The Biden administration has issued its first approval for a lithium mine, ramping up efforts to shift the US critical minerals supply chain away from China.

The U.S. Interior Department on Thursday gave final approval to ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, the first domestic source of the battery metal to be permitted by President Joe Biden's administration and one that will become a key supplier to Ford and other electric vehicle manufacturers.

The Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management gave final approval Thursday to the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron mining project in Nevada, a project that proponents hope will help meet the high demand of critical minerals used to make electric vehicle batteries and wrest market control from China.

The mining project can quadruple the United States' lithium supply — but conservationists say it may also drive the endangered Tiehm's buckwheat to extinction.

An Australian mining company’s lithium-boron mine in Nevada passed all environmental hurdles on Thursday, and an environmental group immediately notified the federal government that it plans to sue. In a letter to Interior Department officials,

Ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Nevada receives final federal approval, planning to supply batteries for more than 370K electric vehicles annually.