The US Department of Energy (DoE) has granted a $996 million loan to US-Australian miner Ioneer for its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron project in Nevada. The loan will help Ioneer produce 20,600 tons per year of lithium carbonate and 174,400 tons per year of boric acid.
Ioneer initially received a $700 million loan offer from the DoE in January 2023, with the final support package including a $968 million principal facility and $38 million in capitalized interest. Production at Rhyolite Ridge is expected to begin in 2028, with offtake partners including Ford and EcoPro committed to purchasing over 11,000 tons of lithium carbonate annually.
The DoE has accelerated its investment program, allocating $2.3 billion to support Thacker Pass' 40,000 tons per year lithium carbonate plant in Nevada, $1.36 billion to EnergySource Minerals' 20,000 tons per year lithium hydroxide plant in California, and over $17 million to support smaller processors across the country.
