Appeals Court Denies Bid by Conservationists, Tribes to Block Nevada Lithium Mine

Dozens of tribe members and other protesters beating drums and waving signs rally in front of the federal courthouse in Reno, Nev., on Jan. 5, 2023, as a court hearing began over a lawsuit seeking to block a huge lithium mine planned near the Nevada-Oregon line about 200 miles north of Reno. Scott Sonner/AP Photo

An effort by a coalition of conservationists and tribal leaders to block the construction of a lithium mine along the Nevada–Oregon border was denied by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 17.

In its decision Monday (pdf), a three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based appellate court ruled that the U.S. government did not violate federal environmental laws when it approved the Thacker Pass lithium mine project.