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United States
Rhyolite Ridge Project

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 Location:
24 km NE from Dyer, Nevada, United States

  Project Contacts:
9460 Double R. Blvd
Suite 200
Reno
Nevada, United States
89521
Phone  ...  Subscription required
Fax+1-725-212-4060
WebsiteWeb
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  • Overview
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  • Mining
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  • Reserves
  • Costs & Financials
  • Fleet
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  • Filings & News

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Overview

StagePermitting
Mine TypeOpen Pit
Commodities
  • Lithium
  • Boron
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life26 years (as of Jan 1, 2020)
Rhyolite Ridge is one of only two major lithium-boron deposits globally and the only known deposit associated with the boron mineral searlesite. Rhyolite Ridge’s unique mineralogical characteristics support low-cost processing of its ore into high-grade lithium and boric acid products using sulphuric acid leaching.
Latest Newsioneer Ltd: U.S. Department of Energy Offers Conditional Commitment for a Loan of Up to US$700 Million for the Rhyolite Ridge Project     January 16, 2023


Owners

Source: p. 11,14
CompanyInterestOwnership
Ioneer Ltd. 100 % Indirect
IONEER Limited of Australia is the parent company to both IONEER USA Corp. and IONEER Minerals Corp., collectively referred to as IONEER. The operator of the Rhyolite Ridge Project is IONEER USA Corp., a Nevada (U.S.) company. Title to the Rhyolite Ridge mining claims are held by IONEER Minerals Corp. and IONEER USA Corp., which together own 263 unpatented mining claims comprising the project area.

16 September, 2021 – ioneer Ltd (“ioneer” or the “Company”) (ASX: INR) is pleased to announce that the Company has reached an agreement to establish a joint venture (the “Joint Venture”) with Sibanye Stillwater Limited (“Sibanye-Stillwater”) to develop the flagship Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project located in Nevada, USA (the “Project”). Under the terms of the agreement, Sibanye-Stillwater will contribute US$490 million for a 50% interest in the Joint Venture, with ioneer to maintain a 50% interest and retain operatorship.

Contractors

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Deposit Type

  • Sediment-hosted


Summary:

Rhyolite Ridge is a geologically unique lithium-boron deposit that occurs within lacustrine sedimentary rocks of the South Basin, peripheral to the Silver Peak Caldera. The South Basin within the project boundaries measures 6 kilometers by 2 kilometers and covers an area of 800 hectares.

Rhyolite Ridge is one of only two major lithium-boron deposits globally and the only known deposit associated with the boron mineral searlesite. This mineralization style is different to the brine and pegmatite deposits that are the source of nearly all the lithium produced today. The lacustrine (lake) beds that host the mineralization lie within the Cave Spring Formation and overlie the 6-million-year-old Rhyolite Ridge Tuff and Argentite Canyon volcanic rocks. The lacustrine section that measures up to 457 meters thick is composed of three members, divided by marker beds of “gritstone” comprised of airfall debris with abundant pumice lapilli. The middle member, which is bounded top and bottom by distinctive gritstones, is dominantly marl, composing nearly 60 meters of section, and bears anomalous lithium in its upper half. About 18 meters of this section contains high concentrations of boron –contained in the sodium borosilicate mineral, searlesite (up to 30,000 parts per million [ppm] boron) – as well as lithium in mixed illite-smectite layers (about 1,500 to 2,500 ppm lithium). This marl is composed of very fine grained, intimately mingled searlesite, smectite, illite, potassi ........


Mining Methods

  • Truck & Shovel / Loader


Summary:

Development of the Rhyolite Ridge quarry will occur in two stages:

- Quarry Stage 1 – Starter Pit. An initial starter pit will be developed in the southwestern part of the ore body to supply ore for the first 4.5 years of the project. In this area, lithium grades are 15% higher than the average grade for the deposit and the ore is more exposed at surface.

- Quarry Stage 2. Development of the greater pit will start once the environmental permits for this development have been granted. The Stage 2 pit design will facilitate a larger mining area to be maintained, aiding the efficiency of the operation for another 21 years (there will be an overlap of Stage 1 and Stage 2 ore mined during years 4 and 5). Stage 2 will involve expansion to the south and east. Finally, mining will progress to the north of the deposit. The Stage 2 pit requires prestripping to begin in year 4.

The mining operations will consist of a conventional drill-and-blast, load-and-haul operation. Ore will be trucked from the mine quarry to the nearby ore processing stockpile over a new heavy haul road. The ore will be reclaimed by a loader and fed to the crushing plant.

