Nevada Lithium Mine Approved, Sparking Endangered Wildflower Concerns

Federal officials approved a new lithium-boron mine in Nevada on Thursday, moving forward with President Joe Biden’s plans to produce enough lithium to power electric vehicles.
The Rhyolite Ridge project, led by Australia-based Ioneer Ltd., is expected to supply enough lithium to power 370,000 electric vehicles annually.
Biden administration officials said on Thursday in Reno that Ioneer’s mine will help expedite the production of lithium, a key mineral used in the manufacture of batteries for electric vehicles, which is at the center of the administration’s push to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The mine, located in the Silver Peak Range, is also projected to create 500 construction jobs and 350 high-paying operational positions, providing an economic boon to rural Esmeralda County, according to the company.
This “lithium mine project is essential to advancing the clean energy transition and powering the economy of the future,” Acting Deputy Secretary of the Interior Laura Daniel-Davis said in a statement.
“This project and the process we have undertaken demonstrates that we can pursue responsible critical mineral development here in the United States, while protecting the health of our public lands and resources.”
Construction of the Rhyolite Ridge mine, which has been in the works for nearly eight years, should start next year in the high desert halfway between Reno and Las Vegas, Ioneer said.
Ioneer expects the mine to quadruple the U.S. supply of lithium, reducing reliance on foreign sources, particularly China. The mine will also process lithium on-site, further boosting its significance to the domestic supply chain for electric vehicle batteries.
The decision to greenlight the project followed an extensive review and modification process to protect an endangered wildflower, Tiehm’s buckwheat, which grows exclusively in the area. However, some environmental groups remain unconvinced.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) added the 6-inch-tall wildflower with yellow and cream-colored blooms to the endangered species list on Dec. 14, 2022, citing mining as its biggest threat to survival.
Although the USFWS concluded that the mine would not jeopardize the survival of the rare plant, the Center for Biological Diversity quickly announced plans to sue, claiming that the measures do not go far enough to protect the species.
“We need lithium for the energy transition, but it can’t come with a price tag of extinction,” said Patrick Donnelly, the center’s Great Basin director.
He said the Biden’s administration “is abandoning its duty to protect endangered species like Tiehm’s buckwheat and it’s making a mockery of the Endangered Species Act.”
Fewer than 30,000 of these plants are found in a single location in Nevada, spanning eight sub-populations over 10 acres, similar to the size of eight football fields.
The proximity of some infrastructure and waste rock dump will be within 15 feet of the plant and result in some loss of its designated critical habitat, according to environmentalists.
Despite the concerns, Ioneer remains confident that the measures taken to protect Tiehm’s buckwheat will hold up under legal scrutiny.
“For more than six years, we have worked closely with state, federal, and tribal governments, as well as the Fish Lake Valley community, to ensure the sound and sustainable development of our Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project,” Ioneer Managing Director Bernard Rowe said.