LAC:CC - Lithium Americas drops 10% after confirming Thacker Pass hearing next year (update)

Update 12:30pm: Adds comment from Canaccord analyst.

Lithium Americas ( NYSE: LAC ) declined 10% after a 3.5% drop on Thursday after it confirmed on Friday that a federal judge set a January hearing date for the Thacker Pass lithium mine in Nevada, likely disappointing investors looking for an earlier outcome.

Judge Miranda Du set Jan. 5 for an oral hearing on an appeal of the issuance of the Record of Decision for the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada, the company confirmed in a statement.

The hearing date is an important one as Lithium Americas ( LAC ) wants to be able to start its mining/refining operation at Thacker Pass sooner rather than later. Lithium Americas ( LAC ) was targeting "early works" construction at Thacker Pass for this year, according to a slide deck from late June.

"With all state and federal permits received to begin construction, the ruling on Thacker Pass’ ROD represents the final regulatory hurdle to move forward the largest and most advanced lithium chemicals project in the US,” Jonathan Evans, President and CEO of Lithium Americas ( LAC ) said in the statement.

Recall in September, the same judge denied a request from a few Native American tribes on a preliminary injunction for the Thacker Pass lithium mine. Last July Du also ruled that LAC may conduct excavation work at its Thacker Pass lithium mine site in Nevada, denying a request from environmentalists who said the work could harm sage grouse and other wildlife.

"The hearing being scheduled for early January, in our view, represents another unfortunate setback in project timelines," Canaccord analyst Katie Lachapelle, who has a speculative buy rating and C$50.50 price target on LAC, wrote in a note on Thursday. "We expect this outcome to further delay the advancement and completion of ongoing strategic partnership discussions, financing (potential receipt of DOE ATVM loan), and the commencement of construction."

Piper Sandler analyst Charles Neivert wrote in a note on Sept. 19 that its "imperative to the company’s valuation that Thacker Pass get the lawsuit behind it and begin construction of the mine. Moving the start date as little as 1 year forward or backward can impact valuation by as much as $7 or $10/share."

Lithium Americas ( LAC ) short interest is 9.4%.

Also see SA contributor Michael Wiggins De Oliveira's piece from last month entitled "Lithium Americas: Now Becoming More Than A Story Stock."

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