Trident Royalties PLC (AIM:TRR) has welcomed the involvement of US carmaker General Motors Company (NYSE:GM) (GM) in the Thacker Pass lithium development in Nevada.
GM has said it will invest US$650mln into the project to develop it with operator Lithium Americas Corp (TSX:LAC, NYSE:LAC).
Trident, which has a 60% interest in a gross royalty over the project, said it is the largest investment anywhere yet by a car maker in battery metals mining.
GM has also entered into a 10-year offtake agreement, to purchase the phase 1 production from Thacker Pass, which Lithium Americas estimates when fully running will be able to support the production of one million electric cars a year.
At a current lithium spot price of approximately US$66,000 per tonne LCE, once at full production, the (post-buyback) royalty would generate over US$55mln per year for Trident, the UK-listed company said.
GM made its announcement ahead of a final decision by a Federal judge on whether the site can be developed after environmental and wildlife damage objections
A legal decision is expected in the "coming months", Trident reiterated today.
Adam Davidson, Trident’s chief executive, added: "Thacker Pass is an asset with significant strategic importance in the context of the United States' transition to carbon net zero.
"We are encouraged that its status as such has been recognised by General Motors in the largest-ever investment by an automaker securing battery raw metals.
"For Trident, Thacker Pass is expected to become an important component in our expanding revenue-generative royalty portfolio as LAC advances towards phase 1 production of 40,000tpa in H2 2026.”