PROJECT WEBSITE: Silver Peak Lithium Mine Amendment to Plan of Operations

All dates below are specific to the schedule of the Environmental Review and Permitting processes for this project.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING STATUS
IN PROGRESS

ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING
02/27/2026

0 out of 2

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND PERMITTING PROCESSES
COMPLETED

SECTOR
Mining

CATEGORY
Project Category FAST-41 Transparency Projects

LEAD AGENCY
Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management

Description:

Reconcile existing activities and expand operations of the active lithium mine.

Albemarle U.S., Inc. (Albemarle), the owner and operator of the Silver Peak Lithium Operation (SPLO), filed a Proposed Action to reconcile existing disturbance that has not been formally authorized and further expand the operation at their facility in Esmeralda County, Nevada.  The Proposed Action includes the reconciliation of existing but previously unauthorized disturbance (reconciliation areas) contributes 938 acres of disturbance (168 acres of private land, 770 acres of public land) and includes:
•    Impoundments (18S and 18N);
•    A transfer pump station and additional piping infrastructure (16S-18S);
•    A 1.6-mile-long conveyance trench (13-9W).

The facilities that would be included in the proposed expansion will allow operational flexibility and will contribute 658 acres of disturbance (375 acres of private land, 283 acres of public land) and includes:
•    New strong brine complex;
•    Two transfer pump stations and related pipelines (1 Pond, 2W, 3W, 4W, 5W, 6W, and 7 Pond);
•    Two weak brine ponds (12W and 13N);
•    Future production well drilling.
The mine life and annual production of lithium will not be modified with this action.

The Proposed Action would allow for operational efficiencies and flexibility of the existing operations. The reserves documented at the SPLO indicate the operations would continue for 30 years with or without this Project.

The Proposed Action and No Action Alternative are consistent with the BLM’s Tonopah Resource Management Plan (RMP) Record of Decision (ROD), dated October 1997 (BLM 1997).

The SPLO has been operating its lithium extraction operation since the 1960s. Since the operations began, lithium has been recognized as a critical mineral due to the need for lithium-ion batteries to combat climate change with electric vehicle production and other uses (USGS 2021, 2022). The Project currently provides the only operational domestic production of lithium, making it an important contributor to meet U.S. lithium demand.

This project is posted in the interest of transparency and response to Executive Order 14241.