‘Silicon Valley of lithium’: Nevada mine breaks ground

By Hannah Northey, Timothy Cama | 03/03/2023 01:20 PM EST

Also in play is Australian company Ioneer Ltd.’s Rhyolite Ridge proposed lithium-boron mine in southwest Nevada, which is undergoing a federal review. Environmentalists have raised concerns about the mine’s proximity to a rare wildflower the Fish and Wildlife Service last year listed as endangered.

Last summer, Ford Motor Co. announced it had signed an agreement to obtain more than 7,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate over five years from the Rhyolite project if it moves forward (Greenwire, July 21, 2022).

Developers of Rhyolite have also signed a supply deal with battery manufacturer Prime Planet Energy & Solutions Inc., a joint venture between Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Holdings Corp., in which the battery manufacturer would get 4,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate annually from the mine over a five-year period (Greenwire, Aug. 1, 2022).
Patrick Donnelly, the Center for Biological Diversity’s Great Basin director, said he’s tracking more than 70 lithium projectsthroughout Nevada in various stages — mining claims, announcements around exploration and firm proposals — but that only Thacker Pass and Rhyolite Ridge are moving forward through the federal regulatory process.

https://www.eenews.net/articles/silicon-valley-of-lithium-nevada-mine-breaks-ground/