las vegas — A federal judge in Nevada has ruled against environmentalists who wanted to stop a lithium-boron mine that they said would harm the planet. Endangered wild flower.
The ruling represents a major legal victory for the 11-square-mile (28.49-square-kilometre) Rhyolite Ridge lithium/boron mine project in Esmeralda County, located between Reno and Las Vegas. Bernard Rowe, managing director of Ioneer, the Australian company behind the project, said the land contains the largest reserves of lithium and boron in the world outside Türkiye.
U.S. District Judge Christina Silva ruled Friday that the federal government properly approved the project and adequately considered the impacts the project would have on the rare wildflower called buckwheat, whose total population grows on 10 acres (4.05 hectares) of land in the project area. The environmental groups behind the lawsuit say they may appeal.
Lithium is an essential element in electric vehicle batteries. It will be Rhyolite Ridge The third lithium mine in NevadaRoy said it is one of the few mines that will process the material on site.
“Rhyolite Ridge will create hundreds of new American jobs, reduce reliance on foreign materials and processing, and provide a domestic source of two important minerals,” Chad Yeftich, vice president of corporate development and external affairs at Ioneer, said in a statement.
Ioneer wants construction to begin by the end of this year and production in 2029, although it is still searching for a financial partner after a major investor pulled out last year. Sibanye-Stillwater said the project doesn’t make any financial sense. In January 2025, the Department of Energy finalized a nearly $1 billion loan for the project.
Roy said the $2 billion mine will have a lifespan of more than 77 years and will produce enough lithium carbonate to make about 400,000 electric cars. It will also produce boric acid, which is used in pest control, flame retardants, medical and personal care.
It was Rhyolite Ridge It was first approved during the Biden administration As part of the former president’s clean energy agenda. As did the Trump administration Supporting lithium projects in Nevada As a means of promoting American manufacturing of critical minerals. The Ministry of Interior declined to comment.
Center for Biological Diversity, which He fought so long for protection Great Basin Director Patrick Donnelly said the wildflower, which successfully lobbied to be classified as an endangered species in 2022, was not done with its fight.
His organization is considering appealing the ruling to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, arguing that the case could have impacts on other species and habitats protected under the Endangered Species Act.
“This may seem like a remote little flower in the middle of nowhere. But if we lose Teham’s buckwheat, what else will we face with a rollback of the Endangered Species Act?” Donnelly said.
Tiehm’s buckwheat is a wildflower a few inches tall that grows in an area equivalent to seven football fields in the Silver Peak Range. In spring, the plant produces green leaves and yellow, pellet-like flowers. When they bloom, they are the center of a vibrant pollinator community, Donnelly said.
Silva, the judge nominated by Biden, found that Ioneer’s mitigation efforts, which include fencing around the habitat and buffer zones between mining and buckwheat activities, were sufficient for purposes of the Endangered Species Act. Of the 1.4 square miles (3.63 square kilometers) of critical habitat for buckwheat, 4.9% would be lost to the project, Silva wrote.
Donnelly insists the mining project will increase the risk of wildflower extinction, potentially affecting the biodiversity of the ecosystem. He doubted that a fence around the flower’s habitat would protect it.
“This type of die-off has occurred from thousands of wounds to the buckwheat,” Donnelly said, adding that if it goes ahead, it will be a “death blow” to the wildflower.