The U.S. government will own part of the company developing Nevada’s Thacker Pass lithium mine as part of a deal the Trump administration announced Tuesday to release a previously approved federal loan to the group.

The agreement states the U.S. government will take a 5 percent stake directly in the Thacker Pass project and a 5 percent stake in project developer Lithium Americas in exchange for releasing the initial $435 million of a $2.23 billion loan intended to accelerate development of what will eventually be the world’s largest lithium mine. State officials believe lithium, a metal used in the batteries for electric vehicles, is crucial to diversifying the state’s economy, with Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo going so far as to call it “economic salvation” for Nevada.

“Today’s announcement helps reduce our dependence on foreign adversaries for critical minerals by strengthening domestic supply chains and ensures better stewardship of American taxpayer dollars,” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement. “President Trump promised to do both and he is delivering.”

In a statement Tuesday, Lithium Americas President and CEO Jonathan Evans said the partnership is “strengthening America’s supply chain, creating exceptional jobs and enhancing our long-term energy security and prosperity.”

The deal caps a hectic couple of weeks for Lithium Americas, which would have had to secure alternative financing without the loan. News emerged earlier this month that the Energy Department was questioning the viability of the loan, which the Biden administration approved last year. As part of the negotiations to secure the loan, the Trump administration initially eyed an equity stake of up to 10 percent of Lithium Americas and other financial stipulations.

It marks the Trump administration’s latest direct involvement in private companies’ operations. The administration recently struck deals that will give the U.S. government a 10 percent stake in Intel and 15 percent of revenue of chip sales to China from Nvidia and AMD.

Asked on Wednesday about when the Trump administration deems it appropriate to seek equity stake in companies, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the arrangements a “creative solution … to tackle our nation’s crippling debt crisis” and that Trump “is focused on how can the United States government make more money.”

The value of the loan decreased from $2.26 billion to $2.23 billion because of projected lower interest rates, Lithium Americas said in its Tuesday press release. As part of the agreement, Lithium Americas will fund an Energy Department loan account with $120 million.

There was also a dispute surrounding General Motors’ purchase of lithium from the Thacker Pass mine. GM, which has already invested nearly $1 billion into the project, rebuffed efforts from the Trump administration to require the company to buy lithium regardless of market conditions. The updated deal allows Lithium Americas to sell lithium to other parties.

“We’re confident in the Thacker Pass project, which will reduce U.S. dependence on imported lithium and can support domestic manufacturing across many industries,” Shilpan Amin, a senior vice president for GM, said in a statement.

U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV), the state’s only Republican member of Congress and the representative of the region where the mine is located, previously told The Nevada Independent that he would support an equity stake deal if it was the only way to keep the project alive.

Thacker Pass, located in rural Humboldt County near the Oregon border, is the world’s largest known lithium reserve, with enough metal to build 1 million electric vehicles every year. It has emerged as the center of Nevada’s efforts to create a “lithium loop” in the state — a closed cycle to mine, process, produce and recycle lithium-ion batteries. 

The federal government approved permits for the mine in the final days of Trump’s administration in 2021. About two years later, project construction began, and it has accelerated this year.

The project has not been without controversy. It survived a lawsuit from tribes and environmental groups to halt construction on the project, and a settlement was reached in August with a rancher who argued the mine would harm his operations.

Still, the project has received wide support across the political spectrum as Nevada aims to move away from its tourism-dependent economy. A study last year from UNR found that the mine could generate more than $1 billion in annual economic activity for the state and Humboldt County, which would also see more than 2,400 new jobs. 

Updated on 10/1/25 at 8:05 a.m. to include more details about the agreement and at 11:08 a.m. to include comments from the White House press secretary.