ioneer Ltd (ASX:INR) continues to make progress with its strategic partnering process and the permitting and development schedule for the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada, USA, as well as plans for a US listing of its shares.
Rhyolite Ridge is the only known lithium-boron deposit in North America and one of only two known such deposits in the world.
ioneer is making progress on a number of fronts and is in the closing stages of arranging and announcing a funding agreement with a financial strategic partner later this quarter.
In addition to a recent offtake with Korean cathode manufacturer EcoPro, the company is continuing discussions with multiple parties regarding offtake agreements for the balance of planned lithium output from Rhyolite Ridge.
Furthermore, a formal evaluation process is underway to pursue secondary listing of shares on a major US stock exchange to increase exposure to US capital markets.
Status updates
ioneer anticipates that its strategic partnering process should deliver the majority of the required equity component of the Rhyolite Ridge funding stack, which will lead to an acceleration of debt and trade finance discussions that have been positively progressing for many months.
Moreover, ioneer expects offtake agreement discussions to conclude in the second half of 2021, coinciding with finalisation of the strategic partnering process as well as advancing debt funding and trade finance discussions, which have been ongoing throughout most of 2021.
Likewise, the secondary listing is also likely to take place in the second half of 2021, in line with ioneer’s longer-term strategy of increasing exposure to US markets, including access to the deep US capital markets.
Permitting phases
To date, ioneer has obtained two of the three key permits required to begin construction at Rhyolite Ridge which includes a Class II Air Quality Permit and a Water Pollution Control Permit by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP).
Notably, Rhyolite Ridge is the only lithium development project to have received dual permits from NDEP.
The third key permit is the plan of operation that must be approved by the Federal Department of Interior.
This plan requires assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act process, which includes public consultation and preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement.
The approval process has coincided with the period of transition to the Biden administration which has delayed the publication of notices to the federal register, including Rhyolite Ridge.
Rapid increase in demand
ioneer is continuing to correspond with regulators regarding the publication timeframe and notes that it has not received any directives to amend its plan of operation application and expects that the Notice of Intent will be published during the third quarter of 2021.
The construction of the Rhyolite Ridge Project is expected to begin once the plan of operation has been approved via a record of decision.
ioneer believes the timeline for the permitting and development of Rhyolite Ridge coincides extremely well with the anticipated rapid increase in demand for lithium mid this decade, with pricing for lithium anticipated to remain strong and likely increase from this time onwards.
- Ephrems Joseph