{"id":25639,"date":"2023-06-23T17:44:47","date_gmt":"2023-06-23T17:44:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/06\/23\/nasa-opposes-lithium-mine-at-nevada-site-used-to-calibrate-satellites\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:06:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:06:25","slug":"nasa-opposes-lithium-mine-at-nevada-site-used-to-calibrate-satellites","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/federal-oversight\/2023\/06\/23\/nasa-opposes-lithium-mine-at-nevada-site-used-to-calibrate-satellites\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA opposes lithium mine at Nevada site used to calibrate satellites"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Environmentalists, tribal leaders and others have fought for years against lithium mining ventures in Nevada. Yet opposition to mining one particular desert tract for the silvery white metal used in electric car batteries is coming from unusual quarters: space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">An ancient Nevada lakebed beckons as a vast source of the coveted element needed to produce cleaner electric energy and fight global warming. But NASA says the same site \u2014 flat as a tabletop and undisturbed like none other in the Western Hemisphere \u2014 is indispensable for calibrating the razor-sharp measurements of hundreds of satellites orbiting overhead.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/space\/2023\/06\/01\/pentagon-confirms-spacex-deal-for-ukraine-starlink-services\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"201\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/635575232590175335-494548555jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Pentagon confirms SpaceX deal for Ukraine Starlink services<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">U.S. officials did not disclose details of the deal \u2014 including cost, contract timing or the length of service \u2014 citing operational security concerns.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">At the space agency\u2019s request, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management agreed to withdraw 36 square miles (92 square kilometers) of the eastern Nevada terrain from its inventory of federal lands open to potential mineral exploration and mining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">NASA says the long, flat piece of land above the untapped lithium deposit in Nevada\u2019s Railroad Valley has been used for nearly three decades to get measurements just right to keep satellites and their applications functioning properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNo other location in the United States is suitable for this purpose,\u201d the Bureau of Land Management concluded in April after receiving NASA\u2019s input on the tract 250 miles (400 kilometers) northeast of Las Vegas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The bureau has spent nearly three years fighting mining challenges of all sorts from conservationists, tribes, ranchers and others who want to overturn approval of a <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/lithium-mine-nevada-biden-tribes-electric-cars-fb6ae27060b4772f672dd94f160f4761\">huge lithium mine in the works in northwest Nevada<\/a> near the Oregon line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In December, the bureau initiated a review of plans for another lithium mine conservationists oppose near the California line where <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/biden-nevada-business-miami-marlins-reno-41d8301f18094b863c8a3df216eda8ef\">an endangered desert wildflower grows<\/a>, about 230 miles (370 kilometers) southeast of Reno.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In Railroad Valley, satellite calculations are critical to gathering information beamed from space with widespread applications from weather forecasting to national security, agricultural outlooks and natural disasters, according to NASA, which said the satellites \u201cprovide vital and often time-critical information touching every aspect of life on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That increasingly includes certifying measurements related to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Thus the Nevada desert paradox, critics say. Although lithium is the main ingredient in batteries for electric vehicles key to reducing greenhouse gases, in this case the metal is buried beneath land NASA says must remain undisturbed to certify the accuracy of satellites monitoring Earth\u2019s warming atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAs our nation becomes ever more impacted by an evolving and changing environment, it is critical to have reliable and accurate data and imagery of our planet,\u201d said Mark Moneza of Planet Labs, a San Francisco-based satellite imaging company that has relied on NASA\u2019s site to calibrate more than 250 of its satellites since 2016.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A Nevada congressman introduced legislation earlier this month seeking to revoke the bureau\u2019s decision to withdraw the land from potential mining use. Republican Rep. Mark Amodei told a House subcommittee last week that the decision underscores the \u201chypocrisy\u201d of President Joe Biden\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3000\" height=\"2165\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23173673413705.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-74401\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23173673413705.jpg.jpg 3000w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23173673413705.jpg.jpg?resize=300,217 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23173673413705.jpg.jpg?resize=768,554 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23173673413705.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,739 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23173673413705.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1108 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP23173673413705.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1478 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3000px) 100vw, 3000px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">FILE &#8211; U.S. Rep. Mark Amodei answers a question during a town hall at the Reno Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nev., April 17, 2017. At the request of NASA, U.S. land managers have withdrawn about 36 square miles of federal land otherwise open to mineral exploration and mining at the site 250 miles northeast of Las Vegas. Amodei has introduced legislation that would rescind the land withdrawal and potentially reopen it to mining. (Andy Barron\/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt is supposedly a goal of the Biden Administration to boost the development of renewable energy technology and reduce carbon in our atmosphere,\u201d Amodei said. \u201cYet they support blocking a project to develop the lithium necessary for their clean energy objectives.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Carson City, Nevada, company holding most of the mining claims, 3 Proton Lithium Inc., had not submitted any formal project plans in 2021 when NASA requested the land withdrawal. But the firm claimed to have done extensive research in anticipation of future plans to extract the brine-based lithium resource it said is one of the 10 largest deposits in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Chairman Kevin Moore said the tract\u2019s withdrawal likely will prevent his energy company from pumping the \u201csuper brine\u201d from about one-third of its claims there, including the deepest, richest deposits holding about 60% of the site\u2019s value. He joined Amodei in testifying last week before the House Resources Subcommittee on Mining and Mineral Resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis project is a vital part of transitioning to a green economy, creating good-paying American jobs, combating climate change, ending America\u2019s over-reliance on foreign adversaries and securing a domestic supply chain for critical and rare earth minerals,\u201d Moore said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Other opponents of BLM\u2019s move include James Ingraffia, founder of the energy exploration company Lithium Arrow LLC. He told the bureau in earlier public comments that by establishing obstacles to Railroad Valley lithium mining, it was undermining efforts to combat climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cEssentially, your actions are boiling down to, \u2018There\u2019s a problem that we want to keep worrying about but NOT allow to be solved,\u2019 &#8221; he said. \u201cIt\u2019s self-contradictory.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">3 Proton Lithium insists its brine-pumping operations would cause little if any disturbance to the land\u2019s surface. But NASA doesn\u2019t believe the risk is worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The area\u2019s unchanged nature has allowed NASA to establish a long record of images of the undisturbed topography to assist precise measurement of distances using the travel time of radio signals and assure \u201cabsolute radiometric calibration\u201d of sensors on board satellites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cActivities that stand to disrupt the surface integrity of Railroad Valley would risk making the site unusable,\u201d Jeremy Eggers, a spokesman for NASA\u2019s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe ultimate decision was to protect Railroad Valley, which in turn protects the critical scientific data that multiple economic sectors rely on,\u201d he said in an email Thursday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Agency says site is indispensable for 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