Relying on foreign allies for critical minerals supply instead of mining domestically would be an “irresponsible” and “dangerous” policy for the Biden administration to pursue, a top lithium executive says.
“That’s a false choice. We need to have both. We need to have production, and we need to have processing in the United States,” James Calaway, who is the chairman of the board of lithium mining company Ioneer, told the Washington Examiner. “Those go together, and that’s the most environmentally friendly way to do it.”
US FACES SOARING NEED FOR CRITICAL MINERALS DOMINATED BY CHINA, IEA SAYS
Calaway was responding to a report that said the Biden administration, in a move to appease environmentalists, would focus on building a domestic industry to process critical minerals rather than exploring opportunities to mine in the U.S.
The potential policy decision drew immediate backlash from mining industry groups. The Biden administration sought to clarify its stance, with deputy White House climate adviser Ali Zaidi telling Reuters the administration’s pending supply chain review “includes responsibly pursuing, developing, and mining critical minerals and materials used for EV batteries.”
A plentiful supply of critical minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and rare earth elements will be vital to President Joe Biden’s aggressive climate plans, which include proposals to boost renewable energy deployment and electric vehicle adoption massively.
Those technologies are more mineral-intensive. The International Energy Agency recently projected the world’s appetite for critical minerals could grow by as much as six times in the next two decades. A typical electric car requires six times as many minerals as a gas-powered car, the IEA said.
The U.S., however, has little domestic supply of critical minerals. Much of the world’s production and processing is dominated by China.
If the Biden administration does steer away from domestic mining, companies such as Ioneer have a lot to lose.
Ioneer, an Australian company, is working to build a lithium mine to tap into the reserves in Nevada’s Rhyolite Ridge, located about halfway between Las Vegas and Reno. The region has one-of-a-kind mineralogy that Ioneer hopes to take advantage of to produce lithium at some of the world’s lowest costs.
The company is pledging to spend roughly $800 million on the project, the fate of which Calaway said is in the hands of the Interior Department. Ioneer is waiting on the Interior Department to release a notice of intent for the project that would jump-start a public comment period.
At this point, it appears the Interior Department could be stalling. Calaway said Ioneer sent its project plans to the agency just as the new administration was taking office, but it’s been several months with no movement. He said he thinks the White House should push the Interior Department to issue the notice.
“This is routine. We’ve already done the work. And it’s not saying, ‘We approve the mine or the operation,’” he added. “It just says we’re going to put this massive amount of information in the public domain and have a good debate.”
The Biden administration is reviewing the risks to supply chains, including for critical minerals and electric vehicle batteries, under an executive order Biden signed in February, and it is poised to issue a strategy to bolster those supply chains.
Calaway said that strategy should include a focus on speeding up approvals for projects such as Ioneer’s that are already ready. That is especially important because mining projects take a long time to build, even with an expeditious policy, he added.
Ioneer’s project has not been without hurdles. The company has faced opposition from environmental activists who say the company’s project would destroy the habitat of a rare wildflower, known as Tiehm’s buckwheat, that is only known to grow in Rhyolite Ridge.
In April, environmental activists scored a legal victory when a federal judge ordered the Fish and Wildlife Service to decide whether to protect the wildflower under the Endangered Species Act.
However, Calaway said the company is working to protect the plant and that he doesn’t think the issue should derail the lithium project. He also suggested that “anti-mining” groups don’t fully understand Ioneer’s endeavor and others similar to it.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“Those that are anti-mining have this idea that something like our facility, that we’re just digging up rocks, and that’s what we do. It’s almost a very primitive understanding,” Calaway said.
He added the majority of Ioneer’s resources, roughly $700 million, are going into building “the most advanced lithium processing facility” in the U.S. “that’s going to produce hundreds of excellent high-paying jobs.”
