of the lithium atom verges on instability, since the two stable lithium isotopes found in nature have among the lowest binding energies per nucleon of all stable nuclides . Because of its relative nuclear instability, lithium
5031-602: Is proposed to be a carbon-neutral operation, generating electric power from a sulfuric acid plant built on-site to leach lithium from the extracted ore. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the mine estimated Phase 2 emissions at an equivalent of 132,000 tons per year of CO2 with an additional 20,000 tons of emissions generated off-site by raw material transportation. The FEIS says approximately 200,000 tons per year of CO2e emissions are avoided in off-site power generation in Phase 2 by producing carbon-free electricity at
5160-456: Is reported to be the largest and to have the highest grade of ore at 2.4% Li 2 O (2012 figures). Winnemucca, Nevada Winnemucca ( / ˌ w ɪ n ə ˈ m ʌ k ə / ) is the only incorporated city in, and is the county seat of Humboldt County, Nevada , United States. As of the 2020 census , the city had a total population of 8,431, up 14.0 percent from the 2010 census figure of 7,396. Interstate 80 passes through
5289-424: Is significantly more reactive than its solid form. Lithium metal is soft enough to be cut with a knife. It is silvery-white. In air it oxidizes to lithium oxide . Its melting point of 180.50 °C (453.65 K; 356.90 °F) and its boiling point of 1,342 °C (1,615 K; 2,448 °F) are each the highest of all the alkali metals while its density of 0.534 g/cm is the lowest. Lithium has
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5418-736: Is the Buckaroos. Winnemucca has a public library , a branch of the Humboldt County Library. Humboldt County is in the service area of Great Basin College . That college maintains the GBC Center in Winnemucca. Winnemucca is also a setting in two Tales of the City novels – More Tales of the City and The Days of Anna Madrigal , a series of nine novels by American author Armistead Maupin . Over 6 million copies of
5547-465: Is the largest known sedimentary lithium resource in the U.S. Lithium Americas estimates that the site contains recoverable lithium worth $ 3.9 billion. It is estimated that enough batteries for about a million electric vehicles a year could be mined. Thacker Pass would use a newly developed process to extract lithium from the clay deposit. Usually lithium is mined by either hard rock mining or brine mining . This mine will use hydraulic shovels to remove
5676-487: Is the only low numbered element that can produce net energy through nuclear fission . The two lithium nuclei have lower binding energies per nucleon than any other stable nuclides other than hydrogen-1 , deuterium and helium-3 . As a result of this, though very light in atomic weight, lithium is less common in the Solar System than 25 of the first 32 chemical elements. Seven radioisotopes have been characterized,
5805-684: Is unknown. Lithium concentrations in human tissue averages about 24 ppb (4 ppb in blood , and 1.3 ppm in bone ). Lithium is easily absorbed by plants and lithium concentration in plant tissue is typically around 1 ppm . Some plant families bioaccumulate more lithium than others. Dry weight lithium concentrations for members of the family Solanaceae (which includes potatoes and tomatoes ), for instance, can be as high as 30 ppm while this can be as low as 0.05 ppb for corn grains . Studies of lithium concentrations in mineral-rich soil give ranges between around 0.1 and 50−100 ppm , with some concentrations as high as 100−400 ppm, although it
5934-766: Is unlikely that all of it is available for uptake by plants . Lithium accumulation does not appear to affect the essential nutrient composition of plants. Tolerance to lithium varies by plant species and typically parallels sodium tolerance ; maize and Rhodes grass , for example, are highly tolerant to lithium injury while avocado and soybean are very sensitive. Similarly, lithium at concentrations of 5 ppm reduces seed germination in some species (e.g. Asian rice and chickpea ) but not in others (e.g. barley and wheat ). Many of lithium's major biological effects can be explained by its competition with other ions. The monovalent lithium ion Li competes with other ions such as sodium (immediately below lithium on
6063-472: Is very large and is estimated as 230 billion tonnes, where the element exists at a relatively constant concentration of 0.14 to 0.25 parts per million (ppm), or 25 micromolar ; higher concentrations approaching 7 ppm are found near hydrothermal vents . Estimates for the Earth's crustal content range from 20 to 70 ppm by weight. In keeping with its name, lithium forms a minor part of igneous rocks , with
6192-544: The BLM fined the two men for trespassing and digging latrines at the site in September 2021. Lithium Lithium (from Ancient Greek λίθος ( líthos ) 'stone') is a chemical element ; it has symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal . Under standard conditions , it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium
6321-556: The Bureau of Indian Affairs , the tribal council and colony residents. On March 11, 2022, the District Court of Nevada denied the Winnemucca Indian Colony's motion to intervene in the lawsuits. Judge Du ruled that the motion was untimely, prejudicial to other parties and that Winnemucca Indian Colony should have acted much sooner if they believed their interests might be adversely affected. In March 2022,
