May 7 (Reuters) - Tesla supplier Piedmont

Lithium ( PLL ) has officially obtained a North Carolina state

mining permit after posting a $1 million reclamation bond to

develop an open-pit mine that would become one of the largest

U.S. sources of the key battery metal.

The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality on

Tuesday mailed the 16-page permit to Piedmont after a nearly

three-year review process for the controversial mine, according

to regulatory filings. The permit was provisionally awarded last

month, pending the bond payment.

"We're pleased to have the final permit," Piedmont

spokesperson Erin Sander told Reuters.

The permit, which includes detailed instructions for

blasting, waste rock storage and multiple other areas, is

transferable to a third party should Piedmont be sold, according

to the regulatory filings.

The years-long opposition to Piedmont's project, which would

become one of the few lithium-producing sites in the United

States, illustrates broadening tensions as resistance to living

near a mine clashes with the potential of electric vehicles

(EVs) to mitigate climate change.

Piedmont must still obtain a zoning variance from officials

in Gaston County, just outside Charlotte, for the more than $1

billion project. State regulators stressed that their permit

"does not supersede or otherwise affect or prevent the

enforcement of any zoning regulation duly adopted by any

incorporated city or county."

Piedmont has not yet filed for a zoning variance, and Gaston

County officials told Reuters last month they would not begin to

consider one until at least July.

The company, which is also working on three other lithium

projects, must still obtain financing for the North Carolina

mine and processing facilities, as well as state air quality and

wastewater permits. Piedmont is expected to provide a financing

update when it releases quarterly results on Thursday.