>https://knpr.org/knpr/2021-08/past-future-collide-dispute-over-northern-nevada-lithium-mine
Past, Future Collide In Dispute Over Northern Nevada Lithium Mine
>Aug 26, 2021
Supporters of a planned lithium mine in remote far-north Nevada say it will create jobs and help the transition to a clean energy future, with the metal serving as a vital component in EV and other batteries.
Opponents respond that the mine near Thacker Pass, close to the Oregon border, poses a threat to the environment and would defile land sacred to Native Americans.
The dispute will be on the docket Friday in federal court in Reno, where a judge will hear a request by tribal opponents of the project for a temporary injunction to halt work there.
“If the judge does decide to approve our injunction, that would mean that the Bureau of Land Management would have to re-consult with many, many tribes, taking at least one or two years,” said project opponent Daranda Hinkey, a member of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone tribes who is against the mine. “So it's just a temporary delay, but it's not going to stop the mine completely.”
She said a minority of tribal members support the project because of the jobs it will bring, but the majority oppose the project because of environmental concerns and that it will be built on land considered sacred.
Lithium is a critical part of plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, because it’s used for the batteries in electric vehicles, including at Tesla’s Gigafactory outside of Reno.
“We simply don't believe that it is right to destroy this land for what amounts to a luxury good, because most people on the planet don't have cars today,” said project opponent Max Wilbert, who set up a protest camp at the site of the mine. “And we don't need cars to survive, or is it right to poison the land? Poison the water and destroy the land for that luxury?”
A UNR political science professor who favors the mine says the project could play an important role in national security by onshoring access to a strategic resource.
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