NioCorp Developments Ltd has noted that the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, which came into law this week, would make most of the critical minerals it intends to produce at its Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project in Nebraska eligible for new tax credits.
"President Biden and Congressional leaders deserve credit for 'walking the talk' in this legislation on the need to make more of our own critical minerals in the US, and to reduce our reliance on foreign nations that hold the key to our nation's success in transitioning to a less carbon-intensive economy," Mark A. Smith, NioCorp's president, CEO and executive chairman said in a statement.
NioCorp is developing a critical minerals project in Southeast Nebraska that will produce Niobium, Scandium, and Titanium while also evaluating the potential to produce several rare earth byproducts from the project.
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The IRA creates a new 10% Advanced Manufacturing Tax Credit for a variety of critical minerals produced in the US, including niobium, scandium, and titanium.
Should NioCorp find it economic to produce the magnetic rare earths neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, and once the project is financed and placed into commercial production, the 10% tax credit would also apply to the cost of producing these products, the company noted.
"NioCorp could benefit substantially from these new production tax credits in the future," noted Smith. "This and other provisions in this bill send a powerful signal to producers, markets, and investors that the US government wants to up its game in terms of encouraging more production of American-made critical minerals."
NioCorp is evaluating the potential to produce several rare earths from its project. Niobium is used to produce specialty alloys 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 specialty metal that can be combined with Aluminum to make alloys with increased strength and improved corrosion resistance. Scandium is also a critical component of advanced solid oxide fuel cells. Titanium is used in various lightweight alloys and is a key component of pigments used in paper, paint and plastics and is also used for aerospace applications, armor, and medical implants. Magnetic rare earths, such as neodymium, praseodymium, terbium, and dysprosium are critical to the making of Neodymium-Iron-Boron (NdFeB) magnets, which are used across a wide variety of defense and civilian applications.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com