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Cherryville, NC (WNN) - Elevra (formerly Piedmont Lithium) held an information session at the J. Ralph Beam Sr. Community Center in Cherryville, North Carolina, on February 19th, 2026. The session was divided into segments to update Cherryville on the steps needed to get the mine operational, then to answer questions from the community.
The two heading this presentation were Lucas Dow, Elevra’s Managing Director & CEO, Monique Parker, Elevra’s Chief Sustainability Officer, and Malissa Gordon, Elevra’s VP of Government Affairs. Dow was the first in his family to attend college, graduating as a mining engineer. He gained the motivation to continue working in the mining industry after providing opportunities for his family. Gordon is a transfer from Piedmont who worked with the Gaston County Economic Development Commission for a decade before this venture. Parker graduated as a chemical engineer but is currently responsible for permitting, risk management, and environmental assessment of Elevra’s properties.
The Elevra management team
Elevra Lithium
Many people following the project are more familiar with the name Piedmont Lithium. Piedmont was a joint venture partner with Sayona Mining, and the two companies eventually merged to form Elevra Lithium. Sayona has a strong operating background, giving the new company more experience than Piedmont. This also means there are currently operating mines under the company's control, with Piedmont Lithium becoming the Carolina Lithium Project.
The company's current focus is the North Atlantic Lithium Project. This is located in Quebec and currently produces spodumene concentrate. The Moblan Lithium project, also in Quebec, is a joint venture with Quebec’s government, in which the company owns 60% and is a greenfield project. Elevra hopes to open another mine in Quebec under the Authier project, which it will own in full. Lastly, they also have partial ownership of the Ewoyaa project located in Ghana. With these projects, they hope to meet the full market demand for lithium, most of which is for battery production. Dow feels the Carolina Lithium Project aligns with the current United States Administration's goals of resource independence, as it is the largest producer of hard-rock spodumene in North America. This number is currently around 220kt of concentrate per year.
The projected Lithium demand by Elevra from 2025 to 2023
Elevra Lithium
The company currently expects lithium demand to double by 2030, with the largest share of the market used for EVs. They also mentioned other uses, such as in drones, security, transport, and industrial applications, including lubricants, metallurgy, glass, and ceramics. Currently, demand for lithium is not met within North America.
For the Carolina Lithium project, they plan to mine, concentrate, and perform chemical conversion at the Cherryville mine site. According to Dow, 95% of lithium conversion currently occurs in China. The Carolina Lithium plant would see this process start within the US. In the case of the Carolina Lithium mine, Elevra is currently seeking support from the United States government for the project. The company is also seeking a technical partner because, while they have complete confidence in the mining and concentration steps, they want to ensure they are also conversion experts. They hope this partner will not only provide knowledge of the conversion process but also additional financial backing for the company. This means that, after proper permitting, rezoning, partnering, and financial structuring, the Cherryville mine will be ready to open. Dow estimates these things will begin to come together in two to three years.
Currently, the company has the stormwater and mining permits in place. This leaves the air permit needed before the company can proceed. It has been submitted, but they are waiting on a draft of the permit from the regulators. The air permit controls the emissions allowed to protect the public and the surrounding environment. It will control things like how long equipment can run and how much of which pollutants they will be allowed to produce. This will include processes such as water sprays to keep dust down, enclosed conveyors, operational limits on crushers, annual reports, random testing by the local government, and monitoring by Elevra.
The main pollutant levels predicted by Elevra Lithium
Elevra Lithium
The permits themselves will be a Title V permit, the most stringent permit that can be obtained, and special-case permits for other purposes. The potential pollutants identified by Elevra testing include Fluorides, Chromium, Manganese, SOx, NOx, Carbon Monoxide, Methane, and other greenhouse gases. These are all naturally occurring in the area and can be disturbed via mining activities. The wastewater produced by the pollutant-cleaning processes will be collected and stored in covered concrete basins, preventing it from contacting regular soil. The modeling for the potential impact also includes a range of weather conditions for the area. While it will affect air quality, all projected impacts are below the nationally required limits for each pollutant type. Currently, most are below half the national standard, but NO2 will be close to the limit with 147 µg/m3 (mircograms per cubic meter) being the expected combined impact, with the limit at 188.
Dow, as a farmer himself, mentioned that protecting the water would be one of the main concerns. This concern was echoed by Cherryville and Crouse natives as the question-and-answer portion of the information session began. One of the first and largest concerns raised by citizens is how Elevra will interact with private wells that it could potentially impact through mining. Despite believing they will not affect the wells at all, they do have systems in place in case they do. Firstly, they will install wells on their property to monitor their quality, which should indicate whether they have affected neighboring properties. If an adjacent property believes they’ve been impacted, Elevra will check the private wells if deemed necessary.
Lucas Dow speaking at the Elevra Information Session - February 19th, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)
Elevra will be hooked up to county water, coming from Three Rivers in Gastonia, and in most cases, they will provide the hookup and pay for the property's normal water usage if they affect a well. Water usage will be billed through the City of Cherryville. It was also asked if the well was disrupted, and they did not wish to be hooked up to county water if Elevra would be willing to purchase their property outright. To this speaker, Monique Parker, said that if wells were affected, it would be handled on a case-by-case basis. Dow says it is committed to making things right when they affect its neighbors.
One of the biggest catch-22s of the well situation is that, for a well to be acknowledged by Elevra, it must be registered with Gaston County. To do so, a homeowner must first call the NC One Call Center at 1-800-632-4949 to schedule a free visit to have the lines and wells marked. They must then complete the permit application available here and return it to the Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services, along with payment for the registration. This process is also required when wells are installed or repaired in Gaston County. The department can be reached at (704) 853-5200 for questions and is located at 991 Hudson Blvd. Gastonia, NC.
The project map outlining what land is owned by Elevra Lithium at the Carolina Lithium Project
Elevra Lithium
Currently, the company has sold some of the land outside of the permit area. They currently own all the land within the mining permit, but Dow’s perspective is “never say never” when asked if they would acquire more land in the future. This is not planned for, and Dow expects that if more land is purchased, that step is decades away. However, despite not owning much auxiliary land, they do still own land near the Beam-Hallman Mine in the Tyron Courthouse area that they had previously surveyed. Outside of this, the purchasing team people associated with Piedmont have been disbanded. This left some citizens concerned as they own land in the area and have watched their property values drop significantly, and have also had trouble selling. Dow is confident that once operations begin, not only will values go up, but the land will become desirable to those employed by the mine.
Monique Parker speaking at the Elevra Information Session - February 19th, 2026
Mason Beam (WNN)
There were also many concerns brought up about the blasting process at the mine. The times they are allowed to blast are between one hour after sunrise and one hour before sunset. Dow estimates two blasts a day.
Another concern is the impact on wildlife. Elevra feels that, with modern-day improvements, effects on the environment and fauna will be mitigated, and that there will also be a buffer zone around the mine.
Another speaker from Elevra is Emily Winter, a Cherryville native and Community Relations Manager at the Cherryville satellite office. The office is located at 116 East Main Street, Cherryville, NC, for those wanting to reach out with their concerns in person. Otherwise, those wishing to ask general questions can do so by using the contact us link here.
We have also made the full Elevra presentation available here for those who want to look it over.
This article covers only a portion of what was asked and answered. You can see the full video below to learn what was discussed and whether your questions were answered.
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