CASE STUDY:

Rhyolite Ridge, Nevada, USA

From Yes to life No to Mining global network ‘On the Frontlines of Lithium Extraction’

The proposed Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron mine project in Esmeralda County, Nevada, United States of America, by the company Australian-owned Ioneer would very likely cause an endemic species to go extinct. The flower, Tiehm’s Buckwheat, is only known to exist within the area that would be affected by the mine.

Despite the mining company and regulatory agencies’s knowledge of this, they have persisted in their attempt to mine in that location, trying other tactics to get around responsibility towards the buckwheat species and state (and ultimately also global) biodiversity. 

They also actively worked to shield the public from knowing about the existence of the endemic buckwheat, with this information only coming into public awareness due to a single agency whistle-blower and a Freedom of Information Act request.