9th Circuit denies emergency bid to halt Nevada lithium mine

By SCOTT SONNER
Associated Press

RENO, Nev. (AP) — A federal appeals court has cleared the way for the highly-contested construction in Nevada of what will be the largest lithium mine planned in the U.S. The court is allowing construction while it considers whether the government illegally approved the mine in a rush to produce raw materials for electric vehicle batteries. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied the request from environmentalists and tribes to stop a subsidiary of Lithium Americas from breaking ground this week near the Oregon line. The company and the Biden administration said further delay was undermining efforts to combat climate change as the 2-year-old legal battle lingers.