By Ernest Scheyder

(Reuters) -The U.S. Department of Energy will take a 5% stake in Lithium Americas and a separate 5% stake in the company’s Thacker Pass lithium mine joint venture with General Motors, according to a source familiar with negotiations.

Reuters reported last week that Trump administration officials were in discussions with Lithium Americas about an equity stake in the company as they renegotiated terms of a $2.26 billion government loan for the mine, slated to become the largest source of the battery metal lithium in the Western Hemisphere.

(Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Chris Reese)

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