Author Bio Howard grew up in Philadelphia watching the Philly sports teams struggle for championships. He has been investing since 1989 and been a Fool since 2001. Prior to joining The Fool as a contract writer in 2019, Howard worked in the steel business as an engineer for 28 years. When he isn’t writing, he is usually out for a run, or relaxing to the music of the Grateful Dead. What happened Shareholders of lithium miner Lithium Americas (NYSE:LAC) have endured a wild recent stretch. One of the company's main lithium mine projects passed an important milestone last week, prompting a sharp rise in the stock. Shares have subsequently settled back down, and as of 1:30 p.m. EST on Wednesday, the stock was lower by 6%.