Jan 7 (Reuters) - Canada's Lithium Americas ( LAC )

said on Tuesday it has raised the reserve estimate for the

Thacker Pass lithium project and also appointed industry veteran

Luke Colton as the new chief financial officer, effective Jan.

29.

The company's U.S.-listed shares were up 2.4% at $3.49 in

premarket trade.

The Thacker Pass project is slated to open later this decade

and be a key supplier to General Motors ( GM ), which last year

contributed $625 million to buy a 38% stake in their new joint

venture, Lithium Nevada Ventures, for developing the project.

U.S. automakers are ramping up their output of EVs and

hybrids and aiming to reduce their reliance on China for

battery-related materials in a competitive market.

The mine's first phase is expected to be completed in

late 2027, and produce 40,000 metric tons of battery-quality

lithium carbonate per year, enough for up to 800,000 EVs.

The company now expects mineral reserve estimate of 14.3

million tonnes (Mt) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE), an

increase of 286% and mineral resource estimate of 44.5 Mt LCE,

an increase of 177% since the November 2022 Feasibility Study.

"Thacker Pass is now the largest measured lithium reserve

and resource in the world" said CEO Jonathan Evans.

The lithium miner said it expects the new estimates to

support an expansion of up to five phases with an 85-year mine

life.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Energy finalized a $2.26

billion loan for Lithium Americas ( LAC ) to build the Nevada mine.

The Canadian firm said on Monday, Colton will replace

interim CFO April Hashimoto, who will resume her role as the

company's senior VP, Finance and Administration.