State Senators have rejected an idea to tax the mineral lithium.
House Bill 1043 would have designated lithium as a precious metal—like silver and gold.
Critics said the mineral does not belong in that section of code.
Senate Democrats joined a group of Republicans to reject the proposal.
It’s the second year in a row lawmakers rejected an idea to tax the mineral.
In the Black Hills, lithium is in spodumene crystals found in a type of rock formation called pegmatites. Industry officials say pegmatites have several by-products.
Some say a section of the state’s mining code should be devoted to pegmatite mining taxation.
Mineral claims in the Black Hills have risen sharply in the last few years.
