{ "projectionVersion": "smpt-investigation-1", "projectId": "prj-us-rhyolite-ridge-processing", "corpus": { "revision": "2026-11-03", "legalStatusCutoff": "2026-11-03", "view": "current_corpus_revision", "notice": "Curated corpus revision, not source freshness or historical known-as-of coverage. Financial histories retain their own status dates." }, "project": { "id": "prj-us-rhyolite-ridge-processing", "name": "Rhyolite Ridge on-site lithium processing facilities", "sponsorOrgIds": [ "org-ioneer-rhyolite-ridge-llc", "org-ioneer-ltd" ], "locations": [ { "countryCode": "US", "subnational": "Nevada", "asStated": "Esmeralda County, Nevada" } ], "stages": [ "processing" ], "materialIds": [ "lithium" ], "materialAttribution": "includes_untracked", "untrackedMaterialsAsStated": [ "boron" ], "evidence": [ { "sourceId": "src-doe-ioneer-rhyolite-2025-close", "supports": [ "name", "sponsors", "location", "stages", "materials" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "Paragraphs 1–2: named project recipient, lithium-carbonate processing and Nevada site", "note": "Named project is integrated lithium-boron mine but financed portion is the on-site lithium processing plant and related infrastructure." }, { "sourceId": "src-doe-rhyolite-nepa-0565", "supports": [ "name", "location", "stages", "materials" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "Project summary paragraphs 1–2, DOE/EIS-0565", "note": "Loan financing scope includes lithium processing plant, sulfuric-acid unit and associated infrastructure, specifically excluding open-pit mine." }, { "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-q2-2026", "supports": [ "sponsors", "stages", "materials" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "June 2026 Quarterly Activities, project description and Engineering section", "note": "Pre-FID engineering for lithium-carbonate circuit; boron is a separate co-product of the wider Rhyolite Ridge venture, not allocated a known slice of the DOE guarantee." } ], "notes": "DOE-guaranteed finance supports on-site lithium processing and ancillary sulfuric-acid/support facilities, not open-pit mining. The broader Rhyolite Ridge project co-produces boron, which is not tracked as a material in this SMPT registry and receives no distinct allocated dollar amount here. As of 30 June 2026, issuer states no development or production activity this quarter, and FID/construction not yet achieved. Ioneer Ltd is the separately registered Australian-listed corporate developer; the loan guarantee names the U.S. project entity as direct recipient, not the parent." }, "organizations": [ { "id": "org-ioneer-ltd", "name": "Ioneer Ltd", "nameOriginal": null, "aliases": [ "ioneer Limited", "Ioneer" ], "kind": "company", "roles": [ { "role": "registered_sponsor", "recordId": "prj-us-rhyolite-ridge-processing" } ], "evidence": [ { "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-close-2025", "supports": [ "name", "kind", "country" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "17 January 2025 company announcement, issuer and parent/developer identification", "note": "The Australian listed issuer is parent developer, not the named direct DOE loan-guarantee borrower." } ] }, { "id": "org-ioneer-rhyolite-ridge-llc", "name": "Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC", "nameOriginal": null, "aliases": [ "ioneer Rhyolite Ridge, LLC" ], "kind": "company", "roles": [ { "role": "registered_sponsor", "recordId": "prj-us-rhyolite-ridge-processing" }, { "role": "recipient", "recordId": "fin-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-guarantee-2025" } ], "evidence": [ { "sourceId": "src-doe-ioneer-rhyolite-2025-close", "supports": [ "name", "kind", "country" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "Opening paragraph: closing of a loan guarantee to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC in Nevada", "note": "Federal lender's closing announcement controls the financing counterparty; the earlier NEPA draft names Rhyolite Ridge Holdings LLC as proposed borrower and is not used as an alias." }, { "sourceId": "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-close-2025", "supports": [ "name", "kind" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "Issuer's Rhyolite Ridge loan closing announcement", "note": "Project subsidiary in Nevada, distinguish from listed parent Ioneer Ltd." } ] }, { "id": "org-us-doe", "name": "U.S. Department of Energy", "nameOriginal": null, "aliases": [ "DOE", "Department of Energy" ], "kind": "government", "roles": [ { "role": "provider", "recordId": "fin-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-guarantee-2025" } ], "evidence": [ { "sourceId": "src-doe-thacker-pass-2024", "supports": [ "name", "kind", "country", "actor" ], "evidence": "explicit", "locator": "U.S. Department of Energy, Loan Programs Office project summary", "note": "Federal department administering the ATVM loan; financing structure also uses the Federal Financing Bank. Bank mechanics do not create a duplicate commitment." } ] } ], "financialInstruments": [ { "id": "fin-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-guarantee-2025", "eventId": "evt-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-2025", "instrument": "loan_guarantee", "valueRole": "commitment", "capitalSource": "public", "projectRelationship": "directly_attributable", "projectId": "prj-us-rhyolite-ridge-processing", "associatedProjectIds": [], "amount": { "value": "996000000", "currency": "USD", "qualifier": "exact", "amountAsStated": "$996 