{ "commitment": { "id": "fin-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-guarantee-2025", "eventId": "evt-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-2025", "relationships": [], "instrument": "loan_guarantee", "valueRole": "commitment", "capitalSource": "public", "amount": { "value": "996000000", "currency": "USD", "qualifier": "exact", "amountAsStated": "$996 million loan guarantee ($968 million principal plus $28 million capitalized interest)", "currencyBasis": "stated" }, "provider": "U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program", "providerJurisdiction": "us", "providerOrgIds": [ "org-us-doe" ], "legalAuthority": "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Section 136 — Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program", "programmeId": null, "recipient": "Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC", "recipientOrgIds": [ "org-ioneer-rhyolite-ridge-llc" ], "project": "Rhyolite Ridge on-site lithium processing facility", "projectId": "prj-us-rhyolite-ridge-processing", "facility": "On-site lithium carbonate processing facility and associated infrastructure", "locations": [ { "countryCode": "US", "subnational": "Nevada", "asStated": "Esmeralda County, Nevada" } ], "stages": [ "processing" ], "stageAllocation": "single_stage", "materialIds": [ "lithium" ], "materialAttribution": "tracked_only", "untrackedMaterialsAsStated": [], "financialStatusHistory": [ { "status": "contracted", "date": "2025-01-17", "sourceId": "src-doe-ioneer-rhyolite-2025-close", "note": "DOE's 17 January 2025 announcement expressly reports closing the $996M ATVM loan guarantee to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC. Funding is subject to conditions precedent; no positive advance evidence in reviewed June–August 2026 issuer filings. The 2023 conditional loan is not a second count." } ], "implementationStatusHistory": [ { "status": "feasibility", "date": null, "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-q2-2026", "note": "The 30 July 2026 issuer report confirms June-quarter pre-construction engineering and feasibility studies with strategic partner, final investment decision and physical construction still pending. Stage is observed by this source date; no exact phase transition date is claimed." } ], "terms": [], "outcomes": [], "evidence": [ { "sourceId": "src-doe-ioneer-rhyolite-2025-close", "supports": [ "instrument", "value_role", "capital_source", "amount", "provider", "legal_authority", "recipient", "project", "facility", "location", "stages", "materials", "status" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "DOE closing release, 17 January 2025, paragraphs 1–2 and ATVM programme description", "note": "Federal agency establishes a closed $996M guarantee and borrower, not disbursement; amount splits $968M principal and $28M capitalized interest." }, { "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-close-2025", "supports": [ "instrument", "amount", "recipient", "status" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "Issuer's 17 January 2025 loan-closing statement and conditional-loan comparison", "note": "Confirms closed instrument, amount and 2023 increase; earlier conditional commitment not additive." }, { "sourceId": "src-doe-rhyolite-nepa-0565", "supports": [ "project", "facility", "location", "stages", "materials" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "DOE/EIS-0565 Summary, loan-only processing scope", "note": "Excludes development/operation of open-pit mine. NEPA references a different proposed borrower, so it does not support recipient organization assignment." }, { "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-20f-2026", "supports": [ "status" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "DOE Loan discussion; conditions precedent to first advance and FID financing requirements", "note": "Issuer says draw conditions include equity partner, additional capital and revised financial model; no first advance evidenced." }, { "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-q2-2026", "supports": [ "project", "stages", "materials", "status" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "July 2026 Quarterly Activities Report, strategic partnering, timeline and ASX LR 5.3.2", "note": "FID awaited, future construction milestone; zero production/development activity in June 2026 quarter. A non-binding Korean partnership MOU is not a draw or construction." }, { "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-halfyear-2026", "supports": [ "status" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "Note 10 unamortized loan fees; Note 9 pre-FID exploration/development classification; directors' compliance statement", "note": "Loan fees are not cash from DOE; amortization begins after first draw and financial statements still pre-FID. No guarantee disbursement affirmed." } ], "notes": "ONE closed ATVM loan guarantee: $996M total = $968M principal + $28M capitalized interest; neither component is a second amount. January 2023 conditional commitment was revised and replaced at closing, not additive. As of latest reviewed issuer disclosures (June-quarter activities July 30, half-year accounts August 13, 2026), no primary source positively establishes a first federal advance; preserve contracted, do not classify as partially disbursed or assert conclusively that no draw has ever happened. Reported $4.273M establishment fees are costs paid by Ioneer, NOT DOE disbursement. First draw conditions include strategic partner equity, additional funds and revised financial model. Sibanye-Stillwater did not proceed with proposed project equity in February 