New lithium tech center showcases sustainable business practices

President of North American Operations for Lithium Americas Alexi Zawadzki, far left, gave Ft. McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe members, from right, Kyle Crutcher, Cauy Crutcher, Ario Crutcher and Rick Crutcher a tour of the Technical Center.

“It’s really important that people understand what we are doing with our waste products,” said Zawadzki.

The waste produced from the mining process — like Epsom salt, from magnesium, and neutral clay — can be touched with bare hands, and were by many of the guests at the opening. Even while machines were operating with materials inside of them, technicians and patrons need only wear plastic safety glasses. The non-lithium bearing clay, made of a sandy-silt material, is packed tightly into flat, square bricks, removing much of the water that is initially used to scrub unsought minerals from the lithium-bearing materials by the end of the process. The bricks are easily stored and then can be settled into mounds and used for back-fill upon reclamation. Lithium Americas is still exploring how to recycle the Epsom salt, according to officials.

The Thacker Pass site also will house its own sulfuric acid plant, according to Zawadzki, for leaching and neutralizing, an important step in making sure the lithium that is yielded is pure. The plant will convert sulfur, which is much safer to haul and store than sulfuric acid, into sulfuric acid on site, removing risks during transportation and handling.

“Building a sulfuric acid plant on site reduces the number of trucks on the road as each ton of sulfur can create three tons of sulfuric acid, and sulfur is much safer to transport. The production of sulfuric acid also produces steam which we will use to generate carbon-free power for the processing plant,” according to Lithium Americas.

Julia Maestrejuan/Nevada News Group
Brian Sandoval, president of the University of Nevada, front left, Jonathan Evans, CEO of Lithium Nevada, Gov. Steve Sisolak, Littlestar Abel, member of the Ft. McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe, Maria Anderson, manager of community relations for Lithium Nevada and other members of the Ft. McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe cut the ribbon in celebration of the opening of the new Lithium Technology Center on July 20 in Reno. 

The materials go through other scrubbing, filtration and purification processes, forging sustainable energy from steam and water that is recycled more than seven times throughout the process. At the end, the white-powdery lithium substance is tested in parts per million for impurity detection, by expert procedures in the state-of-the-art lab.

Zawadzki said the filtration processes to reuse water and create environmentally neutral waste products is pricey, but is important to Lithium Americas’ work to minimize its environmental footprint, which exceeds regulatory requirements.

“We’re still improving,” said Zawadzki.

“Through the technological expertise of Lithium Americas and the research capacity of University of Nevada, Reno, the Lithium Technical Development Center being commissioned today is a shining example of the productive public-private partnerships that we are fostering across the state to power economic growth and responsible use of resources,” Sisolak said. “This is a fantastic achievement for all involved that puts Nevada firmly at the center of the U.S.’s clean energy leadership.”

“The determination that Lithium Americas has shown to not only build a strong U.S. battery industry but train the next pioneers in this space will pay dividends to Nevada, ensuring that we can continue to set and achieve ambitious goals,” Sandoval said.