Lithium Americas raises Thacker Pass cost estimate by 31% to $3.83bn

Lithium Americas on Wednesday increased its cost estimate for its flagship Thacker Pass lithium project to $3.83 billion, an increase of 31 per cent, the company said, giving higher labour, ⁠construction and logistics costs as reasons.

The company said the revised budget adds $895 million in capital costs and raises the Nevada-based project's funding requirements by about $995 million. It said it expects the additional funds to be met through company contributions and available loan reserves from the US Energy Department.

The company's shares plunged more 8 per cent during Wednesday trading.

Lithium Americas chief executive Jonathan Evans said Phase 1 construction on the project is planned for late 2027, increasing throughout 2028.

“Despite external and internal factors impacting the project’s capital cost estimate, the anticipated capital cost for Thacker Pass is expected to remain funded as we continue to deliver on our execution plan and bring the project safely into production,” Mr Evans said in a statement.

Show caption: The clay mixture from which lithium will be extracted is hel…

The Canada-based company said labour installation rates for piping, steel and equipment accounted for $245 million of the increase, with tariffs and logistics adding a further $100 million. Logistics costs have been heavily affected by rising fuel prices, challenges to global and national shipping conditions and reduction in the availability of US fabrication.

The Thacker Pass mine, a joint venture with General Motors, is one of the largest known lithium deposits in the US. Lithium Americas said it expects Thacker Pass to produce 40,000 tonnes a year of battery-quality lithium carbonate when at full capacity. Lithium carbonate is critical for electric vehicles.

Total global demand for rechargeable chemical batteries is expected to more than quadruple from 2023 levels by 2030, according to an analysis from the Centre for Strategic and International Studies.

The Silver Peak Lithium Mine is the only active, commercial-producing lithium mine in the US and generates about 1 per cent of global production.

“Thacker Pass is essential to America's economic and national security, and we are committed to delivering it,” Mr Evans said.

However, the project's rising estimated costs expose the challenges of establishing a US supply chain.

Mining is mainly concentrated in Australia, Chile and China, which together account for 90 per cent of production, according to an analysis from Columbia's Centre on Global Energy Policy. And about 65 per cent of global lithium processing is done in China, making it the dominant player.

In September 2025, the Energy Department took a 5 per cent equity stake in Lithium Americas and another 5 per cent ownership in the form of warrants in the Thacker Pass joint venture, restructuring a multibillion-dollar loan that the department said would help to solidify the launch of the only US-based source of lithium carbonate.

Mr Evans said on a panel at Future Initiative Investment's Miami summit in March that Lithium Americas is "very fortunate to have the us government as a big backstop", adding the US has been losing the critical minerals race "for a long time".

US President Donald Trump's administration has taken equity stakes in other mining companies including MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Vulcan Elements and Trilogy Metals as part of its multibillion-dollar push for self-reliance on critical minerals. The administration is also backing a project from Korea Zinc in Tennessee.

It has also been looking to diversify the critical minerals supply chain through diplomatic channels, including through the Quad and G7 memberships.

The US and Saudi Arabia last year announced a framework for co-operation on securing uranium, metals, permanent magnets and the critical minerals supply chain during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to Washington. The mining agreement is intended to help support two-way investment in minerals.

And the Defence Department, through its partnership with MP Materials, announced that it would finance a 49 per cent equity stake in a new rare earth minerals refinery in the kingdom through a joint venture with Maaden.