The brief
- Only known lithium-boron deposit in North America; one of two in the world.
- Fully permitted since Oct 2024; a court upheld the permit in Mar 2026 (appeal pending).
- Needs a partner before building: Korea's KIND and Hyundai Engineering signed non-binding MOUs in Jul 2026.
Technical approach
Ore
Hard sedimentary rock, not brine or spodumene
Lithium and boron sit together in a low-clay rock rich in the boron mineral searlesite, so one quarry yields two products and boron offsets weak lithium prices.
Leach
Acid leaching on site
Crushed ore is soaked in sulfuric acid in vats, which dissolves both lithium and boron into one solution.
Products
Two products from one stream
Evaporating the solution crystallises boric acid out; lithium is then recovered from the remaining liquid and turned into battery-grade chemicals.
Footprint
No ponds, own power
No evaporation ponds. An on-site sulfuric acid plant makes the leach acid, and its waste heat makes steam and power, so the site runs off the Nevada grid.
