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- A rare flower will be protected in a zone within Ioneer’s (INR) Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron ore deposit in Nevada
- The US Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed critical habitat for the Tiehm’s buckwheat with a zone of 910 acres which is said to be necessary for the plant to survive
- While the company has acknowledge it will need to tweak its mine plans and still require permitting, the development will not have a material impact on planned activities
- The protection plan is set to be filed in the Federal Register on Thursday and will then be open for 60 days of public comment
- Shares in Ioneer were up 3.13 per cent to $0.66 as of 3:34 pm AEDT
A rare flower will be protected in a zone within Ioneer’s (INR) Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron ore deposit in Nevada.
The Tiehm’s buckwheat flowers are found along the western margin of the deposit and nowhere else in the world.
Ioneer has backed initiatives to protect the species, previously in October following a push from conservationists, the US Fish and Wildlife Service declared the flowers endangered.
Welcoming the classification, the company said it factored the protection of the buckwheat into every aspect of its project planning.
Now, regulators have proposed critical habitat for the plant with a zone of 910 acres which is said to be necessary for the plant to survive.
While Ioneer may need to tweak its mine plans, the Fish and Wildlife Service has specified that the zone should “not have a significant economic impact” on nearby business activity.
Permits will need to be obtained to mine within the area, which Ioneer said it has already taken into account and it will continue to work closely with both the FWS and US Bureau of Land Management to ensure its proposed activities “will not jeopardise the conservation of the species”.
The protection plan is set to be filed in the Federal Register on Thursday and will then be open for 60 days of public comment.
Shares in Ioneer were up 3.13 per cent to $0.66 as of 3:34 pm AEDT.