The open-pit mining operations are scheduled nominally for 350 days per year. It was assumed that 15 days per year will be lost due to unscheduled delays such as weather conditions. The open-pit equipment will operate 24 hours a day in two 12-hour working shifts.

The key parameters for the c ........


Crushing and Grinding
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Processing

Flow Sheet: Subscription required

Summary:

- subscription is required.


Projected Production:
Lithium hydroxide (99.5%): 21,951 tpa (conversion of lithium carbonate in years 4 to 26).

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
LCE t 496,700
Lithium Hydroxide t  ......  Subscription required
Li2CO3 t  ......  Subscription required
Boric acid Crystals t  ......  Subscription required
Sulphuric acid t  ......  Subscription required

Operational Metrics:

Metrics
Stripping / waste ratio  ......  Subscription required
Ore tonnes mined, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Total tonnes mined, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Daily processing rate  ......  Subscription required
Tonnes processed, LOM  ......  Subscription required
Annual processing rate  ......  Subscription required
Annual ore mining rate  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2020 study.
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Reserves at January 20, 2020:
Cut-off grade is 5,000 ppm boron for South Basin of Rhyolite Ridge.

CategoryTonnage CommodityGradeContained Metal
Proven 29 Mt Lithium 1899 ppm
Proven 29 Mt Boron 16271 ppm
Proven 29 Mt Li2CO3 1.01 %
Proven 29 Mt Boric acid 9.31 %
Probable 31.3 Mt Lithium 1702 ppm
Probable 31.3 Mt Boron 14629 ppm
Probable 31.3 Mt Li2CO3 0.91 %
Probable 31.3 Mt Boric acid 8.37 %
Proven & Probable 60.2 Mt Lithium 1797 ppm
Proven & Probable 60.2 Mt Boron 15418 ppm
Proven & Probable 60.2 Mt Li2CO3 0.96 %
Proven & Probable 60.2 Mt Boric acid 8.82 %
Measured 39 Mt Lithium 1700 ppm
Measured 39 Mt Boron 14550 ppm
Measured 39 Mt Li2CO3 0.9 % 360 kt
Measured 39 Mt Boric acid 8.3 % 3,240 kt
Indicated 88 Mt Lithium 1550 ppm
Indicated 88 Mt Boron 14150 ppm
Indicated 88 Mt Li2CO3 0.8 % 730 kt
Indicated 88 Mt Boric acid 8.1 % 7,110 kt
Inferred 19.5 Mt Lithium 1600 ppm
Inferred 19.5 Mt Boron 13800 ppm
Inferred 19.5 Mt Li2CO3 0.9 % 170 kt
Inferred 19.5 Mt Boric acid 7.9 % 1,530 kt
Total Resource 146.5 Mt Lithium 1600 ppm
Total Resource 146.5 Mt Boron 14200 ppm
Total Resource 146.5 Mt Li2CO3 0.9 % 1,250 kt
Total Resource 146.5 Mt Boric acid 8.1 % 11,890 kt

Commodity Production Costs:

CommodityUnitsAverage
All-in sustaining costs (AISC) LCE USD  ......  Subscription required *†
Assumed price Boric acid USD  ......  Subscription required&nbs
Assumed price LiOH USD  ......  Subscription required&nbs
Assumed price Li2CO3 USD  ......  Subscription required&nbs
* According to 2020 study / presentation.
† Net of By-Product.
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Operating Costs:

Units2020
OP mining costs ($/t milled) USD 4.04 *
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ......  Subscription required
* According to 2020 study.
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2020 Study Costs and Valuation Metrics :

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Closure costs $M USD  ......  Subscription required
OP OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Processing OpEx $M USD 2,668
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
Operating margin, %  ......  Subscription required
EBITDA (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscription required
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscription required
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Proposed Heavy Mobile Equipment as of September 15, 2022:
HME TypeModelSize
Truck (haul) ....................... Subscription required 140 t
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Mine Management:

Job TitleNameProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 16, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 16, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 16, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Nov 16, 2022
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Staff:

Total WorkforceYear
Subscription required 2020

Corporate Filings & Presentations:

DocumentYear
Other 2022
................................... Subscription required 2020
Subscription required - Subscription is required.

News:

NewsDate
ioneer Ltd: U.S. Department of Energy Offers Conditional Commitment for a Loan of Up to US$700 Million for the Rhyolite Ridge Project January 16, 2023
Ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge Project Advances into Final Stage of Permitting December 19, 2022

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