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Ecologists sue over US approval of ioneer's Nevada lithium mine

Environmental and Indigenous groups on Thursday submitted a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Interior Department's approval of ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, the very first domestic source of the battery metal to be allowed by Democratic President Joe Biden's. administration.

In a claim filed in federal court in Las Vegas, groups. consisting of the Center for Biological Variety argued the task. posed an existential threat to the unusual wildflower Tiehm's. buckwheat and could drive it to termination.

They said the mine would likewise adversely effect groundwater,. springs, wetlands, air quality, cultural resources and wildlife. habitat and would change a remote part of rural Nevada into a. stretching industrial complex.

Yet the groups said the Interior Department's Bureau of Land. Management approved the mine without ensuring it would not. endanger the wildflower or unduly impact the environment in. offense of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal. Lands Policy and Management Act, and the Endangered Species Act.

The Interior Department and ioneer did not immediately. respond to ask for remark.

The Australia-based vital minerals miner received. approval for the mine last week following a more-than six-year. evaluation procedure throughout which regulators, ioneer and. conservationists tussled over the fate of Tiehm's buckwheat.

The permit cleared the method for development of a mine that. will become a key supplier to Ford Motor and other. electric-vehicle producers. It was released in the middle of a flurry of. recent relocations by Biden administration officials to support. vital minerals production and balance out China's market. dominance.

The permit also opened a $700 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy, along with a $490 million equity. investment from Sibanye Stillwater to money the project.

The Interior Department said when it authorized the mine that. it had actually taken various steps to secure the ecosystem near the. mine website, roughly 225 miles (362 km) north of Las Vegas.

The job contains enough lithium to power approximately 370,000. EVs each year. Building and construction is slated to begin next year, with. production commencing by 2028.

(source: Reuters)