Ioneer Ltd (ASX:INR, OTC:GSCCF) has advanced into the final stage of permitting for its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Esmeralda County, Nevada, after the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published a Notice of Intent (NOI) in the Federal Register.
The emerging lithium-boron supplier will now be able to complete the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review and seek approval for the project’s plan of operations.
This plan, started almost four years ago, is the foundational permitting document for the project and will become the basis for compliance during operations and closure.
It will be updated to reflect the outcomes of the NEPA review before it is finalised for the BLM’s Record of Decision (ROD). This ROD represents the Department of Interior’s final decision on Ioneer’s application for an approved plan of operations.
The ROD is expected to be received in the first quarter of 2024, following which the company will begin construction of the project.
Further drilling will also be undertaken at the southern extension of the ore body as soon as a positive ROD is received to optimise the mine plan and update capital and operating cost estimates before making a final investment decision (FID).
Economic enabler
Ioneer’s executive chairman James Calaway said: “We understand the Rhyolite Ridge Project is the first lithium project to be issued a Notice of Intent under the Biden administration, and we see this as a significant step toward ensuring a strong domestic supply of critical minerals and strategic materials necessary for development of a domestic battery supply chain essential to the electrification of transportation in the US.”
The company’s managing director Bernard Rowe added: “The NOI marks an important milestone toward the realisation of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project and reflects the hard work and dedication of the Ioneer and Stantec (TSX:STN) teams working closely with the BLM and cooperating agencies.
“Our project is uniquely positioned in the US and has been engineered to ensure a stable, long-term, environmentally sustainable source of lithium. The project is expected to produce sufficient lithium to allow for the manufacture of approximately 400,000 electric vehicles per year over many decades.
“In delivering this world-class project, Ioneer will help the US create a domestic supply of lithium for auto manufacturers, quadrupling the current domestic supply, critical to meeting the climate goals established by the Biden administration, while also positively impacting the Nevada economy by creating 400-500 construction jobs and 250-300 operating jobs to help diversify the Nevada economy.”
First production in 2026
Last year, Ioneer secured the two other key air quality and water pollution permits required to commence construction on Rhyolite Ridge.
Ioneer is the 100% owner of the Rhyolite Ridge Project in Nevada, which is the only known lithium-boron deposit in North America and one of only two known such deposits in the world.
A definitive feasibility study completed in 2020 confirmed Rhyolite Ridge as a world-class lithium and boron project that is expected to become a globally significant, long-life, low-cost source of lithium and boron vital to a sustainable future.
The project is still expected to come on stream in 2026.