The fate of America's largest lithium mine is in a federal judge's hands

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/06/ [login to see] /the-fate-of-americas-largest-lithium-mine-is-in-a-federal-judges-hands
The fate of the largest planned lithium mine in the United States is now in the hands of a federal judge who hopes to issue a ruling in a long-running legal battle in the next two months.

The proposed mine on Thacker Pass, a remote slice of federal land near Nevada's border with Oregon, is seen as key toward boosting domestic electric vehicle production. But a group of West Coast Native American tribes considers the land sacred and are suing to stop it.

The latest twist in a multiyear legal battle unfolded Thursday in a federal court in Reno, Nev., where lawyers for the tribes and a consortium of western environmental groups accused federal land managers of skirting environmental law and trying to green light the mine in the final days of the Trump administration.

So far, despite pressure from tribes, the Biden administration has not moved to stall the mine or commit to further environmental review.