The Biden administration and Lithium Americas Corp. are negotiating the terms of an agreement that would fund more than half of the cost of the Thacker Pass mine.
The collaboration will aim to increase Fortune's cobalt and bismuth refining operations to process co-product streams of the minerals recovered from the Kennecott smelter.
US Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said the world is up against a dominant supplier of critical minerals willing to exploit its position for political gain.