6450-838: The Czech Geological Survey considered the entire Ore Mountains in the Czech Republic as lithium province. Five deposits are registered, one near Cínovec [ cs ] is considered as a potentially economical deposit, with 160 000 tonnes of lithium. In December 2019, Finnish mining company Keliber Oy reported its Rapasaari lithium deposit has estimated proven and probable ore reserves of 5.280 million tonnes. In June 2010, The New York Times reported that American geologists were conducting ground surveys on dry salt lakes in western Afghanistan believing that large deposits of lithium are located there. These estimates are "based principally on old data, which
6579-574: The Pit River Tribe . Falk, in an April 2021 conversation with Deep Green Resistance co-founder, Derrick Jensen, said the origin of the name was an enemy tribe attack. According to the United States Department of Energy , the Thacker Pass lithium mine could supply enough lithium carbonate for up to 800,000 electric vehicle batteries annually, reducing consumption of gasoline by 317 million gallons per year. The lithium mine
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#17327867175686708-503: The United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 9.4 square miles (24.3 km ), all land. Winnemucca's climate is semi-arid ( Köppen climate classification BSk ), averaging 8.28 in (210 mm) of precipitation annually. Summer days tend to be hot, but the temperature drops significantly at night. Winters are cold with generally light snow, with 22.0 in (56 cm) falling during
6837-523: The coordination complex [Li(H 2 O) 4 ] predominates for many lithium salts. Related complexes are known with amines and ethers. Organolithium compounds are numerous and useful. They are defined by the presence of a bond between carbon and lithium. They serve as metal-stabilized carbanions , although their solution and solid-state structures are more complex than this simplistic view. Thus, these are extremely powerful bases and nucleophiles . They have also been applied in asymmetric synthesis in
6966-1087: The periodic table ), which like lithium is also a monovalent alkali metal . Lithium also competes with bivalent magnesium ions, whose ionic radius (86 pm ) is approximately that of the lithium ion (90 pm). Mechanisms that transport sodium across cellular membranes also transport lithium. For instance, sodium channels (both voltage-gated and epithelial ) are particularly major pathways of entry for lithium. Lithium ions can also permeate through ligand-gated ion channels as well as cross both nuclear and mitochondrial membranes . Like sodium, lithium can enter and partially block (although not permeate ) potassium channels and calcium channels . The biological effects of lithium are many and varied but its mechanisms of action are only partially understood. For instance, studies of lithium-treated patients with bipolar disorder show that, among many other effects, lithium partially reverses telomere shortening in these patients and also increases mitochondrial function, although how lithium produces these pharmacological effects
7095-494: The water table , with Lithium Americas intending to conduct studies over a decade on the water flows around the pit in hopes of proposing a safe method for mining below the water table (for which they are not yet permitted to conduct.) Development of the lithium mine is driven by increasing demand for lithium used in electric vehicle batteries and for grid storage of intermittently generated electricity from sources such as solar power or wind power . As of 2021 lithium demand
7224-445: The 'Protect Thacker Pass' camp, supported by DGR funding, to oppose construction of the lithium mine. Mine opponents have concerns about the lack of free, prior, and informed Indigenous consent for the project; destruction of sacred sites and hunting and gathering areas; and greenwashing of the project. On April 10, 2021, over 60 people from different reservations in the region came to Thacker Pass to demonstrate their opposition to
7353-559: The 1980s, is known as "The Line" or "The Ring Circle", based on the layout of the street where the brothels are located. As of 2015, there have been no operating brothels in Humboldt County, Nevada. Sex workers in the town must register their vehicles with the local police. According to a billboard along State Route 140 (the "Winnemucca to the Sea Highway"), Winnemucca styles itself "The City of Paved Streets". Winnemucca
7482-475: The Bureau of Land Management signed off on the final Field Work Authorization allowing excavation work to proceed in Thacker Pass. On December 17, 2021, a letter was delivered to the people of Red Mountain notifying the group that Falk and co-counsel Terry Lodge planned on filing a motion to withdraw as attorneys on January 7, 2022, citing irreconcilable differences. On January 3, 2022, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony,
7611-670: The Court does not support [plaintiffs'] claims...the 1868 field notes do not show a massacre happened within the Project area." On October 5, 2021, Tribal lawyers filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider the opinion that the massacre did not occur at Thacker Pass. This motion was denied on November 8, and the judge stated: "the proffered newly discovered evidence is too speculative to support an irreparable harm finding". The Archeological Resources Protection permit, issued in September 2021, required additional approval and on December 16, 2021,
