Presentation short abstract

This presentation explores the social engineering of the Thacker Pass lithium mine on unceded northern Paiute (Numu/Nuwu), Shoshone (Newe) land in north-central Nevada, USA.

Presentation long abstract

Governments are expanding national and international efforts for mining critical raw materials. Justified in the name of mineral supply-chain security, military equipment, digital and purportedly ‘green’ technologies, this presentation explores the Thacker Pass lithium mine on unceded northern Paiute (Numu/Nuwu), Shoshone (Newe) land in north-central Nevada, USA. Approving the Thacker Pass lithium mine and processing facility, the mine operator, Lithium Americas (LAC), explicitly confronted ‘social engineering challenges’ in establishing their operations. This research draws on 30 semi-structured interviews, 11 informal interviews and a focus group. This presentation details the social engineering of the Thacker Pass mine, revealing government support, corporate science, green washing, public relations, information control and repression to begin the construction of the Thacker Pass mine. This demonstrates questionable state-corporate-legal conduct, manipulative scientific and employment claims to promote llithium mining alongside great socioecological risks. Lithium mining is placing greater stress on biodiversity, air, water and local Indigenous and ranching populations. The Thacker Pass (and neighbouring) lithium mine(s) further aggravates cultural, ecological agrarian issues, and, considering long-term US government assimilation practices, we argue the mine continues the genocidal/ecocidal colonial process. Locating, and effectively fighting this colonial process, we show remains challenging and conflictive on the cultural, ecological and economic level.