Published: November 4, 2024 |

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A conservation group is suing the Bureau of Land Management over the agency’s approval of a lithium mine in Nevada.

The Center for Biological Diversity filed a lawsuit against the BLM on Thursday after the agency authorized the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project. The project, which is being spearheaded by Australia-based company Ioneer, is located in Esmeralda County.

The environmental group and the company have been locked in a dispute for years over the project’s potential impact on a rare wildflower known as Tiehm’s buckwheat. The center also sued the BLM and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 2020 over the project.

The latest suit is not just about the fate of the rare wildflower, according to the environmental group.

“This lawsuit is about much more than just preventing the extinction of Tiehm’s buckwheat,” said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director for the Center for Biological Diversity.

“The Bureau of Land Management’s authorization of the Rhyolite Ridge Mine is a flagrant violation of numerous environmental protection laws, and the integrity of these bedrock conservation laws is at stake,” added Donnelly.

Ioneer confirmed that it is aware of the lawsuit and pushed back against the group’s allegations about its project. The project has been appropriately permitted and has gone through years of vetting, according to Ioneer.

“Ioneer has spent years diligently working with Esmeralda County, Nevada and federal regulatory authorities, the Fish Lake Valley community and tribal nations to sustainably develop our Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project,” said Chad Yeftich, Ioneer’s vice president of corporate development and external affairs.

“That fact is reflected in the recent record of decision issued by the Bureau of Land Management following an extensive multi-year permitting process,” added Yeftich.

Projects like Rhyolite Ridge are considered by supporters as crucial for the development of Nevada’s “lithium loop.” This concept involves having all components of the new energy infrastructure within the state — lithium mining, battery manufacturing and battery recycling — as one self-sustaining circle.

The project received a $700 million loan commitment from the Biden administration as part of efforts to further develop the U.S. domestic battery industry. Ioneer also inked a deal with Ford to supply the car company with lithium.

The Center for Biological Diversity agreed that the transition to green energy is important.

“We need lithium for the crucial transition to renewable energy. But the government can’t break the law and drive species to extinction to get it,” said Donnelly.

Ioneer, meanwhile, plans to “intervene and vigorously defend the BLM’s decision” against the lawsuit’s allegations.

“We are confident that the BLM will prevail against this lawsuit. We do not expect this lawsuit to meaningfully affect our proposed development timeline,” said Yeftich.

Source: Reno Gazette Journal

Ioneer Ltd. is an emerging lithium–boron producer and the 100 percent owner of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium- Boron Project located in Nevada. Rhyolite Ridge is the only known lithium-boron deposit in North America and one of only two known such deposits in the world. Once operational, the low-cost, world- class project is expected to power upward of 50 million electric vehicles and will instantly become a globally significant source of critical materials vital to the clean energy transition. In September 2021, Ioneer entered into an agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater where, following the satisfaction of conditions precedent, Sibanye-Stillwater will acquire a 50 precent interest in the project, with Ioneer maintaining a 50 percent interest and retaining the operational management responsibility for the joint venture. In January 2023, Ioneer received a conditional commitment from the U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office for up to $700 million of debt financing.

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