7740-554: The People of Red Mountain. Cavanaugh-Bill also withdrew from representing the Reno Sparks Indian Colony. The next day, an article describing the acrimonious split, stated that the People of Red Mountain fired Falk because Falk and Wilbert, co-founders of 'Protect Thacker Pass', are also members of Deep Green Resistance (DGR), and there were concerns over DGR's beliefs about transgenderism. Further articles followed on
7869-648: The Progressive Leadership Alliance (PLAN) of Nevada, who visited the 'Protect Thacker Pass' camp, said that he felt misled regarding its ties with DGR, and that the association was hindering donations opposing the mine. Kelly Fuller, then Energy and Mining Campaign Director for the Western Watersheds Project, one of the environmental groups suing the BLM over the project, also commented on the cost of having DGR involved. Wilbert and Falk took down their protest camp after
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#17327867175687998-1004: The Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation , the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe , Lovelock Paiute Tribe , Fallon Paiute Shoshone Tribe , Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe and the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony . Local Indigenous communities harvest traditional foods, medicines and supplies for sacred ceremonies in the region. Members of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe have stated that their tribe "descends from essentially two families who, hiding in Thacker Pass, managed to avoid being sent to reservations farther away from our ancestral lands" and hence that this tribe owes its existence to
8127-520: The Thacker Pass mine project area, and the USFWS intend to issue an eagle incidental take permit to LNC relating to noise disturbance in a territory encompassing Thacker Canyon. Two members of Deep Green Resistance (DGR), a radical environmental group, began occupying Thacker Pass on January 15, 2021, the day the Record of Decision was issued for the proposed mine. Max Wilbert and attorney Will Falk set up
8256-778: The US holds some of the largest known reserves of lithium, the only large-scale US mine producing it (located in Silver Peak, Nevada ) makes less than 5,000 tons annually, which is less than 2% of the global supply. Bessemer City mine and Kings Mountain Mine in North Carolina have lithium deposits. The environmental conflict at Thacker Pass lithium mine is representative of global conflicts arising from increased mineral extraction that would be required to make an energy transition away from fossil fuels in response to climate change. Some opposition groups have expressed concern that
8385-678: The United States Army during the Bannock War of 1878. In 1883, Sarah Winnemucca published the first autobiography written by a Native American woman, based on hundreds of lectures she'd given in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic. It has been described as "one of the most enduring ethno-historical books written by an American Indian." On September 16, 1868, the Central Pacific Railroad reached Winnemucca, and
8514-505: The United States Ninth Circuit for reconsideration of previous preliminary injunction requests. In October 2022, the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe signed a Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) with Lithium Americas establishing a collaborative framework and defining the long-term benefits for the tribe. The Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, are located 35 miles (56 km) north of Thacker Pass and
8643-505: The Water Pollution Control Permit. On March 8, 2022, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service published its Record of Decision for Lithium Nevada Corporation's (LNC) Eagle Take Permit Application and Eagle Conservation Plan. The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) found three occupied golden eagle territories overlapping the project area and a fourth closely adjoining it. No eagle nests were found within
8772-405: The area newspaper, is published twice weekly. Nomadic Broadcasting operates radio station KHYX -FM with a 50,000 watt signal on 102.7 FM and Translator K232BK on 94.3 FM, serving Winnemucca and its outlying communities. 102.7 is an adult contemporary format while 94.3 is a rock format. These two signals are HD. Buckaroo Broadcasting operates radio station KWNA-FM with a 25,000 watt signal and
8901-464: The atomic weight of lithium in some "natural sources" of lithium ion which had been "contaminated" by lithium salts discharged from isotope separation facilities, which had found its way into ground water. Lithium is used to decrease the melting temperature of glass and to improve the melting behavior of aluminium oxide in the Hall-Héroult process . These two uses dominated the market until
9030-551: The atomic weight of lithium to be around 9.8 g/mol (modern value ~6.94 g/mol). In 1855, larger quantities of lithium were produced through the electrolysis of lithium chloride by Robert Bunsen and Augustus Matthiessen . The discovery of this procedure led to commercial production of lithium in 1923 by the German company Metallgesellschaft AG , which performed an electrolysis of a liquid mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride . Australian psychiatrist John Cade
