{"id":2641,"date":"2025-06-12T12:26:23","date_gmt":"2025-06-12T12:26:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/?p=2641"},"modified":"2025-06-12T12:31:24","modified_gmt":"2025-06-12T12:31:24","slug":"ioneer-quadruples-reserves-doubles-costs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/mining\/ioneer-quadruples-reserves-doubles-costs\/","title":{"rendered":"Ioneer Quadruples Reserves, Doubles Costs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Australia-based Ioneer Ltd.<\/a> (ASX: INR) has unveiled a sweeping new plan for its Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada, expanding reserves and extending the mine\u2019s life to a staggering 95 years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the upside is big, so is the budget.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The updated reserve now totals 1.92 million tonnes of lithium carbonate<\/strong> equivalent (LCE) and 7.68 million tonnes of boric acid equivalent (BAE). This solidifies Rhyolite Ridge as the world\u2019s largest known lithium-boron deposit, according to the company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Key stats<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Annual output is projected at 17,200 tonnes of LCE and 60,400 tonnes of boric acid – a chemical staple in everything from agriculture to fiberglass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ioneer has upgraded more than 45% of the mineral resource to reserve status, offering a major confidence boost for long-term production plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The capital expenditure has risen from $800 million to $1.67 billion. Likewise, the all-in sustaining cost (AISC) is now $7,500 per tonne of LCE, although the first 25 years are expected to average a more palatable $5,745 per tonne.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the cost increase, ioneer says the project\u2019s post-tax net present value (NPV) has grown from $1.26 billion to $1.5 billion, though the internal rate of return (IRR) has dropped to 14.5% from a previously expected 20.8%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Built-in adaptability<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

What sets Rhyolite Ridge apart isn\u2019t just its size, but also it\u2019s the dual-revenue model. In the face of falling lithium prices, Ioneer plans to front-load production with high-boron ore, capitalizing on the relatively uncorrelated market for boric acid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo other lithium project offers this level of flexibility and economic advantage,\u201d said Managing Director Bernard Rowe, who emphasized that boric acid could contribute around 25% of revenue over the mine\u2019s first 25 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When lithium prices dip, like they have since their 2022 highs, that flexibility could be a lifeline.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A strategic pivot after Sibanye exit<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

The update follows February\u2019s high-profile departure of joint venture partner Sibanye-Stillwater (JSE: SSW)(NYSE: SBSW)<\/strong>, a move partly driven by the tough pricing environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since then, Ioneer has doubled down on its standalone strategy while also pursuing new investors. Rowe says the company is looking to sell up to 40% of the project to one or two strategic partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, investors seemed to like what they heard. Shares rose over 4% on the news, closing at A$0.13 and giving the company a market cap of A$295 million (~$190 million).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the lithium market rebounds, or if boric acid demand stays strong, Rhyolite Ridge could become a textbook case of patient capital rewarded.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ioneer has quadrupled reserves at its Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project, extending the project’s mine life to nearly a century.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2642,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,50,49,16,51,17],"tags":[72,33,11,34,70],"class_list":["post-2641","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-critical-minerals","category-mining-general","category-mining-industry","category-mining","category-mining-investments","category-precious-metals","tag-industry","tag-investing","tag-lithium","tag-mining","tag-north-america"],"acf":{"featured_video_oembed":"","featured_post_summary":"","post_source":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2641"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2645,"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2641\/revisions\/2645"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wallstreetendeavor.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}