The government is coordinating the final investment structure for a plan to invest $100 million (about 146.6 billion won) in a lithium-boron mine development project in Nevada. The Trump administration asked the Korean government to participate in the project in January. The project will mine ore containing lithium and boron on land managed by the U.S. federal government and build a plant to process it into boric acid and lithium products. Boric acid is a major compound of boron, which the United States has designated as a critical mineral, and is a raw material for boron carbide used in body armor and reactor shielding.
According to the financial investment industry and the government on the 28th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Corporation (KIND) are pushing a plan to invest a total of $100 million in the Rhyolite Ridge lithium-boron project in Esmeralda County, Nevada.
The investment will be shared by the Global Plant, Construction and Smart City Fund (PIS Fund), a policy fund of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), and KIND. A government official said, "The direction is set for the PIS Fund and KIND to co-invest, but the final investment ratios and terms have not yet been decided."
The PIS Fund is a policy fund created to support overseas orders by domestic corporations and their entry into high value-added investment and development projects. The first-phase fund, created since 2019, was 1.5 trillion won and completed investment in June 2025. The second-phase fund is 1.1 trillion won and was created in August last year.
The Rhyolite Ridge project develops a lithium-boron mine in the Silver Peak Range of Esmeralda County, Nevada. Australia-based mineral developer Ioneer holds mining rights set on U.S. federal government land. The Bureau of Land Management under the Department of the Interior gave final approval to the mine plan of operations in Oct. 2024.
Ore mined from the site will be processed at an on-site plant into boric acid and lithium products. According to Ioneer's latest business plan, the plant is expected to produce an annual average of 135,500 tons of boric acid and 24,500 tons of lithium products on a lithium carbonate equivalent basis for the first 25 years of operation. Based on the latest reserves and production plan, Ioneer estimates the mine life at 77 years.
According to project materials under government review, the total project cost is about $1.9 billion (about 2.79 trillion won). The U.S. Department of Energy decided to support $996 million of that as a policy loan. The remaining project cost will be raised through equity contributions from Ioneer and investors from Korea, Japan and Australia. Large Japanese corporations and Australian pension funds are also reportedly considering participation. Ioneer estimates the project's after-tax, pre-debt internal rate of return (IRR) at 18%.
The Trump administration asked the Korean government to participate in the project in January. Senior officials at the U.S. Department of Energy are said to have introduced the project and requested investment from the Korean side when Kim Yun-duk, Minister of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT), visited Washington, D.C. Earlier this month, Kim Ei-tak, Vice Minister of MOLIT, visited Washington, D.C., again and discussed investment plans with U.S. Department of Energy Deputy Secretary Kyle Housetveit.
The United States is offering large policy loans and drawing in foreign investors to build a domestic supply chain for critical minerals such as lithium and boron. Lithium is a key raw material for electric vehicle batteries. Boric acid is used not only for glass, semiconductors and ceramics but also to make special boron materials such as boron carbide.
Boron carbide is hard yet light, and is used in body armor and vehicle armor plates. Because it absorbs neutrons, it is also used as a radiation shielding material for reactors and nuclear submarines. Producing boron carbide requires a separate process of mixing boric acid and other materials with a carbon feedstock and reducing and synthesizing it at high temperatures.
The U.S. Geological Survey newly included boron on the 2025 critical minerals list. The reason is that the United States does not produce enough of some special boron products needed for national security and advanced technology, relying instead on overseas sources such as China.
A financial investment industry official said, "The United States is determined to reduce its dependence on foreign sources for lithium and special boron materials," adding, "The U.S. government's provision of policy loans and efforts to attract investment from allies such as Korea are aimed at reorganizing the critical minerals supply chain around itself."