An effort by a coalition of conservationists and tribal leaders to block the construction of a lithium mine along the Nevada-Oregon border was denied by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on July 17. In its decision Monday (pdf), a three-panel judge of the San Francisco-based appellate ruled that the U.S. government did not…

Located within an extinct supervolcano, the Thacker Pass lithium deposit is the largest known lithium resource in the United States. And once Lithium Nevada gets its open-pit mine up and running, it’s expected to net billions in revenue and millions in tax generation. It will also destroy Peehee Mu’huh, a sacred site for the Fort McDermitt Tribe,…