Ioneer (ASX:INR) has signed non-binding memorandums of understanding (MOU) with Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development (KIND) and Hyundai Engineering (KRX:000720) to advance its Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project in Nevada.
Under the agreements, KIND is considering an equity investment in the project, while Hyundai Engineering is evaluating providing procurement-related services for its development.
The Rhyolite Ridge Project hosts the only known lithium-boron reserve in North America and one of only two globally. Ioneer has invested over US$220 million ($317 million) in the asset since 2016 and completed over 70% of advanced engineering work.
Once operational, the site will process ore into final products onsite and create 275 to 300 permanent jobs in rural Nevada.
Managing Director Bernard Rowe says KIND and Hyundai Engineering bring proven expertise and a shared commitment to delivering critical minerals projects.
“Together, we are closer than ever to breaking ground at Rhyolite Ridge and bringing urgently needed lithium and boron to the market,” Rowe says.
KIND Director of plant business division Chris Soeung Kim says the agreement deepens strategic ties between South Korea and the US.
“We have been actively advancing investments in US energy, infrastructure, and critical minerals, and Rhyolite Ridge is exactly the kind of investment that serves our mandate,” Kim says.
Hyundai Engineering Head of process plant business execution office Seung Dong Lee says Rhyolite Ridge stands apart from other critical mineral projects across key metrics including permitting, construction readiness, and long-term supply certainty.
Executive Chairman James Calaway says the MOUs reflect the project’s strength and maturity.
“With the entry into MOUs with KIND and Hyundai Engineering, we are one step closer to a final investment decision and to delivering this once-in-a-generation asset for US critical minerals production,” Calaway says.
Ioneer notes the MOUs are non-binding and do not create legally enforceable obligations.
The company secured a US$996 million loan with the Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Dominance Financing in January 2025 and received its final federal permit from the Bureau of Land Management in October 2024.
It also previously secured supply off-take agreements with Ford (NYSE:F), Prime Planet Energy & Solutions, and EcoPro Innovation.
Ioneer is an emerging materials explorer and mining company, with US operations based in Nevada.
Write to Paula Fabe at Mining.com.au
Images: Ioneer
