Sound points 1. I don't have a concise answer to this, however,...

Sound points

1. I don't have a concise answer to this, however, it is worthwhile to point out that Albemarle announced the intention to acquire Rockwood Holdings, owner of the plant and tenements, in July 2014 - this is before the massive rally in Li prices in 2016 and ensuing global scramble for Lithium deposits & projects.
Many of the quality Li landholdings in Nevada were interestingly enough pegged back in 2009, not long after the global disruption caused by the release of the smartphone, from Apple and others - perhaps these prospectors had the vision & foresight to see where the Li market would be currently and moving forward...?
To answer your question with a further question - how was Fortescue able to secure its world class WA Iron Ore assets right under the noses of BHP & RIO, 2 of the 3 global market dominants for decades only to become a global heavyweight in its own right in this bulk commodity market?

2. Totally agree here & certainly there is a huge amount of work to be completed by Li3 before they enter the Tesla supply chain, however, Gigafactory-1 isn't going anywhere & the launch of the Model 3 shortly should shine a bright light on Nevada as a Region. Certainly, Lucid Motors and other Tesla EV competitors are looking to also get in close by too, on this global transport & power revolution unfolding before us.

Again, just more of my humble ramblings on a Sunday afternoon...