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SCIENCE Wednesday 5 august 2020
AP Exclusive: Rare wildflower could jeopardize lithium mine

By SCOTT SONNER being good stewards of
Associated Press the environment and work-
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A bota- ing in lockstep with State of
nist hired by a company Nevada and Federal over-
planning to mine one of the sight bodies."
most promising deposits of "As such, we have retained
lithium in the world believes the most reputable, inde-
a rare desert wildflower at pendent and unbiased
the Nevada site should be research team available,"
protected under the En- Ioneer said in a statement
dangered Species Act, a emailed to AP. "This work
move that could jeopar- is informing our efforts to
dize the project, new doc- protect Tiehm's buckwheat
uments show. in its natural habitat and
The unusually candid dis- help set a path forward
closure is included in more to produce critical miner-
than 500 pages of emails als necessary to reduce
obtained by conservation- greenhouse gas emissions
ists and reviewed by The globally."q
Associated Press regarding
Ioneer Ltd.'s plans to dig
near the only population of
Tiehm's buckwheat known
to exist on earth.
Six months of communica-
tions between government This photo provided by the Center for Biological Diversity shows Tiehm's buckwheat blooming at
scientists, Ioneer's repre- Rhyolite Ridge in the Silver Peak Range of Western Nevada, on June 1, 2019.
sentatives and University of Associated Press
Nevada, Reno research-
ers studying the plant also whether it should be feder- propagation efforts could out easily. As for transplants,
show the director of UNR's ally protected. benefit the plant, but don't Leger told AP then, "I don't
work — financed by Ioneer The emails include an April yet prove they could en- think it's an awesome idea."
— repeatedly pushed back exchange with a Fish and sure its survival. The emails suggest grow-
against company pressure Wildlife official who shared "Nothing we are research- ing frustration among the
to prematurely publicize concerns expressed by ing is a quick fix, or even researchers over what they
early success of efforts to the head of Nevada's own a fix. There isn't a fix for this viewed as interference with
grow buckwheat seedlings state listing review about type of impact," EM Strate- their work.
in a campus greenhouse Ioneer's transplanting strat- gies' biology manager Kris "Ioneer's press people
for replanting in the wild. egy. Kuyper wrote to a UNR re- reached out AGAIN, they
"I'm not used to such a focus "This document is at best a searcher Jan. 7. seemingly want to pub-
on in-progress research," mitigation plan, certainly "I'm sure it will be listed (it lish a blow-by-blow as the
Beth Leger, a biology pro- not a `protection plan,'" should be), then it will be a research goes on," Leger
fessor who also heads UNR's James Morefield, supervi- matter of consultation with wrote Kuyper in February.
Museum of Natural History, sory botanist for Nevada's the USFWS," she said. When Ioneer's PR firm made
wrote in April. Division of Natural Heritage, Kuyper was responding to another media request
"I feel like maybe one very wrote to the service April a UNR researcher's con- March 4, Leger responded,
important thing isn't clear, 16. cerns about providing infor- "I'd like to wait... (for) actual
and that's that these plants Ioneer has spent millions mation for a news release results."
could die at any stage of at the site rich with lithium Ioneer's PR firm wanted to On March 6 she wrote
this experiment." needed to manufacture issue touting the success Kuyper, "My advice is that
The experiment is part of such things as batteries for of the plant regeneration they just let the scientific
Ioneer's strategy intended Tesla's electric cars. That in- study. process roll forward. ... You
to help avert a federal list- cludes UNR's $60,000 grant "I wouldn't want them try- can't count your chickens
ing of the plant that could to study transplants and ing to frame our work in a before they hatch!"
scuttle the mine. $168,000 for five years of way that would imply listing Patrick Donnelly, the Cen-
The Center for Biological monitoring. is unnecessary, or that con- ter for Biological Diversity's
Diversity, which petitioned Ioneer President Bernard cern for the populations Nevada director, said the
last year to list the plant un- Rowe told AP in March their that would be impacted emails underscore the
der the Endangered Spe- plans "will ensure protection by mining is unfounded be- "highly experimental, highly
cies Act, obtained the doc- and, in fact, the expansion cause they may be able uncertain" nature of the
uments under a Nevada of the buckwheat popula- to be relocated," wrote transplant strategy.
public records request. It's tion." the UNR researcher whose "Ioneer has portrayed their
public information because The emails offer a behind- name was redacted. "Even mitigation as a sure-fire bet
of UNR's research contract. the-scenes look at the sen- if we get encouraging initial to save the buckwheat," he
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Ser- sitive relationship between results from the propaga- said. He maintains Ioneer's
vice recently announced public institutions and pri- tion and transplant efforts, current plans would wipe
it's received enough sci- vate companies funding we wouldn't know whether out the plant's entire popu-
entific information to war- research they often have a that is truly possible to es- lation and that a federal
rant a full-year review of stake in. They indicate UNR tablish a new population, listing "would mean an end
the buckwheat's status 200 scientists and a private one potentially for years." to the mine."
miles (320 kilometers) south- at EM Strategies — Ioneer's The slow-growing flowers The company said last
east of Reno to determine consultant — believe the have fragile roots that dry week it is "committed to