9159-471: The bid to block construction of the lithium mine, deferring to the expertise of the Bureau of Land Management and the decision made by U.S. District Judge Miranda Du to allow construction to go forward. In November 2023, Judge Du dismissed the second lawsuit brought by the three tribes but left open the possibility of an amended filing, stating: "given that the Court has now twice agreed with Federal Defendants...and Plaintiffs did not vary their argument at all
9288-400: The butchery of the 'rotten moon' story, but didn't mention who perpetrated the attack leading to speculation on the involvement of soldiers. A tribal elder, Alana Crutcher, refuted the claim Peehee mu'huh was a name used for Thacker Pass and cast doubt on whether the massacre protestors described ever took place. Reporter Molly Wood, who interviewed both Crutcher and Hinkey couldn't substantiate
9417-520: The city, where it meets U.S. Route 95 . The town was named for the 19th-century Chief Winnemucca of the local Northern Paiute tribe, who traditionally lived in this area. Winnemucca, translated, means "the giver." The chief's daughter, Sarah Winnemucca , was an advocate for education and fair treatment of the Paiute and Shoshone tribes in the area. Their family all learned to speak English, and Sarah worked as an interpreter, scout and messenger for
9546-530: The city. Until 2013, Winnemucca Farms operated the world's largest potato dehydration plant. The Winnemucca area is still one of the largest potato farming areas in the world. Humboldt County School District operates the area schools serving Winnemucca. Three K-4 elementary schools, Grass Valley, Sonoma Heights, and Winnemucca Grammar School serve Winnemucca. All of Winnemucca is zoned to French Ford Middle School (5–6), Winnemucca Junior High School (7–8), and Albert M. Lowry High School (9–12). Lowry High's mascot
9675-422: The clay and turn it into a slurry . Non-lithium-containing sand and rock will be separated and immediately returned to the pit.The lithium-bearing clay slurry would be mixed with sulfuric acid to extract the metal. A plant would be built on-site to burn molten sulfur and produce sulfuric acid, which is safer than transporting sulfuric acid, and would result in one third the number of truckloads necessary. Sulfur
9804-406: The closest Native American community to the project. On February 6, 2023, U.S District Judge Miranda Du denied the majority of the protestors claims leaving the way forward for mine construction to commence. Judge Du ruled that BLM's outreach to local tribes "was reasonable and made in good faith based on the information BLM had at the time it initiated consultation". An appeal was lodged against
9933-545: The council withdrew from that agreement and agreed to sue the Bureau of Land Management for violations of the National Historic Preservation Act after a petition organized by the People of Red Mountain. This lawsuit was never filed. In July, 2021 Chief United States District Judge Miranda Du ruled that Lithium America may excavate archaeological trenches at the site, as the environmental groups could not show irreparable harm would be caused by
10062-532: The digging. The digging was less than 1/4 acre and was used to determine whether cultural artifacts exist within the proposed project area. In September, Judge Du also ruled against tribes' claims that a historical massacre occurred in Thacker Pass and refused to grant their request for a preliminary injunction to stop excavation for cultural resources. She stated that while she found their spiritual distress persuasive, they did not show sufficiently specific irreparable harm. Judge Du also stated that "the evidence before
10191-576: The diversion was detrimental to the Bartell Ranch operation and against the public interest. The protest was overruled on February 9th, 2023, by the Nevada State Engineer, who developed an independent groundwater flow model to estimate the impacts of the mine on local water resources. The mine overlaps with 2,866 acres (1,160 ha) of big sagebrush habitat and known golden eagle breeding sites. The project may be disruptive to
10320-403: The elemental lithium solution, and then processed into lithium carbonate or lithium hydroxide for batteries. The tailings will then be returned to the pit. (The mine will use a process called "block mining", whereby previously excavated sections get filled with tailings as the operation progresses.) The mine is planned to operate for 46 years, with the first 20 years removing material above
10449-451: The end of World War II . The main sources of lithium are brines and ores . Lithium metal is produced through electrolysis applied to a mixture of fused 55% lithium chloride and 45% potassium chloride at about 450 °C. The small ionic size makes it difficult for lithium to be included in early stages of mineral crystallization. As a result, lithium remains in the molten phases, where it gets enriched, until it gets solidified in
10578-575: The final stages. Such lithium enrichment is responsible for all commercially promising lithium ore deposits. Brines (and dry salt) are another important source of Li . Although the number of known lithium-containing deposits and brines is large, most of them are either small or have too low Li concentrations. Thus, only a few appear to be of commercial value. The US Geological Survey (USGS) estimated worldwide identified lithium reserves in 2020 and 2021 to be 17 million and 21 million tonnes , respectively. An accurate estimate of world lithium reserves
