VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Lithium Americas Corp. announced the appointment of Luke Colton as Executive Vice President (“EVP”) and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), effective January 29, 2025. Lithium Americas is committed to responsibly developing Thacker Pass located in Humboldt County in northern Nevada, which hosts the largest known lithium Measured and Indicated resource and Proven and Probable reserve in the world.
“The success of our team is having the right people in the right roles at the right time,” said Jonathan Evans, President and CEO. “Luke’s previous experience developing large-scale capital projects, as well as working with joint venture partners, will be key as Lithium Americas transitions Thacker Pass into major construction in 2025. We are very pleased to have onboard an experienced professional with deep financial management and controls experience as we advance shareholder value by developing a North American lithium supply chain.”
Colton is a seasoned mining executive with significant financial, commercial, and leadership experience spanning over two decades across multiple global jurisdictions. Most recently, Colton was CFO of Minova International from mid-2023 to late-2024, responsible for finance, treasury and taxation, and was an important member of Minova’s senior leadership team.
Previously, Colton spent over five years at Turquoise Hill Resources (“THR”) as the CFO, and was a director of Oyu Tolgoi, overseeing the development of a multi-billion-dollar copper open pit and underground mine in Mongolia and the privatization of THR by Rio Tinto.
His previous experience includes CFO of Richards Bay Minerals, and he held progressively more senior roles at Rio Tinto including Manager Financial, Capital Accounting and Compliance for Rio Tinto Iron Ore; Principle, Valuations and Analysis for Rio Tinto Controllers; and Manager, Reporting and Control for Rio Tinto Energy America. Mr. Colton began his career at Ernst & Young and holds a Masters of Accountancy from Brigham Young University.
Thacker Pass is owned by a joint venture between Lithium Americas (holding a 62% interest and is the manager of the Project), and General Motors Holdings LLC (holding a 38% interest). The three-year construction build is expected to create nearly 2,000 direct jobs, including 1,800 skilled contractors.
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