April 12 (Reuters) - Ioneer ( IONR ) moved a

step closer to securing an approval for its proposed Rhyolite

Ridge lithium mine in Nevada after a U.S. regulator on Friday

sought public comment on a draft environmental impact statement

for the project.

If the project in southern Nevada's Silver Peak Range is

approved, it could potentially produce enough lithium, a key

ingredient to make electric-vehicle (EV) batteries, to supply

nearly 370,000 EVs each year, said the Bureau of Land Management

(BLM).

The publication of the draft environmental impact statement

opens a 45-day public comment period, ending on June 3.

During the period, BLM, an agency within the U.S. Department

of the Interior, will conduct one in-person and one virtual

public meeting on the proposal and will continue to engage in

consultation with Tribal Nations.

Ioneer ( IONR ) had modified its mining proposal at the request of

the BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to minimize impacts

to the endangered Tiehm's Buckwheat, a desert flower endemic to

the area, and its critical habitat.

Inputs from the public comment will inform the development

of a final environmental review and record of decision, which is

expected before the end of the year, for the proposal.

The U.S. Department of Energy had said last year it would

lend Ioneer ( IONR ) up to $700 million, the first by Washington to a

U.S. mining project for lithium, to build its Rhyolite Ridge

project.

The move was part of the United States' push to boost

domestic production of critical minerals for the energy

transition.