Federal officials on Thursday granted final approval to a southwestern Nevada lithium mining project, which they say could supply enough of the resource to power nearly 370,000 electric vehicles (EVs).
The Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron mining project, located in the state’s Silver Peak Range, aims to bolster critical mineral development in the United States and create job opportunities for local community and tribal members.
“We have moved quickly to build a robust and sustainable clean energy economy that will create jobs to support families, boost local economies, and help address environmental injustice,” Laura Daniel-Davis, acting deputy secretary of the Interior Department, said in a statement.
“The Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine project is essential to advancing the clean energy transition and powering the economy of the future,” Daniel-Davis added.
Yet despite federal reassurances that the project will protect surrounding ecosystems, opponents warn that it poses severe threats to the area’s biodiversity, other natural resources and cultural …