Environmental groups on Wednesday appealed a federal judge’s ruling in favor of ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge lithium and boron project, alleging the proposed Nevada mine would cause a rare wildflower to go extinct.
The Biden administration approved the mine in 2024, saying its decision was “science-based.”
A federal judge last month rejected claims by environmentalists that the US government improperly approved the project.
On Wednesday, Great Basin Resource Watch, the Center for Biological Diversity and the Western Shoshone Defense Project appealed that ruling to the San Francisco-based 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals, saying the mine’s approval was “flawed from the start.”
“Especially given the current global biodiversity loss crisis, it is dangerous to allow the Rhyolite Ridge Mine to proceed,” said John Hadder with Great Basin Resource Watch, an environmental group.
Australia-based ioneer said it was confident the judge’s ruling would stand on appeal.
“We stand by the rigorous, years-long review that underpins our approved federal permit,” said ioneer spokesperson Chad Yeftich.
No hearing date has been set for the appeal.
Shares of ioneer traded in New York gained about 1% on Wednesday.
(By Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
