NioCorp advances on EXIM loan due diligence

[Redator]

NioCorp Developments (NASDAQ: NB) has taken another step in its application for an US$800 million loan from the Export-Import Bank of the US (EXIM) as it looks to begin an independent review of its flagship project.

The company, which is developing the shovel-ready Elk Creek critical minerals property in southeast Nebraska, announced it has engaged SLR Consulting to conduct the project’s environmental and social (E&S) review, a key part of EXIM’s due diligence process. SLR is the same company that the bank is using to conduct its own technical review of the project.

“The SLR team is an outstanding selection and they are very familiar with our project, given the technical review work they have been conducting since February of this year,” stated Mark Smith, chairman and CEO of NioCorp, in a press release on Thursday.

Shares of NioCorp soared to a near 52-week high of $7.22 on the news, before retreating to around $6.68 for a 1.7% intraday gain. The Colorado-based critical minerals developer has a market capitalization of $657.2 million.

Multiple critical minerals

According to NioCorp, its project represents the highest-grade niobium resource in North America and has the second-largest indicated rare earth resource in the US. It also hosts one of the largest scandium resources in the world and a large endowment of titanium. The US government considers all these minerals to be “critical” to its economic and national security.

A feasibility study in 2022 estimates that the mine, at full scale, is able to produce around 7,300 tonnes of ferroniobium as the primary product plus 102 tonnes of scandium trioxide and 12,000 tonnes of titanium dioxide annually over its 38-year operating life.

The project comes with its own processing facility, to be located 105 km southeast of Lincoln.

Project funding

EXIM first issued a letter in March 2023 expressing its interest in providing NioCorp up to $800 million in debt financing through its “Make More In America” initiative. NioCorp subsequently submitted its application and passed its initial review in October that year. In April 2024, EXIM provided a preliminary funding term sheet.

Earlier this year, EXIM selected RPMGlobal USA, which was later acquired by SLR, to conduct a technical review of the Elk Creek project as part of its due diligence process. According to the 2022 feasibility report, the project is expected to cost around $1.1 billion, a large part of which would be covered by the EXIM loan if approved.

In recent months, NioCorp secured additional funding for the Elk Creek project, including public offerings totalling $110 million in September. In August, it received a $10 million award from the US Department of Defense (now Department of War), subject to certain milestones.