CB&I (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.cbi.com) recently announced it has been awarded a large ($50-$100 million) contract by Lithium Nevada LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Lithium Americas Corp. (Vancouver, B.C.; www.lithiumamericas.com), to execute the engineering, procurement, fabrication, and construction (EPFC) of 36 flat-bottom atmospheric tanks at Thacker Pass.
Thacker Pass, located in northern Nevada’s Humboldt County, is the world’s largest known measured lithium resource (measured and indicated) and reserve (proven and probable). The Project is managed by engineering, procurement and construction management (EPCM) contractor, Bechtel. As demand for lithium is expected to increase over the next decade, Thacker Pass will play a vital role in reducing U.S. reliance on foreign critical minerals and creating a secure domestic lithium battery supply chain.
“We are proud to support Lithium Nevada and Bechtel in delivering a lithium project of national significance,” said Mark Butts, CB&I President and CEO. “Thacker Pass will help enable a U.S. supply of lithium and create well-paying jobs during construction and operations. Our team is honored to contribute CB&I’s legacy of tank engineering and construction excellence to this important project.”
The atmospheric storage tanks produced by CB&I for the Thacker Pass lithium mine will store various process solutions, chemicals, and products that are used during the multiple stages of purification to extract lithium from clay deposits. These tanks, designed to meet stringent environmental, seismic, and safety requirements, will be constructed using CB&I’s proprietary field construction methods and state-of-the-art fabrication capabilities.
“CB&I’s expertise in large-scale storage infrastructure for complex industrial processes that require precise specifications and reliability makes them a great fit for Thacker Pass,” said Richard Gerspacher, Lithium Americas Executive Vice President, Capital Projects. “CB&I’s proven track record, global expertise, and experience with industrial storage solutions makes them an ideal partner for this critical infrastructure component to support North America’s largest lithium mining project.”
“CB&I is an example of the industry-leading contractors and suppliers that have joined the team delivering Thacker Pass,” said Bechtel Deputy Project Director, Dan Dawson. “We welcome them to the project and look forward to seeing the tanks take shape as the plant comes together.”
CB&I is the world’s leading designer and builder of storage facilities, tanks, and terminals.