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NioCorp Achieves Processing Breakthrough in Demonstration Plant Testing of Niobium and Titanium Production
New Process May Allow NioCorp to Produce Higher-Purity Versions of its Niobium and Titanium Products, Which May Open New Markets to the Company CENTENNIAL,
About this update from Niocorp Developments Ltd.
[{"type":"text","content":"New Process May Allow NioCorp to Produce Higher-Purity Versions of its Niobium and Titanium Products, Which May Open New Markets to the Company\nCENTENNIAL, Colo., April 4, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NioCorp Developments Ltd. (\"NioCorp\" or the \"Company\") (Nasdaq:NB; TSX: NB) and L3 Process Developments (\"L3\") are pleased to announce a process breakthrough in niobium and titanium recovery achieved at L3's demonstration-scale processing plant Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. The breakthrough points to a potentially more efficient way to process niobium and titanium into higher-purity products, which may in turn open up new markets for NioCorp's proposed Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project (the \"Project\") planned products, once sufficient financing is obtained to allow the Project to proceed to commercial operation.\n\n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n \nThe breakthrough occurred as part of the Company's final stages of work at L3's plant, which has been testing NioCorp's new and improved processing flow sheet for the Project. The new flowsheet targets more efficient processing of niobium, titanium, and scandium, which could improve rates of recovery and potentially reduce operating costs (\"OPEX\") and/or capital costs (\"CAPEX\") associated with these operations. Final determination of any changes in OPEX or CAPEX for the Project will be determined through an update to the Project's Feasibility Study, which is expected to be completed later this year.\nThe demonstration-scale plant also has been testing the technical feasibility of recovering several magnetic rare-earth elements from the Project's Nebraska ore and separating and purifying those elements, which include neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium. NioCorp's Elk Creek Project represents the second largest indicated rare earth resource in the U.S., based on data from the USGS' \"Critical Mineral Resources of the United States—Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply (2017)\" and from company-issued reports.\nNioCorp has already determined that overall recoveries for these four magnetic rare earths are likely to be greater than 92% and would meet commercial purity specifications for magnetic rare earth oxides. They are in line with the Company's previous published success at demonstration scale in producing high-purity Scandium oxide at an overall recovery ...