Rhyolite Ridge

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PROJECT SUMMARY  

In January 2025, The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Loan Programs Office (LPO) announced the closing of a $996 million loan guarantee (including $968 million of principal and $28 million of capitalized interest) to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC to develop a domestic supply of lithium carbonate for electric vehicle (EV) batteries from the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project (Rhyolite Ridge) in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Supported by the LPO loan, the Rhyolite Ridge facility’s on-site lithium carbonate processing would support production of lithium for approximately 370,000 EVs each year. 

 
ECONOMIC IMPACT 

Developing a U.S. supply chain for critical materials such as lithium carbonate is crucial to securing energy independence, lowering costs for American customers, and protecting the U.S. economy from global supply bottlenecks. 

The Rhyolite Ridge project is projected to create up to 600 construction jobs and approximately 250-300 operations jobs.     

COMMUNITY BENEFIT 

The Rhyolite Ridge project is committed to hiring locally and offering training opportunities, including funding higher education scholarships for local high school students and residents in various technical and managerial fields.   

CLIMATE BENEFIT 

LPO’s loan to the Rhyolite Ridge project will finance the on-site processing of lithium carbonate that could potentially support production of lithium for approximately 370,000 EVs each year. This project could reduce annual gasoline consumption by nearly 145 million gallons and prevent the release of 1.29 million tons of carbon dioxide each year. 

PROJECT STATISTICS: Rhyolite Ridge 

* Last Updated January 2025. Approximate amount of the loan approved at closing including principal and any capitalized interest. 

** Estimated at the time of closing