March 31, 2023 – ioneer Ltd (“Ioneer” or the “Company”) issued the following statement on new guidance published by the U.S. Treasury Department around material sourcing for electric vehicles:
Ioneer welcomes today’s guidance from the Biden administration in providing further incentives toward building a strong and reliable supply chain of critical materials for the domestic production of electric vehicle batteries.
Ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge Project is the most sophisticated lithium project in the U.S. and will create good paying jobs in Nevada while helping to reduce the country’s carbon emissions. Once operational, the Department of Energy’s Loan Program Office has estimated that Rhyolite Ridge could reduce annual gas consumption by nearly 145 million gallons and prevent the release of approximately 1.29 million tons of carbon dioxide each year from gas cars.
We look forward to completing the remaining federal permitting steps, producing the resources critical to combating climate change in a responsible and sustainable manner, and delivering a secure source of lithium for the U.S. electric vehicle supply chain.
About ioneer
Ioneer Ltd is the 100% owner of the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project located in Nevada, USA, the only known lithium-boron deposit in North America and one of only two known such deposits in the world. The Definitive Feasibility Study (DFS) completed in 2020 confirmed Rhyolite Ridge as a world-class lithium and boron project that is expected to become a globally significant, long-life, low-cost source of lithium and boron vital to a sustainable future. In September 2021, Ioneer entered into an agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater to advance the Rhyolite Ridge project. Following the satisfaction of all conditions precedent of the agreement, Sibanye-Stillwater will acquire a 50% interest in a joint venture, with Ioneer maintaining a 50% interest and retaining the operational management responsibility for the joint venture. Ioneer signed separate offtake agreements with Ford Motor Company and PPES (joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic) in 2022 and Korea’s EcoPro Innovation in 2021.