million loan guarantee ($968 million principal plus $28 million capitalized interest)", "currencyBasis": "stated", "basisNote": null, "basisLabel": null }, "amountBasis": "current_recorded_terms_not_historical_totals", "provider": "U.S. Department of Energy, Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program", "providerJurisdiction": "us", "providerOrgIds": [ "org-us-doe" ], "recipient": "Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge LLC", "recipientOrgIds": [ "org-ioneer-rhyolite-ridge-llc" ], "programmeId": null, "legalAuthority": "Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, Section 136 — Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing Loan Program", "facility": "On-site lithium carbonate processing facility and associated infrastructure", "locations": [ { "countryCode": "US", "subnational": "Nevada", "asStated": "Esmeralda County, Nevada" } ], "materialIds": [ "lithium" ], "stages": [ "processing" ], "currentFinancialStatus": "contracted", "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." } ], "legacyPhysicalObservations": [ { "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": [], "statedOutcomes": [], "relationships": [], "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." } ], "nonallocativeAssociations": [], "designations": [], "nativeMilestones": [], "policyContexts": [ { "id": "evt-us-doe-rhyolite-ridge-2025", "relationship": "finance_or_designation_parent", "jurisdiction": "us", "issuingBody": "U.S. Department of Energy, Loan Programs Office", "titleEn": "DOE closes $996 million loan guarantee for Rhyolite Ridge lithium processing", "titleOriginal": "DOE Announces $996 Million Loan Guarantee to Ioneer Rhyolite Ridge to Advance Domestic Production of Lithium Carbonate", "documentNumber": null, "date": "2025-01-17", "policyStatus": "active", "sourceIds": [ "src-doe-ioneer-rhyolite-2025-close", "src-doe-rhyolite-nepa-0565", "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-close-2025", "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-20f-2026", "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-q2-2026", "src-sec-ioneer-rhyolite-halfyear-2026" ] } ], "coannouncedControls": [], "financePackageReferences": [], "unknowns": [ "No project-native source-reviewed industrial milestone is published. Attributed activity in financing histories remains a separate evidence class; no exact milestone date or facility-wide conclusion is inferred.", "Historical amount review is incomplete. Current amounts cannot be read as a time series of earlier commitments.", "Structural links and shared materials do not demonstrate that a government measure caused an industrial outcome." ], "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", "sourceType": "official", "confidence": "primary", "publishedOn": "2025-01-17", "accessedOn": "2026-10-08" }, { "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", "sourceType": "official", "confidence": "primary", "publishedOn": null, "accessedOn": "2026-10-08" }, { "id": "src-doe-thacker-pass-2024", "title": "Thacker Pass — DOE Loan Programs Office project and financial summary", "publisher": "U.S. Department of Energy, Loan Programs Office", "url": "https://www.energy.gov/edf/thacker-pass", "language": "en", "sourceType": "official", "confidence": "primary", "publishedOn": null, "accessedOn": "2026-10-08" }, { "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", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "publishedOn": "2026-04-29", "accessedOn": "2026-10-08" }, { "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", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "publishedOn": "2025-01-17", "accessedOn": "2026-10-08" }, { "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", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "publishedOn": "2026-08-13", "accessedOn": "2026-10-08" }, { "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", "sourceType": "other", "confidence": "primary", "publishedOn": "2026-07-30", "accessedOn": "2026-10-08" } ], "limitations": [ "Policy contexts here parent existing finance or designation records; a shared material or date never creates a causal edge.", "Coannounced controls are announcement siblings only, not project-specific restrictions or effects.", "Direct project attribution and nonallocative association are different. No individual monetary allocation, financial sum or payment conclusion is authorized.", "Financing statuses describe the current corpus revision. Legacy implementation observations require scoped review and are not project-native milestones.", "A milestone's event/target date, publication/access horizon and reviewer date are separate. A planned target is not automatically occurred.", "An absent reviewed milestone means no approved entry in SMPT, not that the facility is inactive or failed.", "Amounts retain current source-stated terms, original currency and exact decimal strings. This packet computes no historical financial totals or project-wide monetary allocation.", "Published source review does not establish independent on-site verification. Source, financial-status, occurrence, target and review dates remain distinct." ] }