I spent hours yesterday reading the entire lawsuit bought by the center for biological diversity, a native American advocacy group, and the Western Mining Action Project group. It runs to 67 pages.
This is a hell of a lawsuit, and long.
I'm not a lawyer, so some of my interpretations may be wrong, but from what I can understand of my reading, it seems like a very impressive lawsuit document.
They appear to be suing the BLM, and USA Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW), the USA Dept of the Interior, and other government agencies (?). It seems like they plan on suing just about everyone else who may be related to these judgements.
It's a very comprehensive document, and complicated, probably deliberately.
1. They want the BLM, USFW, and Dept of Interior judgements set aside,
2. They want damages (compensatory and restitution),
3. They want injunctive relief (all development activities to cease).
I expect the courts are going to have to put a halt to almost all Ioneer activities until they can sort through this lawsuit and decide how it is to be progressed, which may be the reason why we haven't heard from Ioneer recently, they are probably waiting on an initial decision from the courts as to how this will proceed, and whether they can actually do any development in the meantime, before they make an announcement and let the market know.
As per the lawsuit - Prayer for Relief.
The final paragraph states ........
WHEREFORE, Plaintiffs respectfully request that this Court:
A. Declare that FWS’s September 4, 2024 BiOp is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to the ESA;
B. Declare that BLM’s actions, omissions, and decisions in reviewing and approving the Rhyolite Ridge Project (including the mine and exploration projects) and related actions violate NEPA, FLPMA, and their implementing regulations;
C. Pursuant to the APA, vacate the ROD, BiOp, FEIS, and Project approvals;
D. Enjoin any further implementation of the Project;
E. Award to Plaintiffs their costs, expenses, expert witness fees, and reasonable
attorney fees pursuant to the Equal Access to Justice Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2412; and
F. Grant Plaintiffs such further relief as may be just, proper, and equitable.
And here is a recent article from Fox Reno on January 8th, 2025.
Company touts success growing endangered plant, some fear extinction near Nevada mine site.
by Ben Margiott
Wed, January 8th 2025 at 9:25 AM
foxreno.com/news
DOUGLAS COUNTY, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — A company planning to build a lithium and boron mine in central Nevada says its efforts to grow an endangered wildflower have been successful so far, but environmentalists continue to fear extinction of the rare plant.
Tiehm's buckwheat, a small flowering perennial, is only found in a 10-acre area of Esmeralda County — land that is also home to the largest deposit of lithium and boron in North America, according to Ioneer.
The Australia-based mining company is planning to start construction on the open pit quarry in 2025 after receiving final federal approval late last year.
But the company still faces a pending lawsuit from the Center for Biological Diversity, which claims that the intensive operation will drive Tiehm's buckwheat to extinction.
Ioneer officials have continued to tout their investment to protect the rare plant, claiming that an effort to grow Tiehm's buckwheat from seed in a greenhouse setting has been successful.
News 4-Fox 11 got a behind-the-scenes look inside the greenhouse Monday, where full-time botanist Florencia Peredo has worked to obtain and germinate the tiny seeds of the buckwheat plant.
(Photo of ....)
Botanist Florencia Peredo looks for Tiehm's buckwheat seeds on Jan. 6, 2025.
After starting with less than 20 plants in 2022, Peredo said she now tends to about 300 plants in the greenhouse facility south of Gardnerville. The biggest lesson learned so far, she said, is that the plants can grow well in standard potting soil, similar to what home gardeners might use.
It was previously thought that the plants could only grow in the mineral-rich soils near the lithium deposit, but Peredo and Ioneer vice president of external affairs Chad Yeftich said this experiment has shown that's not the case.
"If we put them out there, it's going to thrive because it can grow in different types of soil. It doesn't need a specific amount of lithium or any other mineral," Peredo said.
Part of the company's conservation plan is to eventually transplant Tiehm's buckwheat seedlings back into the wild, a process that would require federal approval and is not currently planned, they said.
But environmentalists fear that's when this effort will fall short — they worry the plants will not thrive when transplanted back into the native ecosystem.
"This transplant experiment is just greenwashing. The value of the native habitat of a species can't be overstated," said Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the Center for Biological Diversity. "This is the habitat where it evolved over thousands or millions of years, whereas creating artificial habitat somewhere else, there's really no evidence that's going to work."
They're just trying to put a pretty face on the extinction of the species.
In addition to skepticism about the transplant plan, Donnelly worries the mine operation itself will damage or destroy Tiehm's buckwheat's native habitat.
Yeftich said the mine won't come within 100 meters of existing Tiehm's buckwheat plants in most cases, but in two specific locations mining operations would be within 50 meters. Donnelly claims that's far too close to not have an impact when you consider the highly intensive construction operation needed for the quarry.
"It fundamentally alters the habitat of this plant to be that close to an active mining operation. We've presented science that shows that a one mile buffer would be much more protective of these plants and may not result in their extinction," he said.
Yeftich said the mine will not directly impact any Tiehm's buckwheat populations, which is required by the Endangered Species Act. But according to a video by Ioneer, the mine will move into 21.6% of Tiehm's buckwheat's critical habitat, which is roughly 900 acres that could support pollinators for the plant.
Ioneer intends to begin mine construction in 2025 and plans to open the mine in 2028. As of now, there are no plans to try and transplant the seedlings grown in the Douglas County greenhouse.
(Photo of .....)
A dormant Tiehm's buckwheat plant grown in native soil as seen in a greenhouse on Jan. 6, 2025.
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