Piedmont Lithium gets another extension amid North Carolina mine permit review

Elevra Lithium

05/12/2023 21:50

Dec 5 (Reuters) - North Carolina regulators have granted
Piedmont Lithium's  PLL.O  request for more time to provide
information needed to complete the state's long-running review
of the company's mine permit application.    
    The proposed mine, if built, would become one of North
America's largest sources of lithium for electric vehicle
batteries, but it has faced extensive opposition from neighbors
worried about water, noise pollution and other potential
problems.
    Piedmont had been expected to provide North Carolina
officials with information on 10 areas by the end of November.
Company officials, though, asked in a letter dated Nov. 16 for
the deadline to be extended by 180 days to May 24, 2024.
    Piedmont said it needed the additional time to study the use
of a synthetic liner, rather than a clay liner, for a waste rock
pit that would touch heights of roughly 500 feet (152 m). North
Carolina regulators, who approved Piedmont's request on Nov. 21,
have in recent years asked mining applicants to consider use of
synthetic liners. 
    A Piedmont spokesperson said the company expects to provide
the additional information well before May and it does not
believe it will need more time to provide other information. 
    Piedmont first applied for the permit in August 2021. The
state asked for additional information in October 2021 and in
January 2022. The company's deadline to respond to the January
2022 request was extended twice. In May 2023, state regulators
asked for more information within 180 days; that deadline has
now been extended through next May.    
    Piedmont's failure to detail plans for residents of Gaston
County, just west of Charlotte, prompted local officials to
delay needed zoning changes.
    During the North Carolina delay, Piedmont invested in
Quebec-focused Sayona Mining  SYA.AX  and Ghana-focused Atlantic
Lithium  A11.AX , deals that give it access to lithium from both
companies.

 (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by David Gregorio)
 ((ernest.scheyder@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @ErnestScheyder;
+1-713-210-8512; Reuters Messaging:
ernest.scheyder.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))