• Trump seeks equity stake in largest planned lithium mine in US
• Thacker Pass seen as key to U.S. lithium supply chain
• GM invested $625 million, holds 38% stake in Nevada project

Sept 23 (Reuters) - The Trump administration is seeking an equity stake of as much as 10% in Lithium Americas LAC.N as it renegotiates terms of the company's $2.26 billion Energy Department loan for its Thacker Pass lithium project with General Motors GM.N, two people familiar with the discussions told Reuters.

The proposed stake is the latest example of the Trump administration intervening directly in the American economy as it has in taking stakes in Intel INTC.O, MP Materials MP.N and other U.S. tech and minerals firms to promote industries it sees as critical to national security.

Slated to become the Western Hemisphere's largest source of lithium when it opens in 2028, the Thacker Pass mine has been under construction for nearly a year with more than 600 contractors at the site roughly 25 miles (40 km) south of Nevada's border with Oregon.

Thacker Pass is seen as a linchpin in building a domestic supply chain part of Washington's long-standing drive to boost U.S. production of lithium, a metal used to make batteries for electric vehicles and other electronics.

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