U.S. District Judge Cristina Silva ruled in Las Vegas that U.S. Interior Department regulators during Democratic former President Joe Biden’s administration sufficiently analyzed how the planned Rhyolite Ridge mine could affect Tiehm’s buckwheat, a rare wildflower that ioneer has vowed to protect.
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The Center for Biological Diversity environmental group, which filed suit in a bid to halt the project, had argued that the mine could drive the flower to extinction and harm groundwater, air quality, cultural resources and wildlife habitats.
The group challenged the legality of the government’s approval of the project. The lawsuit said the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management approved the mine without ensuring that it would not jeopardize the wildflower or unduly impact the environment in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Federal Lands Policy and Management Act and the Endangered Species Act.
An ioneer spokesperson welcomed the ruling, calling it a significant milestone for the U.S. government’s critical minerals plans.
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