RENO, Nev. (AP) — U.S. land managers said Thursday they’ve completed a final environmental review of a proposed Nevada lithium mine that would supply minerals critical to electric vehicles and a clean energy future while still protecting an endangered wildflower .
“This environmental analysis is the product of the hard work of experts from multiple agencies to ensure that we protect species as we provide critical minerals to the nation,” Bureau of Land Management Director Tracy Stone-Manning said in a statement Thursday.
The agency’s final environmental impact statement is subject to a 30-day comment period. It’s likely to face legal challenges from environmentalists who say it clearly violates the Endangered Species Act and will cause the desert flower Tiehm’s buckwheat to go extinct at the only place it exists in the world near the California line halfway between Reno and Las Vegas.
The Australian mining company pushing the project said completion of the review is a “significant milestone” in a six-year-long effort to build the Rhyolite Ridge mine. It anticipates production to begin as early as 2028 of the element key to manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles.