HOUSTON, Sept 3 (Reuters) - A U.S. federal judge ruled on Friday that Lithium Americas Corp may conduct excavation work at its Thacker Pass lithium mine site in Nevada, denying a request from Native Americans who said the digging would desecrate a site they believe holds ancestral bones and artifacts.

Chief Judge Miranda Du said the Native Americans did not show the digging would harm any alleged historical artifacts at the lithium mine site. The judge denied a similar request from environmentalists in late July. (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder Editing by Chris Reese)