Ioneer Ltd (ASX:INR, OTC:GSCCF, NASDAQ:IONR), an emerging lithium-boron supplier, has renewed the employment agreement for executive chairman James D Calaway for a further 12-month period, effective July 1, 2023.
Calaway was appointed executive chairman in July 2020 after serving as chair in a non-executive capacity since 2017.
The executive appointment was made in recognition of Calaway’s increased focus on the sales and marketing efforts, strategic partner discussions and funding considerations for ioneer’s wholly-owned Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada.
Close level of involvement
In renewing his contract, Calaway will continue his close level of involvement in the company and its activities, with a particular focus on growth activities, offtake discussions, US investor relations and stakeholder meetings.
ioneer expects that Calaway will continue in an executive capacity until a final investment decision (FID) is made for the Rhyolite Ridge Project.
Previous roles
Before joining ioneer, Calaway served for eight years as non-executive chairman of lithium producer Orocobre Ltd, leading it from early development phase into production.
He has assisted several private and public companies through critical growth stages to become successful commercial operations and he is currently chairman of Distributed Power Partners Inc, a distributed power development company.
About Rhyolite Ridge
Rhyolite Ridge is the only known lithium-boron deposit in North America and one of only two known such deposits in the world.
A definitive feasibility study (DFS) completed in 2020 confirmed Rhyolite Ridge as a world-class lithium and boron project that is expected to become a globally significant, long-life, low-cost source of lithium and boron vital to a sustainable future.
In September 2021, ioneer entered into an agreement with Sibanye-Stillwater in which, following the satisfaction of conditions precedent, Sibanye-Stillwater will acquire a 50% interest in the project, with ioneer maintaining a 50% interest and retaining operational management responsibility.
In January 2023, ioneer received a conditional commitment from the US Department of Energy Loan Programs Office for up to $700 million of debt financing.
Separately, the company has signed offtake agreements with Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) and PPES (joint venture between Toyota and Panasonic) in 2022 and with Korea’s EcoPro Innovation in 2021.