10707-608: The final state-level permits necessary for the project. The Water Pollution Control Permit, which only allows Lithium Nevada to mine above the water table, was challenged in March 2022 by an environmental group, Great Basin Resource Watch (GBRW), who filed an appeal with the Nevada State Environmental Commission (SEC). On June 28, 2022, the SEC five-member panel voted to affirm NDEP's approval of
10836-523: The first quantum degenerate Bose – Fermi mixture. Although it was synthesized in the Big Bang , lithium (together with beryllium and boron) is markedly less abundant in the universe than other elements. This is a result of the comparatively low stellar temperatures necessary to destroy lithium, along with a lack of common processes to produce it. According to modern cosmological theory, lithium—in both stable isotopes (lithium-6 and lithium-7)—was one of
10965-526: The habitat of Endangered Species Act -listed animals. A coalition of environmental groups filing a lawsuit against the mine stated that Thacker Pass is "critically important to wildlife because it connects the Double H Mountains to the Montana Mountains " and "provides lower-elevation habitat that wildlife need to survive the winter." However, the environmentalist groups lost the battle in court and
11094-579: The habitat of the endangered Lahontan cutthroat trout and the Kings River pyrg ( Pyrgulopsis imperialis ), a rare springsnail not known to live anywhere else in the world. There are concerns about the mine's potential impacts on the safety of local communities: projects that bring a large predominately male workforce from outside the local area can generate local increases in drug use and violent crime, and are associated with violence against Indigenous women . In August 2019, Lithium Americas lodged
11223-582: The halides LiF , LiCl , LiBr , LiI , as well as the pseudohalides and related anions. Lithium carbonate has been described as the most important compound of lithium. This white solid is the principal product of beneficiation of lithium ores. It is a precursor to other salts including ceramics and materials for lithium batteries. The compounds LiBH 4 and LiAlH 4 are useful reagents . These salts and many other lithium salts exhibit distinctively high solubility in ethers, in contrast with salts of heavier alkali metals. In aqueous solution,
11352-448: The highest of all solids. Because of this, lithium metal is often used in coolants for heat transfer applications. Naturally occurring lithium is composed of two stable isotopes , Li and Li, the latter being the more abundant (95.15% natural abundance ). Both natural isotopes have anomalously low nuclear binding energy per nucleon (compared to the neighboring elements on the periodic table , helium and beryllium ); lithium
11481-400: The largest concentrations in granites . Granitic pegmatites also provide the greatest abundance of lithium-containing minerals, with spodumene and petalite being the most commercially viable sources. Another significant mineral of lithium is lepidolite which is now an obsolete name for a series formed by polylithionite and trilithionite. Another source for lithium is hectorite clay,
11610-524: The lawsuits against the BLM and Lithium Nevada Corporation. Reno-Sparks Indian Colony requested that the BLM consult them about the mine, stating in a letter that "Just because regional tribes have been isolated and forced onto reservations relatively far away from Thacker Pass does not mean these regional tribes do not possess cultural connections to the Pass." When the BLM rejected this request for consultation, Reno Sparks Indian Colony, Burns Paiute Tribe , and
11739-516: The lightest hydrocarbon oils and is one of only three metals that can float on water, the other two being sodium and potassium . Lithium's coefficient of thermal expansion is twice that of aluminium and almost four times that of iron . Lithium is superconductive below 400 μK at standard pressure and at higher temperatures (more than 9 K) at very high pressures (>20 GPa). At temperatures below 70 K, lithium, like sodium, undergoes diffusionless phase change transformations . At 4.2 K it has
11868-454: The massacre in which the Paiute victims were murdered by the enemy tribe and their insides strung out on the sagebrush. The Pit River inter-tribal raid story of 'rotten moon' has been conflated with the documented 1865 attack by soldiers in many reports, including those by local reporters following the court case. In a December 2023 video, People of Red Mountain's Day Hinkey also said the name Peehee mu'huh derives from an inter-tribal war with
11997-427: The middle of the 1990s. After the end of the nuclear arms race , the demand for lithium decreased and the sale of department of energy stockpiles on the open market further reduced prices. In the mid-1990s, several companies started to isolate lithium from brine which proved to be a less expensive option than underground or open-pit mining. Most of the mines closed or shifted their focus to other materials because only
12126-403: The mine by praying, dancing, and sharing food with local people and protesters occupying the site. Indigenous people attending that event said there were sacred sites in the area including burials and also a massacre site from which the location derives its name in the Paiute language. They also demonstrated concerns about public health, water quality, air quality, and lack of Indigenous consent for
