NioCorp Developments Ltd. (TSX:NB, OTCQX:NIOBF) said it has filed a technical report in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 regarding its previously announced 2022 feasibility study on its Elk Creek critical minerals project in Nebraska.
The company said the 659-page report supported the results of the previously released feasibility study that confirmed the project has the second-largest indicated-or-better rare earth resource in the United States, second only to MP Materials’ Mountain Pass deposit in California.
According to the feasibility study, the Elk Creek mineral resource contains various amounts of all rare earth elements.
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NioCorp said depending on the outcome of metallurgical testing on rare earth elements recovery rates from Elk Creek ore, which is soon to be launched at a demonstration plant in Quebec, and whether necessary project financing is secured, the company could produce separated rare earths as a byproduct – giving it a competitive advantage over other rare earth projects.
"If our testing continues to show the positive results we have seen to date, and we decide to add magnetic rare earths to our potential product line, the Elk Creek project will represent a unique critical minerals project after project financing is obtained and the project is put into commercial operation," said NioCorp CEO Mark Smith.
"We believe the minerals we intend to produce in America's heartland are essential to the world's accelerating energy transition and to the many technologies that will make it possible, including those in electrified transportation, renewable energy, infrastructure projects, and many others."
NioCorp is focused on advancing a superalloy materials project in Nebraska, USA, that will produce niobium, scandium, and titanium.
Contact the author Emily Jarvie at emily.jarvie@proactiveinvestors.com
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