Ioneer wants to build lithium mine in Nevada

Construction is now scheduled to begin in 2025, with production set to start in 2028, according to Ioneer. During the construction phase, 500 jobs are to be created and later will be followed by another 350 jobs “with high wages” spanning “decades of operation.” According to the company, Rhyolite Ridge is the first US lithium project to receive approval from the Biden administration.

The approval itself is an important interim step but does not yet mean that construction will begin. Ioneer still has to make the final investment decision. This is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2025. The management is making this estimate “accounting for the Sibanye-Stillwater agreement, U.S. Department of Energy Loan Programs Office conditional loan and any
other required funding close.” Nevertheless, Ford, Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, the battery joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic, and EcoPro have been finalised as customers.

In order to obtain the licence, Ioneer had to change some points in the planning over time. For example, this involved protecting a rare plant species called Eriogonum tiehmii, also known as Tiehm’s buckwheat. To this end, the location of the western quarry face was “significantly” relocated in 2022, and “all possible infrastructure and associated disturbances were relocated to areas outside the critical habitats.” Separately, there were also requirements to conserve water and monitor dust and noise.

Ioneer accepted these conditions because, according to Executive Chairman James Calaway, “there are few deposits in the world as impactful as Rhyolite Ridge.” “Today’s approval of Ioneer’s federal permit is the culmination of countless hours of work and a testament to our remarkable team’s dedication to developing and building one of the most sustainable mining projects in the country,” Calaway said.

The Rhyolite Ridge project is scheduled to run for 26 years. On an annual average, 20,600 tonnes of lithium carbonate/hydroxide are to be mined together with around 174,400 tonnes of boric acid per year. “The dual production of lithium and boric acid allows Ioneer to produce lithium not only in the US, but at the lowest end of the global cost curve,” it was stated in 2022 when the agreement with Prime Planet Energy & Solutions was signed. At that time, however, there was still talk of a planned start of production in 2025. Now, construction is set to start next year.

ioneer.com (PDF)