The much-contested Rhyolite Ridge project in Nevada has become the first US lithium mine approved by the Biden administration, Kallanish reports.

Its developer, Australian miner Ioneer, has received the federal permit from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) amid government efforts to boost domestic supply of critical minerals to wean off Chinese imports.

Once completed, it is estimated to produce 20,600 tonnes of lithium carbonate or 22,000 t of lithium hydroxide per year, enough to supply 370,000 EVs annually. 

The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), an environmental group, says it will resort to litigation after six years of opposing the project.

A group of 100 scientists previously raised concerns over the risk of “significant impacts” to and even the extinction of Tiehm’s buckwheat, a rare plant species endemic to the Silver Peak Range in Esmeralda County Nevada.

“No mitigation measures will sufficiently address these impacts to appreciably reduce the risk of extinction,” they say in a letter sent to the BLM in June.

The CBD also claims the mine will damage water sources and sacred sites in the area, “harming the cultural heritage of the Western Shoshone people.”

“By fast-tracking lithium projects, ignoring water scarcity, environmental impacts and the opposition of local communities and Indigenous peoples, we see how future projects will be implemented,” says Fermina Stevens, executive director of the Western Shoshone Defense Project.

The BLM says Ioneer “modified its project proposal to limit impacts on the plant and its critical habitat.” The agency notes it worked closely with the State of Nevada, Tribal and local governments, and national and local stakeholders when compiling the final environmental impact statement released last month.

Ioneer expects to reach final investment decision in the first quarter of 2025, and then begin a 36-month construction phase to start production in 2028.

“I can say with absolute confidence there are few deposits in the world as impactful as Rhyolite Ridge,” says Ioneer chairman James Calaway. He notes the approval “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.”