12255-649: The mine claim the environmental review was rushed, because what is normally a multi-year review process was completed in less than a year. During the permitting process for the proposed Thacker Pass lithium mine in 2020, the BLM consultation with the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, the Summit Lake Paiute tribe, and the Western Winnemucca Indian Colony resulted in no issue concerning historic property within areas of potential disturbance. Other tribes were not consulted during
12384-423: The mine has been allowed to proceed. The group also stated that the area constituted "one of the last big blocks of the sagebrush sea free of development." Additional environmental concerns include contamination from groundwater pollutants such as arsenic, air pollution from sulfuric acid leaching of lithium from clay sediments, and changes in the connectivity of groundwater and surface water systems. This could harm
12513-702: The mine have stated that the project is necessary to limit climate change by reducing carbon emissions from American cars , is benign in its social and environmental impact, and will create 300 long-term jobs in rural Nevada, paying an average of $ 63,000 per year. The New York Times reported that controversy around the mine is "emblematic of a fundamental tension" between green energy and damage caused by resource extraction required for those technologies. The Thacker Pass lithium deposit has measured and indicated resources of 13.7 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, at an average ore grade of 2,231 ppm (0.22%) lithium. The Thacker Pass volcano-sedimentary deposit
12642-403: The mine is driven by increasing demand for lithium used in electric vehicle batteries and grid storage of intermittently generated electricity from sources such as solar power or wind power . The project has met resistance in the form of legal challenges and direct action . While several Indigenous tribes with traditional homeland in the area support the project some nearby tribes oppose
12771-422: The mine project, giving GM exclusive access to the first phase of production. In February 2023, when the initial $ 320 million investment was completed, GM became Lithium Americas largest shareholder and offtake partner. At full capacity the mine would produce 66,000 tons annually, equivalent to 25% of the current (2021) demand for lithium globally , which is expected to triple over the next five years. Development of
12900-418: The mine. Phase 1 water consumption is estimated at 2,600 acre feet per year, the equivalent of approximately five alfalfa irrigation pivots of well water. The mine would consume 5,200 acre feet of water annually in Phase 2, equivalent to 1.7 billion gallons. The proposed transfer of water rights from Quinn River Valley crop irrigation to the mine site prompted a protest from a local rancher who claimed
13029-437: The most stable being Li with a half-life of 838 ms and Li with a half-life of 178 ms. All of the remaining radioactive isotopes have half-lives that are shorter than 8.6 ms. The shortest-lived isotope of lithium is Li, which decays through proton emission and has a half-life of 7.6 × 10 s. The Li isotope is one of only five stable nuclides to have both an odd number of protons and an odd number of neutrons,
13158-583: The novels have been sold worldwide. A character in the series, Mother Mucca, takes her nickname from the town. The series began as a newspaper column in the Pacific Sun in 1975, before moving to the San Francisco Chronicle . It features some of the first positive portrayals of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender lives. Anna Madrigal, a transgender character, was depicted as having been born as Andy Ramsey in Winnemucca, Nevada. The series
13287-535: The only active development of which is through the Western Lithium Corporation in the United States. At 20 mg lithium per kg of Earth's crust, lithium is the 31st most abundant element. According to the Handbook of Lithium and Natural Calcium , "Lithium is a comparatively rare element, although it is found in many rocks and some brines, but always in very low concentrations. There are
13416-417: The ore from zoned pegmatites could be mined for a competitive price. For example, the US mines near Kings Mountain , North Carolina, closed before the beginning of the 21st century. The development of lithium-ion batteries increased the demand for lithium and became the dominant use in 2007. With the surge of lithium demand in batteries in the 2000s, new companies have expanded brine isolation efforts to meet
13545-647: The other four stable odd-odd nuclides being hydrogen-2 , boron-10 , nitrogen-14 , and tantalum-180m . Li is one of the primordial elements (or, more properly, primordial nuclides ) produced in Big Bang nucleosynthesis . A small amount of both Li and Li are produced in stars during stellar nucleosynthesis , but it is further " burned " as fast as produced. Li can also be generated in carbon stars . Additional small amounts of both Li and Li may be generated from solar wind, cosmic rays hitting heavier atoms, and from early solar system Be radioactive decay. Lithium isotopes fractionate substantially during
