Estimate says lithium-boron deposits 45% more than expected at Rhyolite Ridge
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A new estimate indicates the Rhyolite Ridge mine site northwest of Las Vegas has 45% more lithium-boron deposits than previously calculated.
Ioneer, the Australian company behind the mine project, released the updated estimate less than a week after losing its biggest investor, a South African multinational mining company that dropped out citing low lithium prices. Ioneer is now the 100% owner of the Rhyolite Ridge project.
'Today's updated Resource reinforces the remarkable flexibility of Rhyolite Ridge's unique mineralogy,' Bernard Rowe, Ioneer's managing director, said in a news release. 'It allows Ioneer to match prevailing market conditions and blend our ore to produce a valuable boric acid coproduct, whose market is separate from the Project's primary lithium product.'
The mine site is in Esmeralda County, midway between Las Vegas and Reno. The mine was approved in October 2024. In January, the U.S. Department of Energy finalized a $996 million loan for the project
Only active lithium mine in US seeks expansion in Nevada's Esmeralda County
Analysis of samples from 12 drill holes completed in 2024 led to the 45% increase in the estimate. The analysis was completed by an independent mining consultant
'No other lithium project has this flexibility and economic advantage. In times of low lithium pricing as exists today, the Company can prioritize the high-boron ore (Stream 1) over the low-boron ore (Stream 2) to optimize the relative proportion of total revenue derived from boron,' according to Rowe.
Ioneer was not named in a lawsuit filed on Oct. 31, 2024, over the Bureau of Land Management's decision to approve the Rhyolite Ridge mine. A rare wildflower — Tiehm's buckwheat — found only at the site is likely to go extinct if the mine moves forward.
'This lawsuit is about much more than just preventing the extinction of Tiehm's buckwheat,' Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release. 'The Bureau of Land Management's authorization of the Rhyolite Ridge Mine is a flagrant violation of numerous environmental protection laws, and the integrity of these bedrock conservation laws is at stake. We need lithium for the crucial transition to renewable energy, but the government can't break the law and drive species to extinction to get it.'
Tiehm's buckwheat grows on 10 acres that fall completely within the footprint of the boron- and lithium-rich soils of the Silver Peak Range in Esmeralda County.
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