The Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management gave final approval Thursday to the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron mining project in Nevada, a project that proponents hope will help meet the high demand of critical minerals used to make electric vehicle batteries and wrest market control from China.  

The project, managed by Ioneer, will be developed in Esmeralda County, Nevada, and when completed, will be able to supply lithium to power about 370,000 electric vehicles annually, the agencies said. The project’s construction will employ up to 500 workers, and the mine will employ about 350 workers during operations.