The key ingredient to millions of EVs is buried under a former volcano — but there’s still a lot we don’t know

Lithium Americas Corp. is in the process of building a lithium mine in the remote Thacker Pass area of northern Nevada that has drawn impassioned protest from nearby tribes, ranchers, and environmentalists. | Image: Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

The company constructing a controversial new lithium mine to supply GM’s electric vehicles knows where it wants to drill next based on new research it published today.

Lithium Americas broke ground on its mine at Thacker Pass in Nevada after facing fierce opposition from Native American tribes, environmental advocates, and local ranchers. But that mine is just one slice of the McDermitt Caldera, the remnants of a supervolcano that’s now believ...