Three Native American tribes were disappointed by the recent decision of US District Judge Miranda Du to dismiss claims that Lithium Nevada’s Thacker Pass Mine is being dug on what is purportedly sacred ground.
In a decision dated November 9, 2023, Du dismissed a motion filed by two Nevada tribes, the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony and Summit Lake Paiute Tribe, and Oregon’s Burns Paiute Tribe which claimed that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to consult with any of them regarding a parcel of land near the Nevada-Oregon border where a massacre of Native Americans occurred in 1865. Such consultations are required by the country’s National Historic Preservation Act prior to any infrastructure development on sacred land.
Du advised the tribes that they have a chance to amend their complaint should they have solid proof that the BLM did not conduct the proper consultations with them.
However, given how this is the second time that the tribes have filed a motion against the development of Thacker Pass and they have, again, failed to amend their arguments, Du expressed skepticism that they would get a favorable verdict if they tried again.
Not the First, But Possibly Not the Last
This latest ruling is just one of several that have curtailed any legal moves to stop the development of Lithium Nevada’s Thacker Pass mine.
Prior to Du’s verdict, environmental groups claimed that developing the Pass was in violation of a mining law originally passed in 1872 and that it would compromise the natural habitats of several species of native wildlife.
In their respective filings, all those who have filed a motion to stop the development of Thacker Pass claimed that the BLM rushed through the permit approval process in order to boost the United States lithium stocks to benefit firms producing batteries for electric vehicles (EVs.)
