US government backs Ioneer Li-boron project: Correction

Market: Metals
20/01/25

Corrects figure for capitalised interest in third paragraph

The US Department of Energy (DoE) has granted a $996mn loan to US-Australian miner Ioneer to support its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron project in Nevada.

The loan will help it progress plans to produce 20,600 t/yr of lithium carbonate and 174,400 t/yr of boric acid at the Nevada site, Ioneer said on 20 January.

Ioneer was first offered a $700mn DoE loan in January 2023, with the final DoE support package including a $968mn principal facility and $28mn worth of capitalised interest.

The company will start production at Rhyolite Ridge in 2028, with multiple manufacturers — including American carmaker Ford and South Korean battery material producer EcoPro as offtake partners — willing to buy more than 11,000 t/yr of lithium carbonate.

The DoE started accelerating its investment program in late 2024, allocating $2.3bn to support Thacker Pass' 40,000 t/yr lithium carbonate processing plant in Nevada, $1.36bn to EnergySource Minerals' 20,000 t/yr lithium hydroxide plant in California, and over $17mn to support smaller processors across the country.

By Avinash Govind

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