Ioneer entered into a purchase agreement in September 2021 with Sibanye Stillwater Limited (Sibanye-Stillwater), a mining and metals processing company, to establish, subject to certain conditions, a joint venture related to the Rhyolite Ridge project. Sibanye-Stillwater is a valued interested party and expected partner in the project.
The conditional commitment comes on the heels of two critical materials loans closed by LPO — Syrah Vidalia, which will process active anode material, and Ultium Cells, which will manufacture battery cells. These projects marked LPO’s first-ever loans in the critical materials sector and the most recent loans under Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program within the last decade.
Together, these projects support a broader commitment by the Biden-Harris Administration to strengthen the nation’s domestic battery supply chain and electrify the transportation sector to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and foreign supply of raw materials.
The urgency to secure critical materials for batteries is expected to rapidly increase in the coming years as demand for lithium is projected to exceed current global production by 2030. This is subsequently causing U.S. auto manufacturers to seek a robust domestic supply of critical materials to keep pace with the increased demand.