13674-506: The pharmaceutical industry. For laboratory organic synthesis, many organolithium reagents are commercially available in solution form. These reagents are highly reactive, and are sometimes pyrophoric . Like its inorganic compounds, almost all organic compounds of lithium formally follow the duet rule (e.g., BuLi , MeLi ). However, it is important to note that in the absence of coordinating solvents or ligands, organolithium compounds form dimeric, tetrameric, and hexameric clusters (e.g., BuLi
13803-460: The population. Basque Americans make up 4.2% of the population of Winnemucca, the highest percentage of any city in the United States. There were 2,736 households, out of which 37.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.9% were married couples living together, 8.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.3% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.7% had someone living alone who
13932-453: The presence of a new element while analyzing petalite ore. This element formed compounds similar to those of sodium and potassium , though its carbonate and hydroxide were less soluble in water and less alkaline . Berzelius gave the alkaline material the name " lithion / lithina ", from the Greek word λιθoς (transliterated as lithos , meaning "stone"), to reflect its discovery in
14061-474: The production of tritium by itself, as well as a form of solid fusion fuel used inside hydrogen bombs in the form of lithium deuteride . The US became the prime producer of lithium between the late 1950s and the mid-1980s. At the end, the stockpile of lithium was roughly 42,000 tonnes of lithium hydroxide. The stockpiled lithium was depleted in lithium-6 by 75%, which was enough to affect the measured atomic weight of lithium in many standardized chemicals, and even
14190-483: The project. On June 12, 2021, hundreds of people attended a rally in Reno, Nevada to protest the Thacker Pass lithium mine. In January 2022, Gary McKinney, a spokesperson for the People of Red Mountain, said they had recently removed their protest camp from Thacker Pass and split from joint opposition with Falk and Wilbert over concerns regarding their links to Deep Green Resistance. Ian Bigley, Mining Justice Organizer for
14319-484: The project. These opposition tribes have stated that Thacker Pass is a sacred site, a massacre site, and that they were not adequately consulted by the Bureau of Land Management . No BLM study or cultural mining study has found evidence of the massacre site within the mining area or even the extended area. Additionally, opponents of the mine have voiced concerns about rushed environmental review, threats to critical wildlife habitat, disruption of cultural sites. Proponents of
14448-435: The pure element from its salts. It was not isolated until 1821, when William Thomas Brande obtained it by electrolysis of lithium oxide , a process that had previously been employed by the chemist Sir Humphry Davy to isolate the alkali metals potassium and sodium. Brande also described some pure salts of lithium, such as the chloride, and, estimating that lithia ( lithium oxide ) contained about 55% metal, estimated
14577-600: The remaining tribe represented in the lawsuit by Falk and Lodge, applied, alongside the Burns Paiute Tribe, to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals for reconsideration of previous preliminary injunction requests that would have prevented the now fully permitted digging from going ahead. The stay pending the appeal was denied by Chief Judge Miranda Du of the District Court of Nevada on January 12, 2022. On January 26, 2022, Falk, Lodge, and local counsel Julie Cavanaugh-Bill were formally granted withdrawal as attorneys for
14706-509: The review process, leading the Burns Paiute Tribe and the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony to intervene in a lawsuit against the BLM and Lithium Nevada Corporation in July 2021. In early February, 2021, a local rancher filed a lawsuit against the BLM over concerns about the project's water use. On February 26, 2021, four environmental non-profits (Western Watersheds Project, Great Basin Resource Watch, Basin and Range Watch, and Wildlands Defense) also filed
14835-574: The rift. On February 11, 2022, the Winnemucca Indian Colony filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuits, claiming lack of consultation prior to the January 15, 2021 Record of Decision . The BLM's communications to the local tribes, including the Winnemucca Indian Colony began in 2019 according to court filings. The 320-acre colony (130 ha) has been the center of a decades-long fight concerning its council's legitimacy, tribal membership eligibility disputes and legal cases involving
14964-476: The rising demand. It has been argued that lithium will be one of the main objects of geopolitical competition in a world running on renewable energy and dependent on batteries, but this perspective has also been criticised for underestimating the power of economic incentives for expanded production. Lithium reacts with water easily, but with noticeably less vigor than other alkali metals. The reaction forms hydrogen gas and lithium hydroxide . When placed over
15093-499: The ruling in the 9th Circuit Court with a subsequent emergency injunction denied requesting the halting of construction work pending the appeal. On February 16, 2023, the two tribes appealing the ruling, along with the Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, filed a new federal lawsuit alleging BLM withheld information and that the permitting process was flawed. On July 17, 2023, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied
