** U.S.-listed shares of Lithium Americas LAC.TO, LAC.N rise 3.5% to $2.94 premarket

** Company after market hours on Wednesday announced Orion Resource Partners to invest $250 mln for Phase 1 of Thacker Pass lithium project in Humboldt County, Nevada

** Mine is slated to open in four phases, with the first coming online in late 2027 and targeting annual production of 40,000 metric tons per year, enough for up to 800,000 EVs

** Orion to initially invest through convertible notes, a production payment agreement and delayed draw notes

** Orion has agreed, on a non-binding basis, to also potentially offer $500 million of financing for the construction and development of Phase 2 of Thacker Pass

** Initial investment from Orion helps mine achieve fully funded status

** Investment also satisfies requirements from the U.S. Department of Energy and General Motors Holdings under the previously announced $2.26 billion loan from the DOE

** Up to last close, LAC down 4.4% YTD

(Reporting by Seher Dareen in Bengaluru)

((Seher.Dareen@thomsonreuters.com;))