Lithium Americas provides $1.6 billion capex guidance for Thacker Pass

Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE: LAC) announced capital expenditure guidance of $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion for 2026 related to its Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada.

The company reported that construction at Phase 1 of Thacker Pass continues with approximately 950 personnel on site as of December 31, 2025, including 740 manual craft workers and 210 additional site workers. The workforce is expected to reach approximately 1,800 at peak construction in 2026.

The 2026 capital expenditure breakdown includes $1.2 billion to $1.5 billion for Phase 1 construction costs, $30 million to $40 million for other capitalized development costs, and $45 million to $55 million for capitalized interest on the Department of Energy loan.

Construction progress includes 93% completion of detailed engineering design and 60% completion of procurement as of December 31, 2025. Foundation, rebar and concrete work continues at multiple processing plant facilities, while structural steel installation progresses at the Filter Building, Magnesium Sulfate Building and Liquid Sulfur Tanks.

The company completed 1.69 million work hours in 2025 without a serious injury or lost-time incident, achieving a total recordable incident frequency rate of 0.21.

Expected 2026 milestones include delivery of major equipment including the steam turbine generator and sulfuric acid plant components in the first half of the year. All main concrete work is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2026, with early commissioning of individual plants beginning in the fourth quarter.

The Operations and Business Readiness team grew to 25 employees as of December 31, 2025, with additional hiring planned throughout 2026 in preparation for commissioning activities.

The Workforce Hub became partially operational in September 2025 and housed nearly 700 residents as of February 13, 2026. The company targets mechanical completion of the Phase 1 processing plant in late 2027.

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