JUDGE HEARS FIGHT OVER LITHIUM MINE ON NEVADA OREGON LINE

Conservationists suing a federal agency over approval of a mine at the largest known U.S. deposit of lithium urged a judge to issue a temporary restraining order blocking excavations they say would disturb sacred tribal burial grounds near the Nevada-Oregon line.

Overshadowed by conflict at a lithium mine planned north of Las Vegas where the government intends to declare a rare wildflower threatened or endangered, Lithium Nevada Corp.’s proposed Thacker Pass mine is emerging as a potentially bigger battleground in the debate over environmental trade-offs tied to President Joe Biden’s push for renewable energy.

Lithium is a key component in electric vehicle batteries.

Lawyers for the mine, the Bureau of Land Management and four conservation groups opened their arguments Wednesday morning before U.S. District Judge Miranda Du in Reno as protesters rallied outside.

The critics say the federal agency violated environmental laws in a December rush to approve the mine in the final days of the Trump administration.