Conspiracy theories linking Wyoming wildfires to lithium mining are baseless

"SO BECAUSE THE CABAL IS BEING BANKRUPT, THEY'VE DECIDED TO DO LAND GRABS BECAUSE THE LAND IS LINKED TO BILLIONS AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN WHICH THEY STAND TO GAIN BY STAKING CLAIM TO THESE LANDS ON TOP OF THE FACT THAT THEY CAN GET IT CHEAPER IF THEY DESTROY THE LANDS FIRST!" says an October 6, 2024 Facebook post.

The post suggests the government or private mining companies will seize lands damaged by the fires to extract the mineral, which is used in various electronics.

The theory started spreading around the same time as another false claim that Hurricane Helene was "geoengineered" to hit a lithium-rich region of North Carolina.

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Screenshot from Facebook taken October 18, 2024

The Wyoming claim has circulated elsewhere on Facebook, Instagram, Threads, X, TikTok, YouTube, Rumble and Gettr.

As of October 18, four fires in Wyoming had burned more than 200,000 acres across a wide area: the Elk Fire in Bighorn National Forest, two wildfires in Teton National Forest and another near La Bonte Creek (archived here, here, here and here).

Wyoming has potentially significant deposits of lithium, which is used to make rechargeable batteries for personal electronics and electric vehicles. The mineral is concentrated in the state's center, according to a 2015 state government report (archived here).

Some residents have protested efforts to expand rare element mining in the state over concerns that it could damage the environment and disrupt the landscape. 

However, there is no evidence the recent wildfires were set intentionally to take people's land. The US Forest Service says lightning strikes sparked the first three fires, while the fourth's cause is undetermined.

US and international bodies have attributed the increasing number and size of wildfires to climate change, which results in high temperatures, extended droughts and drier conditions (archived here and here).

Miles apart

Most posts spreading the conspiracy theory refer to Chariot Corporation Ltd, a lithium extraction company based in Perth, Australia that has invested in Wyoming.

Chariot and its US subsidiary have seven active projects in the western state, with the two largest at Black Mountain in Natrona County and Copper Mountain in neighboring Fremont County. According to the company's investor filings with the Australian Stock Exchange (archived here), it has five other smaller prospects spread over the two counties.

Agriculture Secretary Thomas Vilsack granted nine Wyoming counties a "primary" disaster designation due to the fires in early October, but Natrona and Fremont were not included. The two counties have seen a handful of wildfires, but most were quickly doused (archived here and here).

The two in Teton National Forest are the closest to any of Chariot's operations. However, as of October 18, the blaze's edge was 102 miles (164 kilometers) from Copper Mountain and 138 miles (222 kilometers) from Black Mountain.

Some posts refer to Wheatland, where another company found evidence of rare earth deposits. However, the southeast Wyoming town is about 40 miles (64 kilometers) from the mostly contained La Bonte fire and more than 200 miles (322 kilometers) from Teton and Bighorn national forests.

Like most states, Wyoming has a mining permit process. There is a separate procedure for federal lands.

Kimberly Mazza, a spokeswoman for the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, which issues the state's permits, told AFP in an October 17 email that the agency had not received any applications related to lithium mining near any of the wildfires.

In an October 18 email, a spokesperson for the US Forest Service also said the agency was "not aware" of any permit applications related to lithium mining in the area of the fires.

No evidence of 'land grabs'

Most posts claim the Wyoming fires have been concentrated on private land, which the government or Chariot will seize once the fires have passed. However, all four significant fires have primarily affected land managed by the US Forest Service, a federal agency.

State governments can force landholders to sell their land through eminent domain. However, Wyoming law only allows the government to exercise this power for a project that will benefit the public (archived here).

In a March 2024 interview on the podcast Small Caps, Chariot Managing Director Shanthar Pathmanathan said his company has long-term aspirations to expand its operations elsewhere in the United States. However, he said the firm hopes to finance future purchases using revenue from its Black Mountain mine (archived here).

"The plan is to develop one mine, put it into production that has a lead time of a number of years, so we're looking at five to six years before that can happen," Pathmanathan said.

Chariot started initial drilling at Black Mountain in November 2023, according to public filings (archived here).

AFP contacted Chariot, but no response was forthcoming.

AFP has debunked other false claims about wildfires in Wyoming here.