Canadian miner Lithium Americas has closed a US government loan worth $2.26 billion, deemed “essential” to the development of its project in Nevada.

Administered by the US Department of Energy under the Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing loan programme, the funding will help finance the construction of Thacker Pass. This will produce 80,000 tonnes/year of battery-grade lithium carbonate once it reaches full scale.

The loan, which was announced on a conditional basis earlier this year, is being confirmed days after the government approved the first US lithium mine, Australian company Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge project, also located in Nevada, amid a push to secure a domestic supply chain of critical minerals. 

It is also hot on the heels of a $625 million joint venture agreement between US automotive giant General Motors and Lithium Americas. GM has acquired a 38% stake in the project for $430m in cash and a $195m letter of credit facility, earmarked as collateral for the DOE loan.

The carmaker was already an investor in Lithium Americas, having completed a $320m payment in February 2023 to secure output from the mine, Kallanish reports.

Jonathan Evans, president and chief executive of Lithium Americas, says this “essential loan” helps to “substantially” de-risks financing for phase 1 of Thacker Pass, which will have a capacity of 40,000 t/y.

The company expects to first draw from the loan, which will have a tenor of 24 years, in 2025.

Lithium Americas' Toronto-listed shares rose by 13% on Monday after the announcement.