(Bloomberg) — A dispute between two mining firms has cast uncertainty on a Canadian pension fund’s bid to invest in one of the world’s largest lithium projects.
Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan was nearing a deal to buy a bundle of battery metals royalties from New York-based Orion Resource Partners that includes a royalty on future revenues from the Thacker Pass lithium project in Nevada, according to people familiar with the matter.
That deal is now on hold over a recent court decision that awarded the rights to a portion of Orion’s Thacker Pass stake to competing firm Lithium Royalty Corp, said the people, who asked not to be named while discussing confidential information. Ontario Teachers’ declined to comment. Orion did not respond to requests for comment.
The dispute over the Thacker Pass stake comes at a time when the project has become an integral piece of the US administration’s efforts to build a domestic supply chain for electric vehicles and cleaner energy products.
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