Judge refuses to block digging at lithium mine on Nevada-Oregon line

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal judge has denied environmentalists' request for a court order temporarily blocking the government from digging trenches for archaeological surveys at a lithium mine planned near the Nevada-Oregon line.

The proposed Thacker Pass mine is home to the biggest known U.S. deposit of lithium.

U.S. District Judge Miranda Du said in a ruling late Friday in Reno that four conservation groups failed to prove the trenches across a total of one-quarter acre would cause irreparable harm to sage grouse habitat.

She plans to decide later this week whether a Nevada tribe can seek a similar injunction based on claims the digging would disturb sacred burial grounds.

Du emphasized she has placed the overall case on an expedited schedule and intends to issue a ruling on the merits by early next year. She noted any construction of the mine itself is unlikely to begin before the snow melts in the spring of 2022.

Read more at: https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-government-and-politics-business-environment-and-nature-688b60947d2773c92328ec1c00fe3373