Conservationists and a Native American advocacy group are suing to block a Nevada lithium mine they say will drive an endangered wildflower to extinction.

Environmental and Indigenous groups on Thursday filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Interior Department's approval of ioneer's Rhyolite Ridge lithium mine in Nevada, the first domestic source of the battery metal to be permitted by Democratic President Joe Biden's administration.

Citing internal Bureau of Land Management emails, the groups say the environmental review process for the mine was on a very aggressive schedule that deviated from that of similar projects.

The project in Nevada is key to Biden's clean energy agenda, but the mining plan appears destined for a legal battle with conservationists who say it will drive an endangered wildflower to extinction.

A lawsuit seeks to block a company from mining in Nevada near a rare buckwheat that has medicinal and nutritional value.

The mining project can quadruple the United States' lithium supply — but conservationists say it may also drive the endangered Tiehm's buckwheat to extinction.