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First U.S. lithium mine permitted by the Biden

administration

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Interior Department calls ioneer's lithium project

'essential'

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Mine will supply lithium for 370,000 electric vehicles

annually

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Construction to begin next year, production by 2028

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Rare flower at site will have 'significant protections'

By Ernest Scheyder

Oct 24 (Reuters) - The U.S. Interior Department on

Thursday gave final approval to ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge

lithium mine in Nevada, the first domestic source of the battery

metal to be permitted by President Joe Biden's administration

and one that will become a key supplier to Ford and other

electric vehicle manufacturers.

The approval ends a more-than six-year review process during

which regulators, the Australian critical minerals miner and

conservationists tussled over the fate of a rare flower found at

the mine site, a tension that exposed the sometimes competing

priorities between climate change mitigation efforts and

biodiversity protection.

The permit, which had been expected by the end of the year,

comes amid a flurry of recent moves by Biden officials to

support critical minerals production and offset China's market

dominance.

It also unlocks a $700 million loan from the U.S. Department

of Energy, as well as a $490 million equity investment from

Sibanye Stillwater to fund the project.

"The Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine project is essential to

advancing the clean energy transition and powering the economy

of the future," said Laura Daniel-Davis, the Interior

Department's acting deputy secretary.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which is controlled by

the Interior Department, on Thursday issued the Rhyolite Ridge

project's record of decision - essentially the mine's permit -

and said the project will "include significant protections for

the local ecosystem" and help create hundreds of jobs in the

rural region.

The project, roughly 225 miles (362 km) north of Las Vegas,

contains enough lithium to power roughly 370,000 EVs each year.

Construction is slated to begin next year, with production

commencing by 2028, a timeline that would make Rhyolite Ridge

one of the largest U.S. lithium producers alongside Albemarle

and Lithium Americas ( LAC ).

The U.S. Geological Survey has labeled lithium a critical

mineral vital for the U.S. economy and national security.

"We're proud to be the first U.S. lithium mine permitted by

the Biden administration," James Calaway, ioneer's chairman,

told Reuters.

The project will extract lithium as well as boron - a

chemical used to make ceramics and soaps - from a clay-like

deposit. The lithium will be processed on site into two main

derivatives used to make batteries, and the company said it

plans to recycle half of all the water used at the site, higher

than the industry average.

Ford and a joint venture between Toyota ( TM ) and

Panasonic ( PCRFF ) have agreed to buy lithium from the mine.

ENDANGERED FLOWER

In addition to the lithium and boron deposits, Rhyolite

Ridge is home to the Tiehm's buckwheat flower, which is found

nowhere else on the planet and was declared an endangered

species in 2022.

The Center for Biological Diversity and some other

conservation groups thus oppose ioneer's project, saying it

would push the flower to the brink of extinction.

The Interior Department said it crafted "significant

protections" for the plant during the permit review process,

including changing mine design plans and propagation efforts

that included construction of a greenhouse.

Department officials also released an opinion stating their

belief that the mine would not harm the flower.

"We've come up with a very thoughtful plan that does protect

this plant and ensures a stable supply of lithium for America,"

said Calaway.

The death of more than 17,000 flowers near the mine site in

2020 sparked allegations of a "premeditated" attack. Ioneer ( IONR )

denied harming the flowers. The government later blamed thirsty

squirrels.