Amnesty International Alleges US Violates Indigenous Rights in Nevada Lithium Expansion
Amnesty International has released a research briefing alleging that the United States government is breaching international human rights standards by advancing major lithium mining projects in Nevada without the Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) of affected Indigenous Peoples. The report states that the rapid expansion of the state’s extractive sector threatens the cultural heritage, health, water supplies, and environments of local tribal communities.
As the global transition toward green energy and the rapid expansion of AI-related data centers drive a surge in demand for critical minerals, Nevada has emerged as a central extraction hub. The state currently holds approximately 85% of the United States’ known lithium reserves. The Amnesty research, titled “We’re here to protect Mother Earth: Indigenous Rights and Nevada’s Lithium Boom,” focuses on three specific large-scale operations: the Thacker Pass Lithium Mine, which is currently under construction; the Nevada North Lithium Project; and the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium Project.
The briefing contends that the current business model within the extractive sector systematically prioritizes speed, scale, and profit over the rights of Indigenous populations. According to Amnesty International, consent for these projects—which are located on ancestral lands—was never sought or obtained from the relevant tribal nations.
“In the race for so-called critical minerals, the current Trump administration is accelerating mining permits while weakening environmental oversight, fast-tracking extraction at the expense of human rights and environmental protections,” said Alysha Khambay, Amnesty International’s Business and Human Rights researcher. Khambay noted that these developments reflect industry and political priorities rather than the genuine needs of society.
The research highlights a pattern of human rights abuses linked to the energy transition, citing similar issues in the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Philippines, including forced displacement, loss of livelihoods, and severe pollution. Amnesty International argues that foreign mining companies have an obligation to respect international human rights standards regardless of whether domestic laws are insufficient.
Testimony of Dispossession
Amnesty International conducted in-depth interviews with 11 individuals and spoke to 20 members of Indigenous Peoples and Tribal communities regarding the proposed projects. Many participants reported feeling “railroaded” by US government processes.
Shelley Harjo, a member of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe, is among those impacted by the Thacker Pass mine. Harjo stated that genuine consent was never granted to the community and expressed concerns that the tribe is being taken advantage of due to financial impoverishment. “The mine is going to destroy our homelands, our way of living,” Harjo said, questioning why the transition to green energy must occur at the expense of Indigenous lives.
The cultural stakes are further underscored by Dorece Sam Antonio, a direct descendant of Ox Sam—one of the three survivors of the 1865 Thacker Pass massacre. Antonio, a leading figure in the 2023 Indigenous-led prayer camp that opposed the mine, described the project as a blow to her community and her ancestors.
Legal Conflicts and Corporate Responsibility
A significant portion of the dispute rests on the legal classification of the land. The US government classifies much of the area as public land, a designation Amnesty International describes as being rooted in a history of settler-colonial land dispossession. While US law may not mandate FPIC for projects on federal land, international human rights standards maintain that Indigenous Peoples have the right to self-determination and must give consent for decisions affecting their territories.
The Australian and Canadian companies developing two of the mines, Ioneer and Lithium Americas, have responded to the allegations by stating that their projects are located on federal public land. They maintain that they are in compliance with US law, citing government-led consultation processes and their own community engagement efforts.
However, the report challenges the efficacy of these engagements. For example, Lithium Americas has entered into a Community Benefits Agreement with one of the affected tribes. Despite this, former Tribal Council members interviewed by Amnesty described the agreement as highly one-sided, offering minimal benefits relative to the potential environmental and cultural devastation caused by the mine. Amnesty International emphasized that such agreements are not a substitute for the requirement of FPIC.
The international dimension of the mining operations also brings scrutiny to the home nations of the corporations involved. Lithium Americas is registered in Canada, a country that has enshrined the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) into domestic and provincial law. Ketty Nivyabandi, Secretary General of Amnesty International Canada, argued that both Canada and Australia, as major players in the global mining industry, have a responsibility to ensure companies registered on their shores respect human rights overseas.
As of September 2024, more than 23,500 active lithium claims had been registered across Nevada. Amnesty International is calling for urgent reforms to federal and state laws to mandate FPIC before any projects affecting ancestral lands are approved. The organization has further called on the companies named in the report and their investors to halt all further activity until genuine consent is obtained.
