en.Wedoany.com Reported - Hyundai Engineering recently signed a work agreement with Australian critical mineral developer Ioneer in Washington, D.C., to oversee procurement for the "Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Project." This agreement formalizes the letter of intent submitted in June, clarifying the scope of cooperation and confirming project participation.

The project has a total investment of approximately $2 billion (about 3.1 trillion won) and is located at the Rhyolite Ridge mining area in Nevada, USA. This region is considered the largest lithium-boron composite deposit in North America, capable of supplying both lithium for electric vehicle batteries and boron for semiconductors and advanced materials, offering significant strategic value.

The project is seen as a core initiative to establish a stable strategic resource supply chain within the United States amid global supply chain restructuring. It received final federal approval from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in October, eliminating regulatory risks, and secured approximately $1 billion in financial support from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The project developer, Ioneer, is a Nasdaq-listed company holding 100% of the mining area's shares. The company plans to use process optimization technology to directly produce lithium carbonate and boric acid at the mine site, with Hyundai Engineering responsible for procuring the main equipment and materials needed for this process to support project implementation.

The signing ceremony was attended by officials from South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Korea Overseas Infrastructure & Urban Development Support Corporation (KIND), which is considering equity investment in the project.

Government-level cooperation and policy-based financial support have provided a foundation for South Korean companies to enter the North American critical mineral market. Hyundai Engineering plans to leverage this project to strengthen its competitiveness in the critical mineral sector and actively explore new business opportunities in the North American market.

A Hyundai Engineering official stated that participating in a key critical mineral supply chain project prioritized by the U.S. government carries significant responsibility, and the company will successfully execute the project based on its accumulated experience in the global plant market, continuously expanding its business scope.