Ford to buy lithium from ioneer for U.S. EV battery plant (updated)

ECOPRO

21/07/2022 17:30

(Adds stock movement, statement from conservation group)
    By Ernest Scheyder
    July 21 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co  F.N  said on Thursday it
will buy lithium from ioneer Ltd's  INR.AX  Rhyolite Ridge
mining project in Nevada and use the metal to build electric
vehicle batteries in the United States.
    The deal is one of the first binding agreements between a
U.S. lithium company and U.S. automaker amid rising pressure
from Washington to domestically source metals for the green
energy transition and curb reliance on China.    
    Under the terms of the deal, ioneer will supply 7,000 tonnes
of lithium carbonate annually for five years to BlueOvalSK,
Ford's battery joint venture with SK Innovation  096770.KS ,
which has a Kentucky factory. 
    Shipments are slated to start by the end of 2025, when
ioneer and development partner Sibanye Stillwater Ltd  SSWJ.J 
expect the mine to open on federal land roughly 225 miles (362
km) north of Las Vegas. 
    "We're really excited to be helping America's goal of making
EVs domestically," James Calaway, ioneer's executive chairman,
told Reuters. 
    The Australia-based company's shares, which began trading on
the Nasdaq last month, were up 8% in midday trading.
    The amount of lithium that ioneer will supply Ford is enough
to make about 175,000 EVs annually, though that figure would
vary depending on a vehicle's power needs.
    "Helping unlock lithium in the U.S. will help us support
localized production of battery cells going forward," said Lisa
Drake, Ford's vice president of EV industrialization.
    The Ford deal, and a similar one last year with South
Korea's Ecopro Co  086520.KQ , are for about two-thirds of
ioneer's expected annual lithium production of 21,000 tonnes.
Calaway said ioneer is in talks now to sell most of the
remaining capacity in the United States.
    U.S. officials earlier this year said they would zone off
910 acres (368 hectares) near the mine site to protect a rare
flower known as Tiehm's buckwheat.
    The Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group,
said Ford "needs to rethink this poor decision" to partner with
ioneer and should source the metal elsewhere because of concerns
about the flower's fate.     

    <^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Rare flower to get protected zone near ioneer's Nevada lithium
mine      urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2UD283
ioneer says U.S. gov't loan application moves forward   
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2T40HF
Sibanye Stillwater buys half of ioneer's Nevada lithium project
in $490 million deal      urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2QH34A
Ford Motor, SK Innovation announce EV battery joint venture in
N. America     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL2N2N719C
Ford boosts EV spending to $50 billion, sets up new Model e unit
     urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2V52YG
INSIGHT: To go electric, America needs more mines. Can it build
them?    https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mining-insight-idINKCN2AT39Z
    ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
 (Reporting by Ernest Scheyder; Editing by Leslie Adler and
Bernadette Baum)
 ((ernest.scheyder@thomsonreuters.com; Twitter: @ErnestScheyder;
+1-713-210-8512; Reuters Messaging:
ernest.scheyder.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))