NioCorp Praises U.S. House Armed Services Committee For Highlighting the Importance of Aluminum-Scandium Master Alloy - Seite 2

NioCorp recently launched a phased commercialization effort to produce Al-Sc master alloy in the U.S., in partnership with Nanoscale Powders, LLC ("Nanoscale") (https://nanoscalepowders.com/). Nanoscale has developed a proprietary process that increases efficiency and reduces environmental impacts of Al-Sc production over traditional approaches. Work is underway at the Pennsylvania facility of Creative Engineers, Inc., (https://creativeengineers.com/) a leading alkali metal chemical process engineering company specializing in processes for sodium, lithium and potassium metal, to test a novel approach to Al-Sc master alloy production that involves separate metal reduction and alloying steps. The goal of the pilot-scale effort is to demonstrate that, at commercial scale, this process will be cost-competitive with other methods of Al-Sc master alloy, and that NioCorp can make Al-Sc master alloy with a range of scandium content.

Mark A. Smith, CEO and Executive Chairman of NioCorp, said: "We are very pleased to see the U.S. House Armed Services Committee highlight the strategic importance of domestic production of both high-purity scandium oxide and aluminum-scandium master alloy. We recognize this as well, which is why NioCorp launched our phased commercialization effort to develop commercial-scale production in the U.S. of this critical and strategic material. Our team is now conducting pilot-scale testing of aluminum-scandium master alloy and we look forward to reporting results as progress continues."

NioCorp's phased commercialization effort is being conducted in partnership with Boston-based Nanoscale Powders LLC, which has developed a proprietary process that increases efficiency and reduces the environmental impacts of Al-Sc production over traditional approaches.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jim Sims, Corporate Communications Officer, NioCorp Developments Ltd., [phone], [e-mail]

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ABOUT NIOCORP
NioCorp is developing a critical minerals project in Southeast Nebraska that will produce niobium, scandium, and titanium. The Company also is evaluating the potential to produce several rare earths from the 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.