Elements in the soil of the Silver Peak range nurture a buckwheat that grows nowhere else in the world, but could also radically increase U.S. production of a mineral critical to the energy transition.

Federal land managers have completed a final environmental review of a proposed Nevada lithium mine they say would help supply minerals critical to electric vehicles and a clean energy future while still protecting an endangered wildflower.

The Rhyolite Ridge mine could produce minerals to help power more than 50 million electric vehicles over its 26-year life, according to Ioneer.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management released a final environmental impact statement today for a proposed Nevada lithium mine that would push Tiehm’s buckwheat to extinction despite the rare flower’s protection under the Endangered Species Act.