In the middle of nowhere :: in the center of everything. The caldera of a dormant volcano sliced by the 42nd parallel geo-linear imagining creating the political and determined boundary of Oregon and Nevada. An ancient Yellowstone hotspot, a volcanic basin, rich in minerals. Critical Elements in our abundant and extractive era of Supermodernity. Yes, Our.
“The proposed project consists of an open pit lithium mine, processing facilities, and continued exploration of adjacent lands located in northern Humboldt County, Nevada, 53 miles northwest of Winnemucca, and 20 miles south of the Oregon border. The proposed project will have a life expectancy of approximately 41 years.” BLM’s Final Environmental Impact Statement for Thacker Pass Lithium Mine [1]
This story, way complex for me to recite or conjure. What I will do: list access points, as outline historic and contemporary. Pieces fall as they will, with curious Back to the Future oscillations. (Elon Musk! casting his everywhere shadow, and Alice! ever in Wonderland.) One can enter at any node; exit through any one of a generous number of portals. Yes, Our Back pressed-forward to the Future.
THE OVERVIEW/S
Wikipedia!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thacker_Pass_lithium_deposit
Nevada's Vast Stores Of Lithium Could Fuel The Energy Transition. But At What Cost? December 2020 (KUNR is Northern Nevada’s public radio station.)
https://www.kunr.org/post/nevadas-vast-stores-lithium-could-fuel-energy-transition-what-cost
THE BLM
Humboldt River Field Office BLM issues a Record of Decision for the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine, January 15, 2021. (Noting: Five days before Joe Biden took office as President USA)
[1] The Thacker Pass Lithium Mine Record of Decision on the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ePlanning website:
https://eplanning.blm.gov/eplanning-ui/project/1503166/510
THE PROTEST
Protect Thacker Pass:
https://www.protectthackerpass.org/
Excellent historical context:
https://www.protectthackerpass.org/the-history-of-thacker-pass/
Poison (March 2021):
THE TRIBE
Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribes of the Fort McDermitt Indian Reservation, Nevada and Oregon
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_McDermitt_Paiute_and_Shoshone_Tribe
Nevada lithium mine kicks off a new era of Western extraction: The hastily approved project went forward without comment from the Fort McDermitt Paiute Shoshone Tribe. February 2021 (High Country News)
Indigenous voice: Myron Smart, a descendant of the Fort McDermitt Paiute-Shoshone Tribe:
https://www.protectthackerpass.org/myron-smart-and-will-falk-on-first-voices-indigenous-radio/
THE CORPORATIONS
Lithium Americas
https://www.lithiumamericas.com/thacker-pass/
“In 2014, Panasonic and Tesla partnered to build Giga Nevada, the world’s largest lithium-ion battery factory.” Four Companies Leading the Rise of Lithium & Battery Technology, December 2020:
https://www.globalxetfs.com/four-companies-leading-the-rise-of-lithium-battery-technology/
Giga Nevada:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giga_Nevada
THE SCIENCE
LITHIUM U.S. Geological Survey, Mineral Commodity Summaries, January 2021
https://pubs.usgs.gov/periodicals/mcs2021/mcs2021-lithium.pdf
Lithium: Critical Mineral Resources of the United States—Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply
https://pubs.er.usgs.gov/publication/pp1802K
Lithium-Rich Claystone in the McDermitt Caldera, Nevada, USA: Geologic, Mineralogical, and Geochemical Characteristics and Possible Origin. 2020
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-163X/10/1/68
THE NOTE
Over several years I've explored petroglyph places northeast of the caldera, east of Highway 95. This country, traversed and occupied for thousands of years. Owyhee Canyonlands:
https://wildowyhee.org/rock-art-in-the-owyhee/
