Lithium Americas shares nearly double on Trump government stake news
Lithium Americas president and CEO Jonathan Evans discusses the increased investment in the company’s Thacker Pass mine in Nevada on ‘The Bottom Line.’
Lithium Americas stock surged on Wednesday following a report that the Trump administration is pursuing a 10% stake in the mining firm as the White House looks to intervene in industries deemed critical to national security.
A source familiar with the negotiations told FOX Business that Lithium Americas has agreed to allow the Trump administration to take a small stake of less than 10% in the company as it renegotiates a $2.26 billion Department of Energy (DOE) loan that dates back to the Biden administration.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAC | LITHIUM ARGENTINA | 6.01 | +2.94 | +95.77% |
| GM | GENERAL MOTORS CO. | 59.90 | +1.31 | +2.24% |
General Motors (GM) holds a 38% stake in Lithium Americas and negotiations are ongoing over whether the company will agree to the U.S. government’s share, according to the source.
Exchange-traded funds that track lithium were active on Wednesday.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LIT | GLOBAL X LITHIUM AND BATTERY TECH ETF – USD DIS | 55.21 | +2.13 | +4.02% |
| ILIT | ISHARES TRUST LITHIUM MINERS & PRODUCERS | 11.66 | +0.90 | +8.33% |
| LITP | SPROTT FUNDS TRUST LITHIUM MINERS ETF | 8.80 | +0.78 | +9.76% |
| LIMI | THEMES ETF TRUST LITHIUM AND BATTERY METAL M | 35.49 | +2.16 | +6.47% |
| ION | PROSHARES TRUST S&P GLOBAL CORE BATTERY MET | 36.61 | +0.94 | +2.62% |
Lithium Americas is developing Thacker Pass in Humboldt County of northern Nevada, the site of the largest known measured lithium resource and reserve in the world. The project is moving toward Phase 1 of production, with a goal of 40,000 tons per year of battery-quality lithium carbonate, such as what is used in electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
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Lithium Americas plans to extract lithium at the Thacker Pass project in Nevada. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via / Getty Images)
The company’s Biden-era loan contained conditions that the firm would have to meet, but it was unable to satisfy those and spurred negotiations with the DOE about restructuring the loan.
Under the proposed new terms of the loan, Lithium Americas wants to delay the first payments on the loan to later years while the DOE’s stake would represent the interest of American taxpayers providing the $2.26 billion loan.
Lithium Americas released a statement on Wednesday that discussed the status of negotiations with the DOE and its joint venture partner GM about the first draw of the loan and related conditions.
The clay mixture from which lithium will be extracted is held by a Lithium Americas spokesman. (Carolyn Cole/Los Angeles Times via / Getty Images)
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