A huge U.S. lithium mine needed for EV battery production vs. a flower found nowhere else in the world

Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine site (ioneer photo)

Step by step, the Biden administration inches closer to green-lighting ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, reports Ernest Scheyder of Reuters. Last week, it "published a key environmental report [which is] the last step needed before approving what would become one of the largest U.S. sources of the electric vehicle battery metal." But some conservationists are adamantly against the mine opening despite its cleaner energy purpose.

Ioneer's path to opening has been ongoing for at least six years while the project was reviewed. "The Bureau of Land Management published a final environmental impact statement, that sets in motion a review period of at least 30 days before a record of decision -- essentially a mine's permit -- can be issued," Scheyder explains. "BLM also published an opinion on how a rare flower at the mine site can best be protected."

The rare Tiehm's buckwheat flower (CBD photo)

The site is home to Tiehm's buckwheat flower, "which is found nowhere else on the planet and was declared an endangered species in 2022," Scheyder reports. "The Center for Biological Diversity and some other conservation groups thus oppose ioneer's project." Patrick Donnelly of CBD called Tiehm's buckwheat flower a "linchpin of the local ecosystem, harboring a highly diverse pollinator community."

It's hoped the mine's lithium production can help the U.S. combat Chinese metal production. Scheyder writes, "The U.S. Geological Survey has labeled lithium a critical mineral vital for the U.S. economy and national security. The proposed mine, roughly 225 miles north of Las Vegas, contains enough lithium to power roughly 370,000 EVs each year."