NioCorp Developments, the developer of a superalloy project in Nebraska, told investors it has deployed a management system aligned with the latest Equator Principles Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles.
This move is a requirement of prospective lenders who may finance the asset in the US state.
In all, NioCorp said 138 financial institutions across 38 countries have officially adopted these Equator Principles and have pledged not to finance projects that do not adhere to its ten key objectives.
"The Elk Creek Project has been designed from the ground up to maximize efficiencies and minimize environmental impacts," said Scott Honan, NioCorp's chief operating officer. "We look forward to demonstrating that the Elk Creek Project can produce a suite of critical minerals that can support environmentally sustainable technologies such as electric vehicles while we minimize environmental impacts and support the communities of southeast Nebraska."
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CEO Mark A. Smith added: "Demonstrating our commitment to the Equator Principals underscores the fact that the NioCorp team walks the talk on environmental, social, and governance issues, as we have for many years."
Elk Creek is North America’s only niobium, scandium, titanium project and is the highest grade niobium project in North America and it is one of the largest prospective producers of scandium in the world.
The firm is also evaluating the potential to produce several rare earth byproducts from the project. Niobium is used to produce superalloys as well as High Strength, Low Alloy (HSLA) steel, which is a lighter, stronger steel used in automotive, structural, and pipeline applications. Scandium is a superalloy material that can be combined with aluminum to make alloys with increased strength and improved corrosion resistance.
As part of its ESG program under the Equator Principles, NioCorp has already carried out a number of activities, including preliminary environmental and social impact assessments and completed a climate change risk assessment.
It has also completed an environmental justice assessment for the project, demonstrating the positive impacts that the project will have for the people of southeast Nebraska.
The latest version of the Equator Principles can be seen HERE.
Contact the writer at giles@proactiveinvestors.com