NioCorp Reports Significant Advance in Plan to Process Critical Minerals in Nebraska

NioCorp reports significant advance in plan to process critical minerals in Nebraska.

NioCorp Developments Ltd. (“NioCorp” or the “Company”) (TSX: NB;OTCQX: NIOBF) to announce a significant advance in its ongoing process optimization and rare earth recovery test work being conducted for the Elk Creek Superalloy Materials Project (the “Project”) by L3 Process Development (“L3”).

L3 has conducted bench-scale testing at its facility in the province of Quebec, Canada to optimize the Project’s current processing flowsheet and demonstrate that NioCorp can recover and produce high purity rare earth elements, such as neodymium-praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium, in addition to the niobium, scandium, and titanium products already planned for production by the Company, once Project financing is secured.

L3’s bench-scale testing recently succeeded in showing the promise of a much more efficient process for recovering niobium and titanium from Elk Creek ore following the leaching and acid baking steps in the current flowsheet.  

Among other things, the process removes iron earlier in the process. If shown to be technically and economically feasible at demonstration scale, this process could potentially result in the following outcomes:

• Improved recovery rates for niobium and titanium, which could potentially increase revenue derived from those products;
• The production of higher purity niobium and titanium intermediates, which may lower costs in the Project’s pyrometallurgical plant;
• The production of a higher purity titanium product, which could open up new markets for NioCorp;
• Elimination of entire steps in the Project’s current processing flowsheet, such as those related to neutralization and onsite acid production;
• Elimination of processing inputs such as iron powder; and
• Reduced waste generated in the ferroniobium pyrometallurgical plant.

Additionally, the higher purity niobium and titanium intermediates produced by this process could move NioCorp closer to the eventual production of high purity niobium and titanium materials needed for next-generation of Lithium-Ion batteries. 

NioCorp already plans to produce high purity scandium, which also is being investigated for possible use in next-generation solid-state Lithium-Ion batteries (see this).

All of the preliminary findings noted in this news release must be confirmed with additional testing, and there can be no assurance that these outcomes will in fact be realized.

Scott Honan, NioCorp’s Chief Operating Officer, said:

L3’s work to further optimize the Elk Creek Project’s flowsheet in preparation for final engineering, and to map out a pathway to the potential production of high-purity rare earth elements, has demonstrated the potential to make some very important improvements in how we produce all of our planned products.

“If these flowsheet enhancements prove out at the demonstration plant level, they could lead to some very significant increases in pay metal recovery rates and potentially large reductions in capital and operating expenses.  We look forward to validating these preliminary findings at the demonstration plant level and to communicating the final results of this effort when completed.”

Eric Larochelle, Co-Owner of L3:  

The latest achievement in the bench-scale program provides promising results regarding the quality of the products this process can potentially provide.

The next steps in L3’s work metallurgical testwork involve, among other things, measuring recovery rates for targeted rare earth elements in a demonstration scale plant, which it is constructing in Canada. 

This testing is expected to produce results that will determine the technical and economic feasibility of adding rare earth products to the Project’s existing product suite and other process improvements.

The information contained in this news release does not change any of the technical or economic findings contained in NioCorp’s April 16, 2019, NI 43-101 Technical Report, Feasibility Study, Elk Creek Superalloy Materials Project, Nebraska.  

Work to update the Project’s Mineral Resource to include data on rare earth elements in the deposit is ongoing and is expected to be released to the public upon completion.

Qualified Person:

Eric Larochelle, B.Eng., Hydrometallurgy Specialist (L3 Process Development), a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 has read and approved the technical information contained in this news release and verified the data disclosed in this news release.

@NioCorp $NB.TO $NIOBF #Niobium #Scandium #ElkCreek #rareearth #neodymium #terbium #dysprosium

For More Information

Contact Jim Sims, VP of External Affairs, NioCorp Developments Ltd., +1 (303) 503-6203, jim.sims@niocorp.com

About NioCorp

NioCorp is developing a superalloy materials project in Southeast Nebraska that will produce Niobium, Scandium, and Titanium.  The Company also is 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.

Scandium is also a critical component of advanced solid oxide fuel cells. Titanium is used in various superalloys 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.

Highlights:

• If proven at the demonstration plant scale, this advance may result in major improvements in the Elk Creek Project, including elimination of entire steps in the Project’s current processing flowsheet

• Process improvements also point to a potentially efficient extraction process for recovery and purification of rare earth elements, in addition to the Project’s planned production of niobium, scandium, and titanium

READ the latest Batteries News shaping the battery market

NioCorp Reports Significant Advance in Plan to Process Critical Minerals in Nebraska, CENTENNIAL, Colo., March 14, 2022