2025; 2026 KIND/Hyundai understandings remained nonbinding. DOE's early NEPA summary names proposed Rhyolite Ridge Holdings LLC but the 17 Jan 2025 closing names Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC; these are not assumed equivalent. Processing facilities only: federal guarantee does not finance open-pit mine construction or separately fund the untracked boron co-product, and permits and feasibility are not physical construction.", "lifecycleReview": { "financialStatusCheckedAt": "2026-10-08", "implementationStatusCheckedAt": "2026-10-08" } }, "event": { "id": "evt-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-2025", "date": "2025-01-17", "jurisdiction": "us", "titleEn": "DOE closes $996 million loan guarantee for Rhyolite Ridge lithium processing" }, "parents": [], "children": [], "sources": [ { "id": "src-doe-ioneer-rhyolite-2025-close", "title": "DOE closes $996 million loan guarantee for Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Energy, Loan Programs Office", "url": "https://www.energy.gov/edf/articles/doe-announces-996-million-loan-guarantee-ioneer-rhyolite-ridge-advance-domestic", "language": "en", "datePublished": "2025-01-17", "dateAccessed": "2026-10-08", "sourceType": "official", "confidence": "primary", "notes": "Closing announcement: $996M guarantee, $968M principal plus $28M capitalized interest, to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC under ATVM. DOE specifies on-site lithium-carbonate processing and identified ioneer Ltd as developer; Jan 2025 closing is not evidence of cash advanced, operating production or mine financing." }, { "id": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-close-2025", "title": "Ioneer January 2025 SEC exhibit — $996 million DOE loan closing", "publisher": "Ioneer Ltd / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1896084/000114036125001367/ef20041815_ex99-1.htm", "language": "en", "datePublished": "2025-01-17", "dateAccessed": "2026-10-08", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "notes": "Issuer's 17 January 2025 closing announcement confirms the $996M ATVM facility, principal/interest split and earlier January 2023 conditional offer, including $268M principal increase. This is the same loan, not a second 2023 commitment or $996M immediately paid." }, { "id": "src-doe-rhyolite-nepa-0565", "title": "DOE/EIS-0565 — Rhyolite Ridge mine processing loan scope", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Energy, NEPA", "url": "https://www.energy.gov/nepa/doeeis-0565-rhyolite-ridge-lithium-boron-project-esmeralda-county-nevada", "language": "en", "datePublished": null, "dateAccessed": "2026-10-08", "sourceType": "official", "confidence": "primary", "notes": "DOE environmental summary explicitly confines contemplated federal loan to on-site lithium processing facilities, sulfuric acid plant and supporting infrastructure, NOT open-pit mine development/operation. The early NEPA synopsis calls the proposed borrower Rhyolite Ridge Holdings LLC; do not conflate that with the closing release's Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC without legal proof." }, { "id": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-20f-2026", "title": "Ioneer Transition Form 20-F (2026) — Rhyolite Ridge financing conditions and pre-FID status", "publisher": "Ioneer Ltd / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1896084/000114036126017853/ef20070398_20f.htm", "language": "en", "datePublished": "2026-04-29", "dateAccessed": "2026-10-08", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "notes": "Issuer securities filing recounts 2025 loan closing and conditions to first DOE advance (strategic partner equity, additional funding and project-finance model), and states that a final investment decision and construction need further financing. The February 2025 Sibanye proposal did not proceed; it is not a valid assumption of equity capital." }, { "id": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-q2-2026", "title": "Ioneer 30 July 2026 Quarterly Activities Report — Rhyolite Ridge remains pre-FID", "publisher": "Ioneer Ltd / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1896084/000114036126030118/ef20078896_ex99-1.htm", "language": "en", "datePublished": "2026-07-30", "dateAccessed": "2026-10-08", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "notes": "June 2026 quarter update: strategic partner and Final Investment Decision still outstanding; pre-feasibility for battery-grade lithium carbonate completed, construction remains a future milestone; expressly confirms no production or development activity in quarter. Nonbinding Korea KIND/Hyundai MOUs are not cash or binding equity. Separate US Army Tooele land-lease possibility is not part of this ATVM guarantee." }, { "id": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-halfyear-2026", "title": "Ioneer half-year financial statements ended June 30, 2026 (SEC Exhibit 99.1)", "publisher": "Ioneer Ltd / U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)", "url": "https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1896084/000114036126032597/ef20079527_ex99-1.htm", "language": "en", "datePublished": "2026-08-13", "dateAccessed": "2026-10-08", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "notes": "Directors' report: issuer compliant with closed DOE loan facility, no development decision at June 30, 2026. Note 10: $4.273M unamortized DOE loan establishment fees, amortization starts after first draw; it is not an advance or independent commitment. Filing documents no positive disbursement; an absence of disclosure is not a universal proof none occurred later." } ] }