NioCorp Developments, listed on NASDAQ under the ticker NB, has released the results of an updated feasibility study for its Elk Creek critical minerals project located in southeastern Nebraska. According to the company's announcement on August 11, 2026, the study demonstrates the project's development into a 40-year integrated U.S. operation with significant economic potential. The 2026 feasibility study reveals strong financial metrics for the project.
The pre-tax net present value at an 8% discount rate stands at $4.1 billion, while the after-tax NPV8% reaches $3.4 billion. The study also projects a pre-tax internal rate of return of 24% and an after-tax IRR of 22.8%. Over the projected mine life, the Elk Creek project is expected to generate approximately $37.4 billion in total life-of-mine revenue, with an average annual EBITDA of $608 million and average annual operating cash flow of $519 million.
A distinguishing feature of the Elk Creek project is its planned production of eight distinct critical mineral products, all designated by the U.S. Government as critical minerals. These products include ferroniobium, scandium trioxide, titanium tetrachloride, and several rare earth oxide products such as neodymium-praseodymium oxide, dysprosium oxide, terbium oxide, samarium-europium-gadolinium carbonate, and heavy rare earth carbonate.
This diversified product portfolio positions the project to serve multiple U.S. critical-mineral and defense supply chains from an integrated mine and processing facility. NioCorp CEO Mark A. Smith emphasized the project's strategic importance to the United States.
"Our 2026 feasibility study transforms the Elk Creek project into the kind of critical minerals project the United States needs to have online as soon as possible," Smith stated. He highlighted that few critical minerals projects in the U.S. can match the Elk Creek Project's combination of a 40-year mine life, all major construction-related permits already secured, and the planned production of eight critical mineral products from a single ore body. Smith further noted that the United States is heavily reliant on imports for every single one of the products that NioCorp plans to manufacture.
"NioCorp offers an American-made solution: secure, long-term domestic production of materials essential to national defense, advanced manufacturing, energy resilience, and the technologies that will power the U.S. economy for decades to come," he said. Despite the positive study results, NioCorp's stock experienced a decline on the day of the announcement. The company's stock closed down 1.6% on the NASDAQ, with the company maintaining a market capitalization of $780.3 million.
Source: mining.com, August 11, 2026
Source: mining.com