Ioneer, Lithium Americas defend Nevada projects as Amnesty flags Indigenous consent gap

Amnesty International is accusing lithium projects in Nevada of advancing without Indigenous consent, highlighting a gap between U.S. permitting law and international human-rights standards as development accelerates in the state’s emerging battery metals hub.

Nevada holds about 85% of known U.S. lithium reserves, placing the state at the centre of EV and AI-linked supply chains.

But none of the state’s three major lithium projects — Lithium Americas’ (TSX: LAC; NYSE: LAC) Thacker Pass, Ioneer’s (ASX: INR) Rhyolite Ridge, and Surge Battery Metals’ (TSXV: NILI; US-OTC: NILIF) Nevada North — have secured free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) from affected Indigenous Peoples despite their location on ancestral lands, Amnesty argues in a new report.

“For all three mining projects, consent was never sought, nor was it an objective of the engagement that did take place,” Amnesty researcher Alysha Khambay said in a release on Tuesday. “The United States is breaching international human rights standards and continuing the same patterns of dispossession that Indigenous Peoples have faced for generations.”

Ioneer has the world’s largest known lithium-boron deposit about 360 km northwest of Las Vegas. The company says Amnesty is relying on a series of unsupported claims that ignore Ioneer’s outreach and U.S. law.

“Our successful federal permitting, upheld in Nevada District Court on March 27, and cultural resource protections were secured without a single legal challenge from Tribal Nations,” an Ioneer spokesperson told The Northern Miner by email. “Ioneer has had 328 documented points of contact with 13 Tribal Nations and developed voluntary monitoring agreements that exceed current industry practices.”

Legal vs international

The consultation dispute turns on a core difference between legal and international frameworks. U.S. federal law requires consultation with Indigenous groups during environmental reviews but does not grant communities a veto over projects on public land.

Amnesty argues that falls short of FPIC, a standard embedded in international norms like the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) that require Indigenous communities to give or withhold consent for developments affecting their territories. Federal and state law should be changed to address the gap, the group says.

“In the USA, there are efforts underway in various jurisdictions (New York, Washington) to introduce legislation to strengthen consultation and incorporate FPIC elements into those laws,” Tara Scurr, a campaigner in Ottawa for Amnesty, said in an emailed reply to questions.

“In California, proposed legislation (SB 957) seeks to strengthen and expand existing supply chain transparency laws, aiming for mandatory human rights due diligence, but those bills face significant political hurdles.”  

Not required

Companies developing the lithium projects dispute framing approvals with an international lens. They note that FPIC and UNDRIP are not required under U.S. law or by the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) which approves projects. They say government-led consultation processes and their own engagement with local communities meet or exceed requirements.

“Ioneer has established a unique and collaborative approach to tribal outreach and engagement,” the spokesperson said. “We take great pride in our compliance with all U.S. legal requirements and remain committed to a transparent process that respects tribal sovereignty while delivering a reliable and secure domestic supply of critical minerals.”

Lithium Americas, which is aiming for between $1.3 billion and $1.6 billion in capital spending for Thacker Pass’ first stage now under construction, echoed Ioneer. In a response that was in an annex to Amnesty’s report, the company criticized the rights group for mischaracterizing the “intensive consultation process” that has been supported by all government agencies and courts.

“In 2011, the U.S. government noted UNDRIP’s ‘moral and political force’ while clearly stating that UNDRIP is ‘not legally binding or a statement of current international law,’” Lithium Americas said in the annex. “Further, the U.S. government has interpreted UNDRIP’s provisions on FPIC to be consistent with existing federal law requiring consultation.

“In the U.S. government’s interpretation, FPIC ‘call[s] for a process of meaningful consultation with tribal leaders, but not necessarily the agreement of those leaders, before the actions addressed in those consultations are taken,’” the company added.

Surge Battery Metals didn’t appear in the annex and the company didn’t immediately reply to an email from The Northern Miner seeking comment.

‘Railroaded’

Production at Thacker Pass, what Lithium Americas calls the largest lithium source in the Western Hemisphere, is expected this decade, according to a February project update.

Amnesty said some Indigenous community members felt sidelined by the consultation process for Thacker Pass.

“Consent does not apply here,” Shelley Harjo of the Fort McDermitt Paiute and Shoshone Tribe said in Amnesty’s release. “There was never any genuine consent given by the community. We were just railroaded.”

At Rhyolite Ridge, Ioneer has expanded reserves to 1.92 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, extending mine life to 95 years while lifting capital costs to about $1.67 billion, underscoring the scale and longevity of projects now moving through permitting in the state.

Longer-term risks tied to environmental and community impacts may outweigh immediate legal exposure if miners advance projects without consent, Amnesty said. They face heightened reputational, financial and potential regulatory challenges as expectations around Indigenous rights tighten globally, according to the group.

Ioneer noted its early engagement with communities, its cultural resource monitoring, scholarships and economic development outreach in addition to mandated consultations.

“Ioneer has not merely complied with applicable federal requirements for tribal consultation — it has consistently gone above and beyond those requirements,” the company said in the annex. “Amnesty International’s conclusions, reached without reference to this record and without providing Ioneer with an opportunity to be heard, do not reflect the reality.”