Piedmont Lithium

Piedmont Lithium reported its first revenues and profits Tuesday thanks to shipments from its mine partnership in Quebec. But the Belmont, N.C.-based company told investors it's still waiting for permits and financing to open its planned lithium mine in northern Gaston County.

Piedmont Lithium officials faced tough questions from Gaston County commissioners Tuesday night during the first public meeting in two years about the company's plans for a mine and processing plant.

Officials from Piedmont Lithium will update Gaston County Commissioners Tuesday night for the first time in two years on their plans for a lithium mine and processing plant near Cherryville.

North Carolina-based Piedmont Lithium says it expects to record its first revenues this month, after seven years of planning and investments — and that the money will help continue its development of a mine in Gaston County and other projects. That's because of a lithium mining partnership in Quebec that sent its first shipment Tuesday.

Piedmont Lithium, the company that wants to build a lithium mine in northern Gaston County, says the mine won't open until 2027 at the earliest because of permitting and other delays.

Putting more electric vehicles on the roads is a critical strategy in the fight against climate change. And at least for now, that means more cars powered by lithium-ion batteries. With demand for lithium already skyrocketing, the question is: Where will it come from?

North Carolina mining regulators have granted another extension of Piedmont Lithium's deadline to provide information about its application to build a lithium mine in northern Gaston County.

Piedmont Lithium says it has amended a previously announced contract with electric vehicle maker Tesla to supply lithium beginning later this year.

There's a race on to mine lithium in the U.S. for electric vehicle batteries. It's part of the fight to slow global warming — and to some people a matter of national security. But to neighbors, a proposed mine in Gaston County is an impending environmental disaster.