Rhyolite Ridge

Rhyolite Ridge is an advanced stage exploration project located in Esmeralda County, Nevada, US.

Rhyolite Ridge aims to extract a large, shallow lithium-boron deposit, located close to existing infrastructure, and located between Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada and aims to be one of the first large-scale US lithium project to enter production.

Sibanye-Stillwater announced in September 2021 that it had reached agreement with ioneer to establish a joint venture company with respect to Rhyolite Ridge (refer: Announcement 16 September 2021). The completion of the joint venture was subject to various conditions precedent under the joint venture agreement, which has undergone multiple amendments since September 2021. These conditions included a final investment decision from the Board affirming its commitment to proceed with the Project.

In October 2024, Sibanye-Stillwater received updated project and technical information from ioneer in the form of a technical report summary and other updated technical reports. Management, with the assistance of external specialists and advisors, carefully reviewed and conducted due diligence on that information, and based on the results of this work, the Board resolved not to proceed with Rhyolite Ridge as, among other things, the Project did not meet the Sibanye-Stillwater investment hurdle rates at prudent pricing assumptions. On 26 February 2025, Sibanye-Stillwater declared that the Board has made a decision not to proceed with the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project (Rhyolite Ridge or the Project) under the joint venture agreement with ioneer Ltd. (ioneer).

The Group remains committed to the U.S. market and its battery metals strategy and will continue to assess growth opportunities in this space.

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