Ioneer moves closer to Nevada lithium mine approval with start of public review

April 12 (Reuters) - Ioneer moved a step closer to securing an approval for its proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada after a U.S. regulator on Friday sought public comment on a draft environmental impact statement for the project.

If the project in southern Nevada's Silver Peak Range is approved, it could potentially produce enough lithium, a key ingredient to make electric-vehicle (EV) batteries, to supply nearly 370,000 EVs each year, said the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

The publication of the draft environmental impact statement opens a 45-day public comment period, ending on June 3.

During the period, BLM, an agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, will conduct one in-person and one virtual public meeting on the proposal and will continue to engage in consultation with Tribal Nations.

Ioneer had modified its mining proposal at the request of the BLM and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to minimize impacts to the endangered Tiehm's Buckwheat, a desert flower endemic to the area, and its critical habitat.

Inputs from the public comment will inform the development of a final environmental review and record of decision, which is expected before the end of the year, for the proposal.

The U.S. Department of Energy had said last year it would lend Ioneer up to $700 million, the first by Washington to a U.S. mining project for lithium, to build its Rhyolite Ridge project.

The move was part of the United States' push to boost domestic production of critical minerals for the energy transition.

(Reporting by Roshia Sabu in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)