The U.S. District Court for the District of Nevada upheld federal approval of Ioneer Ltd's (NASDAQ: IONR) Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in a decision issued in Center for Biological Diversity v. Stone-Manning.

The court found that the Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service complied with the Endangered Species Act, Federal Land Policy and Management Act, and National Environmental Policy Act in their review and approval of the Nevada mining project.

The Rhyolite Ridge project will mine and process lithium and boron, two materials used in permanent magnets, batteries, semiconductors, and military applications. Ioneer received the final federal permit for the project from the Bureau of Land Management in October 2024, completing a federal permitting process that began in early 2020.

"Ioneer is pleased that the District Court denied all challenges to the Rhyolite Ridge mine plan," the company stated, adding that the outcome allows it to continue advancing the project.

The company secured a $996 million loan from the U.S. Department of Energy's Energy Dominance Financing Program in January 2025. Ioneer has signed separate offtake agreements with Ford Motor Company and Prime Planet Energy & Solutions in 2022, and Korea's EcoPro Innovation in 2021.

Managing Director Bernard Rowe said the company looks forward to completing its strategic partnering process and beginning construction. The project is located in Nevada and represents one of a limited number of lithium-boron ore deposits globally, according to the company.