Judge closes Nevada lithium mine case without trial, sides with Bureau of Land Management

Alan Halaly, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Mar 30, 2026

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LAS VEGAS — A judge has denied environmentalists’ claims that the federal government erred in approving a lithium-boron mine in Esmeralda County, clearing the way for the mine to proceed with its eventual construction.

The battle over the mine’s impacts has spanned years, largely concerned with an endemic wildflower called Tiehm’s buckwheat. Even after the plant became federally protected under the Endangered Species Act with an emergency petition and developers altered the project plan accordingly, some say the mine spells the end for the species.

“I find that (Fish and Wildlife Service) rationally determined that the project is unlikely to jeopardize the wildflower or destroy or adversely modify the wildflower’s critical habitat,” wrote U.S. District Judge Cristina D. Silva in an order dated Friday.

The agency’s decision to rely on its own experts to come to that conclusion was “legally sound, even if this court finds contrary views more persuasive,” Silva added. She found no sound violation of the Endangered Species Act, the National Environmental Policy Act or the Federal Land Management Policy Act.

At its peak, the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron mine would produce enough lithium to power 370,000 electric vehicles per year, according to Australian mining company Ioneer. Last year, Ioneer lost its top investor for the mine, Sibanye-Stillwater, which was a side effect of the price of lithium’s plunge from its peak in 2022.

Ioneer executives told the Las Vegas Review-Journal in 2024 that the mine would create 500 construction jobs and 300 jobs for operation — a sizable footprint in Esmeralda County, halfway between Las Vegas and Reno. The county is the state’s most sparsely populated with about 1,000 people.

The Bureau of Land Management, under the Biden administration, greenlit the mine in 2024. Its parent agency, the Interior Department, declined to comment on the decision when reached Monday,.

But it’s been far from the end of opposition from environmentalists and a group of Western Shoshone Native Americans, who say the so-called green energy transition away from fossil fuels is coming at the steep cost of endangered species, tribal heritage sites and limited water resources.

Patrick Donnelly, Great Basin director at the nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement that he was deeply disappointed that Silva will not hear the plaintiffs’ arguments. Donnelly and his wife, the California Botanic Garden’s Naomi Fraga, championed the emergency petition to list Tiehm’s buckwheat as an endangered species.

“The Bureau of Land Management and Ioneer’s so-called safeguards are nothing but a house of cards that won’t save this important wildflower,” Donnelly said. “This ruling ignores the best available science and puts biodiversity and sacred Indigenous lands at risk from corporate greed.”

In a statement, the Australian mining company Ioneer said it will continue with its “strategic partnering process” to identify a new partner to fund the project. That should wrap up in the first half of 2026.

“For more than six years, we have worked closely with state, federal and tribal representatives, as well as the Fish Lake Valley community, to responsibly develop our Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project,” the company said.

For years, the production of lithium for EV batteries has seemingly been Nevada’s cross to bear. The state is home to the sole operational lithium mine in the nation; along with Rhyolite Ridge and the controversial Thacker Pass mine near the Nevada-Oregon border, only three have federal permits to operate.

Nevada’s congressional delegation, state lawmakers and Gov. Joe Lombardo have bestowed bipartisan support — and millions in tax abatements — for those efforts, though Rhyolite Ridge did not receive one. The federal government has chipped in, too, providing a $996 million loan to the mine.

In addition to lithium, the mine will produce a significant amount of boron. The U.S. Geological Survey added boron to its critical minerals list last year, citing its importance to the national defense with armor, wind turbines, solar panels and more.

Donnelly, whose organization is leading the plaintiffs in further challenges, said they have 30 days to appeal the judge’s decision, which he said isn’t yet off the table.

“We’re exploring our next steps, but we’re more determined than ever to continue fighting to save Tiehm’s buckwheat,” Donnelly said.

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