Shares of Lithium Americas Corp. surged over 15% on October 28th after the company announced the closing of a $2.26 billion loan from the U.S. Department of Energy to fund the construction of its large Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada.
The loan from the DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing program will finance the initial 40,000 tonnes per annum lithium carbonate production phase at Thacker Pass. This phase is expected to create around 1,800 construction jobs over three years and 360 full-time operational roles.
Lithium Americas also revealed an agreement with General Motors to establish a joint venture, wherein GM will acquire a 38% stake in Thacker Pass for $625 million. The automaker will have exclusive rights to a significant portion of the lithium output to support its electric vehicle production.