Greens haven’t stopped vital lithium project

Nevada is home to the largest known lithium deposit in the United States and one of the largest in the world. Radical greens would prefer the mineral remains buried in the Nevada outback. Thankfully, more rational voices are on the verge of prevailing.

This month, Ioneer Limited signed a deal with Esmeralda County to provide up to $17 million for various public services and infrastructure development in the remote, sparsely populated jurisdiction in west-central Nevada near the California border. The company expects to begin construction this year on a mining project to tap the extensive lithium deposits near Rhyolite Ridge, with production slated to begin in 2028.

Geologists estimate that the area contains some 13.7 million metric tons of the mineral, which is essential for producing rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electronic goods. Ioneer expects the mine to produce annually the equivalent of 25% of the entire global demand for lithium in 2021. The United States currently relies on Argentina and Chile for the bulk of its lithium.

Not surprisingly, the project has for years met with resistance from green groups and tribal interests. Their opposition highlights the contradictions in the modern-day environmental movement. Rather than welcome the production of a mineral vital to ease any transition from fossil fuels, activists have tried to scuttle the mine for years.

While singing the doomsday gospel of global warming, they simultaneously seek to block access to the very materials necessary for a clean energy future.

It’s clear that many green activists would prefer impoverishing the nation over any energy development at all.

Yet Ioneer has passed every environmental review and prevailed in numerous court challenges, including Endangered Species Act lawsuits from the usual suspects, particularly the green litigation machine known as the Center for Biological Diversity.

The Biden administration—no bastion of rapacious developers—approved a $1 billion loan for the project, and President Donald Trump has made no secret that he will aggressively move to pare the bureaucratic kudzu that inhibits development of the nation’s energy and mineral resources.

Lower lithium prices in recent years have created financial challenges for Ioneer, yet the agreement with Esmeralda County is another indication that the mine is moving forward. The deal includes $10 million in road upgrades for the rural county and up to $7 million in funding to improve emergency services. The county—with just 736 residents, according to 2023 census estimates—will also benefit by the creation of 350 good-paying jobs.

“The potential benefits of responsible mining are clear: sustainable income, job opportunities and support for essential services,” Linda A. Williams, a longtime resident of Fish Lake, near Rhyolite Ridge, wrote in June for the Review-Journal. She called the mine “a lifeline for our community.”

The federal government has designated 50 minerals as “critical” to the nation. That includes lithium and 17 “rare earth” elements, which are mostly imported from China.

It’s well past time that the United States—for both economic and national security reasons—prioritizes domestic production of these vital metals while taking the necessary steps to develop them in an environmentally responsible fashion. The Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine is an important part of that equation and will provide significant benefit to Esmeralda County, the state of Nevada and the nation.

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