So, it looks like, the 10 years long preparation as well as all the money spent on analysis and environment research were just waste of time and money. It seems to me, that the project is entirely at mercy of a single judge and her decision next week.

IMHO, Western Lithium got it all wrong. They should have first called the judge and ask for his/hr permission. The next step was to see the local shaman to check, what sort of ghosts inhabit Thacker Pass and define condition under which it would be possible to temporarily relocate them. This is a real issue, based on my early studies of Winnetou, I can tell you, that practically each rock in that area has a dedicated ghost resident and their relocation may be quite lengthy process going well beyond 2025. I have also not seen in the Feasibility Study any section, which is dealing with the risk associated with ghosts incidentally forgotten there may cause. Maybe local Indian Chief and his team should be in a position to eventually help with that process. Dedication of a board member role plus a team, ideally local Indians to deal with these matter may help.  

Only after those steps, LAC should start talking to federal and local authorities. And in the meantime, US can import Lithium from other, certainly far more environmentally aware countries, such as China, Central America and certain African countries. At least till USD has some value above of the value of the paper used for the notes. God bless all environmental groups helping America to be better place :-).