RENO, Nev. (AP) — Conservationists and a Native American tribe are suing to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered wildflower to extinction, disrupt groundwater flows and threaten cultural resources. The Center for Biological Diversity promised the court battle a week ago when the U.S. Interior Department approved Ioneer’s lithium-boron mine at the only place Tiehm’s buckwheat is known to exist in the world. It is the latest in a series of legal fights over projects President Joe Biden’s administration is pushing under his clean energy agenda intended to cut reliance on fossil fuels. Lithium is used to make electric vehicle batteries and solar panels.
