by Tova Gaster, the Energy Mix

Three lithium mines in Nevada, two of them Canadian-owned, violate Indigenous rights and international law, according to Amnesty International research published May 12.

The report investigates three mines: Thacker Pass (being developed by a U.S. subsidiary of Canadian company Lithium Americas Corp. and General Motors), Nevada North (being developed by Canadian company Surge Battery Metals Inc. with an Australian partner), and Rhyolite Ridge Lithium‑Boron Project (being developed by Australian company Ioneer Ltd.). The first is currently under construction, while the other two are still in exploratory phases.

Amnesty investigators found that the owners never consulted with or gained Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) from the Indigenous communities on whose traditional territories the mines are located. FPIC is required under the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), which both the U.S. and Canada have committed to but have not enshrined in federal law.

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