The Trump administration is reportedly seeking an equity stake in Lithium Americas as it renegotiates the terms of a loan issued last year by the Biden administration for a major lithium mining project.
Reuters reported on Tuesday that federal officials are seeking a 10% stake in Lithium Americas and talks are reportedly ongoing regarding specifics of the deal.
“We’re still discussing all those details and don’t have anything to disclose — yet,” Lithium Americas spokesperson Tim Crowley told The Hill.
Last year, the Biden Energy Department announced that it would issue a $2.26 billion loan to Lithium Americas for its Thacker Pass lithium mine project with General Motors, which was approved by President Donald Trump at the end of his first term.
An official told The Hill that the Trump administration’s request for an equity stake came during recent discussions over the loan’s repayment schedule. According to Reuters, the loan has a 24-year term, with interest rates based on the U.S. Treasury rate as the company draws on each installment.
Sources told Reuters that Lithium Americas was scheduled to make its first draw on the loan earlier this month, but Trump officials had concerns about the company’s ability to make repayment amid low lithium prices and sought to renegotiate the terms.
In a press release, Lithium Americas confirmed that it is in discussions with the Energy Department and General Motors and said the “topics of these discussions include certain conditions precedent to draw on” the federal loan “and associated loan specifics, as well as incremental requests from the” Energy Department “for potential further conditions to first draw and/or potential amendments” to the loan documents.
The move is the Trump administration’s latest attempt to intervene directly into an American company it deems critical to national security interests, having previously taken stakes in Intel and MP Materials.
When it opens in 2028, Thacker Pass will become the Western Hemisphere’s largest source of lithium. The mine, which is located approximately 25 miles south of Nevada’s border with Oregon, has been under construction for almost a year.
It is seen as the cornerstone to reducing the U.S. reliance on China and building a domestic supply chain of lithium, a metal which is used to make batteries for electronics, including electric vehicles.
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