ioneer (NASDAQ:IONR) said it is continuing to work toward a final investment decision for its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada, with Executive Chairman James Calaway telling shareholders the company is in a “favorable position” to advance the project during its 2026 annual general meeting.
Calaway said the company’s “sole focus” since its prior shareholder meeting has been achieving critical financing milestones while seeking to maximize risk-adjusted returns for shareholders. He described Rhyolite Ridge as “shovel-ready” and said the company continues to see interest in the project amid broader support for large, construction-ready greenfield critical minerals projects.
Rhyolite Ridge Economics and Mine Life
Managing Director Bernard Rowe said Rhyolite Ridge has “strong and resilient economics” because it is expected to produce both lithium and boron. He said the project’s net present value stands at $2.3 billion, with a levered internal rate of return of 23.2%, taking into account a $1 billion loan closed with the U.S. Department of Energy.
Rowe said the project economics are based on a 265 million-ton proven and probable ore reserve. At a production rate of 3.4 million tons per year, that equates to roughly 77 years of mine life, he said.
Rowe also said the all-in sustaining cash cost of $4,628 per ton of lithium carbonate places the project in the bottom quartile of the global lithium cost curve, largely because boron output offsets costs. He said the project is expected to produce approximately five to seven tons of boric acid for every ton of lithium.
The company said Rhyolite Ridge has a 540 million-ton mineral resource, including the 265 million-ton reserve, and that future expansion could involve additional processing trains. Rowe said the company also owns a second deposit, the North Basin, which was drilled in the 1980s and early 1990s but does not yet have a resource calculation.
Project Design and Strategic Positioning
Rowe emphasized that Rhyolite Ridge differs from other lithium and boron deposits because its mineralogy allows ioneer to produce refined chemicals at the mine site. He said the project can produce lithium carbonate and boric acid powders at roughly 99% purity using proven technology.
According to Rowe, the project is the only known vat or heap leachable lithium deposit globally. He said the ore can be crushed and leached in about 1.5 days, while the overall vat cycle, including loading, washing and unloading, takes about 5.5 days.
Rowe said the project’s sulfuric acid plant would generate steam and electricity, allowing the site to operate without grid power, gas or other external energy sources. He said the company has piloted the entire flow sheet and “very much de-risked” the process plant.
The company also highlighted demand drivers for lithium and boron in the United States. Rowe said U.S. lithium demand is being driven not only by electric vehicles but also by gigafactories, data centers and battery energy storage systems. He said U.S. lithium chemical demand is already in the hundreds of thousands of tons, compared with about 5,000 tons of domestic production.
For boron, Rowe said the material is used in more than 300 applications, including glass, ceramics, detergents, fertilizers, nuclear, defense, communications, aerospace and semiconductors. He said the U.S. currently consumes about 350,000 tons per year of boric oxide and has limited domestic supply outside one mine.
Financing and Partnering Process
ioneer executives said the company remains focused on securing project-level equity to pair with the Department of Energy loan. Rowe said the company is working through a partnering process to secure the equity required to make a final investment decision and start construction.
During the question-and-answer session, a shareholder asked whether Goldman Sachs is being paid a retainer in the search for an equity partner. Rowe said there are no retainers and that the process is based entirely on success fees.
Calaway declined to discuss whether offers had been made by potential equity partners, saying the discussions are “highly confidential” and “very active.” Asked whether the partnering process would be completed in the first half of the year, Calaway said the company’s current guidance is “the middle of the year.”
Rowe said the process formally began in the second half of last year but “really did not get fully underway” until early 2026 because of moving parts including low lithium prices, trade negotiations involving the U.S., Japan and Korea, and the addition of boron to the U.S. critical minerals list.
Calaway added that the company chose not to accept financing structures it viewed as unfavorable to shareholders during the bottom of the market cycle.
“It took a lot of courage on our part to not try to take tough, bad deals that would’ve been bad for our shareholders,” Calaway said.
Permitting, Timeline and Shareholder Questions
Calaway said ioneer was encouraged by a recent Nevada District Court decision upholding the federal government permit for Rhyolite Ridge and rejecting arguments against it. He said project opponents have appealed, but the company does not believe the appeal will delay the start of construction.
Calaway also said the company received a federal permit to outplant Tiehm’s buckwheat plants into the wild after years of growing the species in dedicated greenhouses. He said establishing self-sustaining populations would enhance “redundancy, representation, and resilience” of the species.
Rowe said construction is expected to take about 36 months. He said the company hopes to begin construction toward the end of this year, which would imply first production in 2029 based on that timeline.
In response to a question about the Department of Energy loan, Rowe said the company expects to make the first drawdown within the time frames allowed under the loan conditions, which he said extend to the end of next year. He noted that the company must spend the equity before the first loan drawdown.
Asked about potential additional equity raises, Rowe said the company has about $70 million in the bank and does not intend to raise further equity through market capital raisings. He said the project equity would come through a sell-down at the project level to a strategic partner or partners.
The company also reviewed formal AGM resolutions, including adoption of the remuneration report, director re-elections, approval of performance rights for directors in lieu of fees, and ratification of the prior issue of 400 million placement shares. Calaway said voting results would be released to the ASX later in the day.
About ioneer (NASDAQ:IONR)
ioneer Ltd. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on advancing its flagship Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada. The company’s core business activities center on developing a vertically integrated supply of critical battery minerals, including lithium carbonate and boric acid, to support the growing electric vehicle and energy storage markets. ioneer’s Rhyolite Ridge project is one of the only known deposits globally that contains both lithium and boron in economically recoverable concentrations, positioning the company to deliver a differentiated product to downstream battery and industrial users.
Founded and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in the late 2010s under its original name, the company rebranded to ioneer in 2018 to reflect a strategic focus on innovation in battery metals.
