US agency review says Nevada lithium mine can co-exist with endangered flower

RENO, Nev. — U.S. land managers said Thursday they’ve completed a final environmental review of a proposed Nevada lithium mine that would supply minerals critical to electric vehicles and a clean energy future while still protecting an endangered wildflower.

“This environmental analysis is the product of the hard work of experts from multiple agencies to ensure that we protect species as we provide critical minerals to the nation,” Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement Thursday.

The agency’s final environmental impact statement is subject to a 30-day comment period. It’s likely to face legal challenges from environmentalists who say it clearly violates the Endangered Species Act and will cause the desert flower Tiehm’s buckwheat to go extinct at the only place it exists in the world near the California line halfway between Reno and Las Vegas.

The Australian mining company pushing the project said completion of the review is a “significant milestone” in a six-year-long effort to build the Rhyolite Ridge mine. It anticipates production to begin as early as 2028 of the element key to manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles.

“Today’s issuance not only advances the Rhyolite Ridge project but brings the United States closer to a more secure and sustainable source of domestic critical minerals,” said Bernard Rowe, managing director of Ioneer Ltd.

Opponents of the project say it’s the latest example of President Joe Biden’s administration running roughshod over U.S. protections for native wildlife, rare species and sacred tribal lands in the name of slowing climate change by reducing reliance on fossil fuels and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.

The Fish and Wildlife Service added the 6-inch-tall (15-centimeter-tall) wildflower with yellow and cream-colored blooms to the list of U.S. endangered species on Dec. 14, 2022, citing mining as the biggest threat to its survival.

The bureau said Thursday the mine could potentially produce enough lithium to supply nearly 370,000 electric vehicles a year. By 2030, worldwide demand for lithium is projected to have grown six times compared to 2020.

“The Rhyolite Ridge project represents what we can do when we work together — with industry, states, tribes and stakeholders — to ensure the swift consideration and adaptation of projects to fulfill our energy needs while respecting cultural and ecologically sensitive areas,” said Laura Daniel-Davis, acting deputy…