There have been some bumps in the road, but the Rhyolite Ridge lithium and boron mine is still expected to start production on schedule.
2 News Nevada went up to the mine last year to get into its economic impact, residential feedback, and environmental concerns.
Recently, the Australian based company, Ioneer, that's spearheading the project, announced it is looking for a new equity partner. This comes after Sibanye-Stillwater backed out in February.
"They made a decision focusing on their primary business that they did not want to move forward with an additional investment," said Chad Yeftich, Vice President of Corporate Development and External Affairs, Ioneer.
Yeftich says that Sibanye-Stillwater's primary business is in platinum.
The company said they formally started looking into a partner or partners, in late June. They expect to have those decided in about four months. Then once that business is handled, they will take another month or two to make the final investment decision.
Once the decision is finalized, they will start construction. Groundwork construction is expected to start in 2026, and production is still scheduled to start in 2028.
The Rhyolite Ridge mine is located in the Silver Peak range in Esmeralda County. The closest town is Dyer, and the closest city is Tonopah.
The mine is in rare air, as it will produce lithium, a mineral known for batteries and electric cars, but also boron. Having a mine produce both minerals is the only of its kind known in North America.
"In looking at making a sizeable investment for a long period of time, the idea that you're able to hedge your lithium volatility with a stable co-product is important and unique," Yeftich said.
The project is expected to bring lots of jobs and millions of dollars a year to Nevada's economy once the mine is operational.
Yeftich says there are some key ingredients when putting together a project of this size.
"There's always three things you need to build," he said. "You need permits. You need financing, and you need engineering."
When looking into the finances, Ioneer has invested about $200 million of its own money into the project. The U.S. Department of Energy has loaned $996 million.
Permitting was set in stone back in October when the Bureau of Land Management announced an approval. The project also got the state's blessing for the water and air quality report.Â
On the engineering side, they say things are going great.
"This project remains the most well engineered in terms of design completion of any lithium project in the U.S. that's under development," Yeftich said. "70 percent design complete. Normally projects go into constriction with about 20 to 30 percent design complete."
The price of lithium has plummeted since about 2022, but Yeftich says he is not concerned with the drop, because in 2021, the price of lithium was very similar to where it is today.
They also say they will produce the mineral at about half of the current average global rate. Yeftich says it will cost about $5,700 a ton to produce it and says the current lithium price is between $9,000 to $10,000.
"This is a project where we have a 98-year mine plan in our reserve forecast, so we want to plan for the longer term and make sure those benefits stay here in Nevada," Yeftich said.
In the meantime, Goldman Sachs & Co will be acting as the advisor to help Ioneer find equity partners.
