Lithium was already a strange market; now it is a guinea pig

Its global market may get even more state-led if Trump gets his way

- LIAM DENNING

China dominates lithium but Trump is backing US production.

(ISTOCKPHOTO)

Ever the financial innovator, US President Donald Trump seems to be crafting a whole new type of convertible debt. Lithium Americas, which is developing a mine atop the biggest lithium deposit in the US, is the guinea pig. By extension, a grand experiment may be about to begin in the already weird lithium market.

Towards the end of former President Joe Biden’s term, Lithium Americas received a $2.3 billion loan commitment from the Department of Energy to fund the majority of developing the first phase of its Thacker Pass project in Nevada. At the same time, General Motors (GM) took a stake in the project (having already takena direct equity stake in Lithium Americas) and expanded an offtake agreement for the mine's output. This fit with Biden’s push to reshore critical mineral supply chains ceded to China and encourage domestic battery and electric vehicle production.