Cases / Mining · United States · 2025
US adds Nevada's Thacker Pass lithium mine to fast-track permitting
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
The US Interior Department added Nevada's Thacker Pass lithium mine to an accelerated federal permitting program in 2025, and three tribes sued over lack of consultation. The sources reviewed give no environmental impact findings for the site.
What?
The US Interior Department announced that the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada had been added to FAST-41, an accelerated federal permitting program. US Department of the Interior
Where?
Thacker Pass, Nevada, United States. Nevada Current
When?
The FAST-41 addition followed a March 2025 executive order. US Department of the Interior
Who?
Gained
- Thacker Pass mine — accelerated federal permitting under FAST-41 US Department of the Interior
Lost
None on recordHarmed
- Three tribes — say they were not consulted, and describe the site as an 1865 Paiute massacre ground Nevada Current
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The mine is being fast-tracked through FAST-41 expedited federal review, which the Interior Department announced. The tribes' challenge concerns consultation. US Department of the Interior
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The US Department of the Interior announced that Thacker Pass had been added to FAST-41, an accelerated permitting program, after a March 2025 executive order extended it to critical minerals.
Nevada Current reported that three tribes sued over the lack of consultation on the mine, which they describe as the site of an 1865 Paiute massacre.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- Outcome not on recordTribal suit over consultation for the Thacker Pass mineNot stated in the sources reviewed · Civil · Three tribes → Not stated in the sources reviewed
Three tribes sued over lack of consultation on the mine. The sources reviewed do not state the defendant, forum or outcome. Nevada Current
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Court
- Unclear Tribal suit over consultation for the Thacker Pass mine: outcome not on record.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the Department of Energy loaned 2.26 billion dollars to the mine, General Motors took a 38% stake and the right to buy all first-phase output, and a federal judge largely dismissed the tribes' suit in November 2023.
- None on record The 1865 massacre site is the tribes' description; the sources reviewed do not verify it.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not state the mine's output, its environmental impact findings, or the outcome of the tribal suit.
- None on record The sources reviewed do not name the mine's operator.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- US Interior press release on FAST-41 additionsUS Department of the Interior · 2025
- Nevada Current report on the Thacker Pass tribal suitNevada Current ·
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
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- Removal of the Endangered Species Act 'harm' definition United States · 2025–2026
- US Department of the Interior (Government) — here: announced the FAST-41 addition; there: Parent department of the Fish and Wildlife Service; Secretary Burgum explained the change
- US Endangered Species Act rollbacks 2025–2026 (God Squad Gulf exemption, critical habitat rules) United States · 2025–2026
- US Department of the Interior (Government) — here: announced the FAST-41 addition; there: Department led by Secretary Burgum