Lithium Americas Corp. (TSX: LAC) (NYSE: LAC) ("Lithium
Americas" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the
Company has submitted a draft application to the US Department of
Energy ("
DOE”) for funding to be used at its
100%-owned Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada
(“
Thacker Pass”) through the Advanced Technologies
Vehicle Manufacturing Loan Program (the “
Loan
Program”). The Loan Program is designed to provide funding
to US companies engaged in the manufacturing of advanced technology
vehicles and components used in those vehicles.
"Thacker Pass is a
unique, large-scale and advanced-stage lithium project representing
one of the most significant opportunities to create a truly
domestic lithium supply chain to support the production of electric
vehicles in the US,” said Jonathan Evans, President and CEO. “We
are pleased to submit our draft application and look forward to
engaging with the DOE to accelerate the growth of the domestic
lithium industry in response to increased demand and interest from
US-based consumers.”
Exploring
Creation of Separate US Lithium Business
Lithium Americas
continues to make meaningful progress at its projects in both the
United States and Argentina:
-
United States: In addition to the draft
application with the DOE, the Company received all final key state
permits for Thacker Pass on February 25, 2022. Funding discussions
with a variety of strategic partners are ongoing along with the
completion of the feasibility study incorporating increased scale,
additional processing and related infrastructure changes and the
results of engineering and testing. Capital and operating cost
estimates are being updated to reflect these changes, as well as to
account for external factors such as inflationary pressures and
supply chain considerations.
-
Argentina: The Company’s Caucharí-Olaroz lithium
brine project (“Caucharí-Olaroz”) is set to
complete construction this year as the largest new battery-quality
lithium carbonate brine operation to come online in over 20 years.
The Caucharí-Olaroz expansion and the recently acquired Pastos
Grandes lithium brine project (“Pastos Grandes”)
provide further growth potential to support a regional lithium
operation in northern Argentina.
As Lithium Americas
continues to advance its projects in both regions towards
production, the Company has started the process of exploring a
separation of its US and Argentina operations, through the creation
of a standalone public company focused on the development of
Thacker Pass. The Company is assessing available alternatives and
structures to effect such separation.
“We have world-class
assets in both regions with tremendous potential,” said Mr. Evans.
“While no final decision has been made, we believe a separation
could enable each of our businesses to maximize and accelerate
their strategic objectives, with dedicated focus and increased
financial flexibility.”
Mr. Evans added,
“Thacker Pass is one of the largest-scale and most advanced
development-stage lithium projects in the US and received a Record
of Decision (“ROD”) in January 2021. The project
is aligned with the national agenda to enhance domestic supply of
critical minerals and has the potential to be a leading near-term
source of lithium for the US battery supply chain.”
No final decision has
been made with respect to any potential separation transaction. No
assurance can be given as to whether a separation transaction will
take place, the form of any such transaction or the timing of any
transaction.
ABOUT LITHIUM
AMERICAS
Lithium Americas is focused on advancing lithium
projects in Argentina and the United States to production. In
Argentina, Caucharí-Olaroz is advancing towards first production
and Pastos Grandes represents regional growth. In the United
States, Thacker Pass has received its ROD and is advancing towards
construction. The Company trades on both the Toronto Stock Exchange
and on the New York Stock Exchange, under the ticker symbol
“LAC”.
For further information contact:Investor
RelationsTelephone: 778-656-5820Email:
ir@lithiumamericas.comWebsite: www.lithiumamericas.com
CAUTIONARY
STATEMENT ON FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
Certain statements in
this release constitute “forward-looking statements” within the
meaning of applicable United States securities legislation and
“forward-looking information” under applicable Canadian securities
legislation (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Such
forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks,
uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results,
performance or achievements of the Company, its projects, or
industry results, to be materially different from any future
results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such
forward-looking statements. Such statements can be identified by
the use of words such as “may”, “would”, “could”, “will”, “intend”,
“expect”, “believe”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “estimate”, “scheduled”,
“forecast”, “predict” and other similar terminology, or state that
certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “would”, “might”
or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved. These statements reflect
the Company’s current expectations regarding future events,
financial or operating performance and results, and speak only as
of the date of this release. Such statements include without
limitation, expectations regarding the status of development of the
Company’s projects, expected production and product quality, the
outcome of the Company’s loan application filed with the DOE,
expected potential benefits of the Thacker Pass project for
creation of a battery supply chain in the United States in the
near-term, the completion of a feasibility study for the Thacker
Pass project and expected production capacity and parameters of the
study, plans for regional operations in Argentina and timing for
completion of construction of the Caucharí-Olaroz project, and
plans regarding strategic alternatives to finance the Thacker Pass
project including a potential separation or other form of
restructuring transaction involving any of the Company’s projects
and the expected benefits of any such transaction.
Forward-looking
statements involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not
be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not
necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results
will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to
differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking
statements or information, including, but not limited to, risks
associated with mining project development, achieving anticipated
milestones and budgets as planned, and meeting expected timelines;
results of the Company’s engineering, design and permitting program
at the Thacker Pass project, including the Company meeting
deadlines and receiving and maintaining permits as anticipated;
timing, results and completion of a feasibility study and to make a
construction decision for the Thacker Pass project including
capital and operating cost estimation; successful development of
the Company’s projects and ability to produce battery-grade
lithium; changes to availability of loan funding, assessment
criteria or government policies concerning the DOE loan
application; risks associated with the novel nature of the deposit
at Thacker Pass; ability to integrate the operations of Millennial
Lithium into the business of the Company and advance the
development-stage Pastos Grandes project to production;
availability of strategic alternatives to the Company and on
satisfactory terms, including market conditions being favourable
for a potential separation of any of the Company’s projects;
ability to meet stock exchange listing requirements for the Company
after any separation, and obtain any new listing for any entity
resulting from a separation; risks inherent in litigation that
could result in additional unanticipated delays or rulings that are
adverse for the Company or its projects; maintaining local
community support in the regions where the Company’s projects are
located; changing social perceptions and their impact on project
development and litigation; ongoing global supply chain disruptions
and their impact on developing the Company’s projects; availability
of personnel, supplies and equipment; the impact of inflation on
the Company, its projects and their economic feasibility;
expectations and anticipated impact of COVID-19 on the Company and
its mineral properties; unanticipated changes in market price for
the Company’s shares; changes to Lithium Americas’ current and
future business plans and the strategic alternatives available to
Lithium Americas; changes in government policies and priorities;
stock market conditions generally; demand, supply and pricing for
lithium; and general economic and political conditions in Canada,
the United States, Argentina and other jurisdictions where Lithium
Americas conducts business. Additional information about these
assumptions and risks and uncertainties is contained in the
Company’s filings with securities regulators, including the
Company’s most recent annual information form and most recent
management’s discussion and analysis for the Company’s most
recently completed financial year and interim financial period,
which are available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and EDGAR at
www.sec.gov.
Although the
forward-looking statements contained in this release are based upon
what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions,
there can be no assurance that actual results will be consistent
with these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are made as of the date of this release and are
expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement.
Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume
any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements
contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after
the date of this release.
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