15222-527: The second time...the Court is skeptical that Plaintiffs could successfully amend it. But skeptical does not mean futile". On 12 December 2023, the second case was dismissed with prejudice after the three tribes failed to submit an amended complaint within the required thirty days. On February 25, 2022, the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) issued three permits for the Thacker Pass lithium mine. Lithium Americas stated that these were
15351-443: The shelter provided by the Pass. Thacker Pass is known as Peehee mu'huh by tribal protestors, meaning 'rotten moon'. The name was first publicized in March 2021, by People of Red Mountain, a twelve-strong group formed to oppose the mine. In numerous interviews, group lawyer Will Falk, with members Myron Smart and Daranda Hinkey, recounted a gory massacre of Paiutes. Those interviews and Falk's July/August 2021 court filings, detailed
15480-533: The story despite further research. In August 2021, Falk unearthed historical records of a cavalry attack in 1865 on Paiutes in the Quinn River Valley claiming it spilled over into Thacker Pass. In November 2021, Falk's court filing for the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony described two separate attacks, with the story of Peehee mu’huh updated to include the Pit River Indians as perpetrators of
15609-490: The three elements synthesized in the Big Bang. Though the amount of lithium generated in Big Bang nucleosynthesis is dependent upon the number of photons per baryon , for accepted values the lithium abundance can be calculated, and there is a " cosmological lithium discrepancy " in the universe: older stars seem to have less lithium than they should, and some younger stars have much more. The lack of lithium in older stars
15738-450: Was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.21. In the city, the population was spread out, with 30.2% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 30.6% from 25 to 44, 22.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 104.5 males. The median income for
15867-400: Was 867.5 inhabitants per square mile (334.9/km ). There were 3,280 housing units at an average density of 396.6 per square mile (153.1/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 83.41% White , 2.23% African American , 0.89% Native American , 0.32% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 9.60% from other races , and 3.51% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 20.74% of
15996-500: Was denied by the court. The project site would cover 18,000 acres (7,300 ha), with less than 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) of that being mined, on a site 21 miles (34 km) west-northwest of Orovada, Nevada within the McDermitt Caldera . The mine is a project of Lithium Nevada, LLC , a wholly owned subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. In late January 2023, car giant General Motors announced it would invest $ 650M in
16125-666: Was gathered mainly by the Soviets during their occupation of Afghanistan from 1979–1989". The Department of Defense estimated the lithium reserves in Afghanistan to amount to the ones in Bolivia and dubbed it as a potential "Saudi-Arabia of lithium". In Cornwall , England, the presence of brine rich in lithium was well known due to the region's historic mining industry , and private investors have conducted tests to investigate potential lithium extraction in this area. Lithium
16254-505: Was made into a TV series with the character of Anna Madrigal played by Olympia Dukakis . In 2021, the town once again caught the attention of Armistead Maupin, after an article in the Nevada Independent News wrote about Winnemucca Pride- a planned LGBTQ pride parade and festival being planned by Winnemucca residents Shawn Dixon, Kat Dixon, Christina Basso and Misty Huff. The article prompted Maupin to write "This story
16383-523: Was officially opened on October 1 of that year. It was a stop on the first transcontinental railroad completed the following year. Basque immigrants worked as sheep-herders starting in the mid-19th century. In honor of this heritage, Winnemucca hosts an annual Basque Festival. On September 19, 1900, Butch Cassidy 's gang robbed the First National Bank of Winnemucca of $ 32,640. Winnemucca's brothel district , while smaller now than in
16512-553: Was supported by the fact that lithium-based soaps have a higher melting point than other alkali soaps, and are less corrosive than calcium based soaps. The small demand for lithium soaps and lubricating greases was supported by several small mining operations, mostly in the US. The demand for lithium increased dramatically during the Cold War with the production of nuclear fusion weapons . Both lithium-6 and lithium-7 produce tritium when irradiated by neutrons, and are thus useful for
16641-770: Was the Joss House on Baud Street, a place of worship and celebration. In 1911, the community was visited by Sun Yat-Sen , later to become Chinese president. He was on a fund-raising tour of the United States to help the Xinhai Revolution . The Joss House, the last structure associated with Chinatown, was demolished on March 8, 1955, by order of the Winnemucca City Council. Winnemucca is located at 40°58′6″N 117°43′36″W / 40.96833°N 117.72667°W / 40.96833; -117.72667 (40.968212, −117.726662). According to
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