NioCorp
NioCorp Developments Ltd. is a publicly traded critical minerals development company building the Elk Creek Project in Nebraska to produce ferroniobium, scandium oxide, titanium dioxide, and magnetic rare earth oxides for defense, aerospace, automotive, and clean energy customers. The company is pre-revenue and currently in construction.
- Company typePublic
- Founded2015
- HeadquartersCentennial, United States
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What NioCorp does
NioCorp Developments Ltd. is a publicly traded (Nasdaq and TSX: NB) critical minerals development company headquartered in Centennial, Colorado, with Canadian incorporation and a primary operational asset, the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project, in southeast Nebraska. The company is developing an underground mine and surface processing facilities designed to produce ferroniobium, scandium oxide, titanium dioxide, and potentially magnetic rare earth oxides (neodymium-praseodymium, dysprosium, and terbium). The Elk Creek deposit is described as the second-largest indicated-or-better rare earth resource in the United States and the highest-grade niobium deposit in North America, with a 38-year projected mine life underpinned by a 2022 Feasibility Study showing $2.82 billion pre-tax NPV, 29.2% pre-tax IRR, and averaged annual EBITDA of $397.5 million.
The company's business model is pre-revenue, with revenue mechanics dependent on future offtake agreements and direct enterprise sales. A non-binding 10-year offtake and marketing agreement with Traxys North America covers all remaining planned products, while a direct collaboration with Lockheed Martin anchors scandium-based alloy volumes for advanced fighter jets and aerospace platforms, supported by Pentagon Title III Program funding of up to $10 million. The U.S. Export-Import Bank has issued a Letter of Interest for up to $800 million in debt financing, and Nebraska state tax incentives of approximately $200 million over 10 years were secured in April 2026. Target customer segments are defense and aerospace manufacturers (primary), automotive and EV manufacturers, infrastructure and construction, and the clean energy sector.
NioCorp is pursuing vertical integration through its wholly owned subsidiary NioCorp Advanced Metals and Alloys LLC, which acquired FEA Materials LLC's manufacturing assets and intellectual property for $8.4 million in December 2025 to produce aluminum-scandium master alloy domestically. A rare earth demonstration plant operated with L3 Process Development in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec, has validated a patent-pending solvent extraction process with greater than 92% recovery rates for magnetic rare earths. As of February 2026, the company broke ground on the Elk Creek mine portal (estimated $44.6 million capital cost) and reported a record cash balance of $307 million following approximately $500 million raised across 2025 and early 2026.
NioCorp firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- NioCorp
- Legal name
- NioCorp Developments Ltd.
- Website
- https://niocorp.com
- Company type
- Public
- Founded year
- 2015
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- NioCorp Developments Ltd. is a publicly traded critical minerals development company building the Elk Creek Project in Nebraska to produce ferroniobium, scandium oxide, titanium dioxide, and magnetic rare earth oxides for defense, aerospace, automotive, and clean energy customers. The company is pre-revenue and currently in construction.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
NioCorp industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Critical Minerals Mining
- NAICS
- Other Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying (212390), Nonmetallic Mineral Mining and Quarrying (2123)
- SIC
- Metal Mining (1000), Primary Smelting & Refining Of Nonferrous Metals (3330)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Aerospace & Defense (Production AM Parts) (IMAAAEAA)
Keywords
Where NioCorp is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Centennial
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices4 records
Markets served
NioCorp business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Operations, Infrastructure, Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Critical Minerals Production and Sales: Pre-revenue mining company planning to produce and sell ferroniobium, scandium oxide, titanium dioxide, and potentially rare earth oxides (neodymium-praseodymium oxide, dysprosium oxide, terbium oxide). Revenue will come from long-term offtake agreements and spot sales to defense, aerospace, automotive, and clean energy sectors. The 2022 Feasibility Study projects $21.9 billion Life of Mine gross revenue over 38 years.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels8 records
NioCorp product offering
Product offeringCore offering
NioCorp is developing the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project in southeast Nebraska to produce ferroniobium, scandium oxide, titanium dioxide, and rare earth oxides. The project is designed to be a vertically integrated, underground mining and processing operation targeting commercial production of multiple critical minerals from a single U.S.-based resource.
Product overview
NioCorp is a critical minerals development company with a single focused project—the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project—which represents North America's only niobium/scandium/titanium project. The company operates a platform-plus-products model centered on this underground mine, which produces three primary commercial mineral products: Ferroniobium (from niobium), Scandium Oxide, and Titanium Dioxide. NioCorp is also evaluating the addition of magnetic rare earth oxides (Neodymium-Praseodymium Oxide, Dysprosium Oxide, and Terbium Oxide) as by-products, and has vertically integrated downstream through its NioCorp Advanced Metals and Alloys subsidiary to produce Aluminum-Scandium Master Alloy from assets acquired from FEA Materials LLC. The company collaborates with Lockheed Martin on aluminum-scandium parts for advanced fighter jets and holds a non-binding offtake agreement with Traxys North America covering anticipated production.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ferroniobium
Quantifiable outcome
- $2.82 billion pre-tax NPV with 29.2% pre-tax IRR
- +5 more outcomes
Companies that use NioCorp
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles1 record
NioCorp technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature1 record
NioCorp partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- Traxys North AmericacoreNon-binding 10-year offtake and marketing arrangement for NioCorp's remaining planned critical minerals products from Elk Creek Project. Traxys may also make a strategic equity investment of up to $30 million in NioCorp and participate in the Project Vault initiative.
- FEA Materials LLCcoreAcquisition of manufacturing assets and intellectual property for $8.4 million through newly formed subsidiary NioCorp Advanced Metals and Alloys LLC, enabling domestic production of aluminum-scandium master alloy.
- Lockheed MartincoreCollaboration on aluminum-scandium parts for advanced fighter jets and aerospace platforms, supported by up to $10 million in Pentagon Title III Program funding.
- L3 Process DevelopmentcoreRare earth demonstration plant in Trois-Rivieres, Quebec demonstrating patent-pending solvent extraction process with greater than 92% recovery rates for magnetic rare earths.
- Project VaultcoreNioCorp participating in Project Vault, a $12 billion U.S. Strategic Critical Minerals Reserve initiative launched by the White House and EXIM to procure and store critical minerals for American manufacturers.
Scale indicators18 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
NioCorp competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- MP Materials: MP Materials operates the Mountain Pass rare earth mine in California, the only scaled U.S. rare earth producer. It is the most direct comparable to NioCorp as another U.S.-focused critical minerals mining company targeting the same defense and clean energy demand drivers.
- Lynas Rare Earths: Lynas is the world's largest non-Chinese producer of separated rare earth materials, with the Mt Weld mine in Australia and a processing facility in Malaysia. Directly comparable to NioCorp as a publicly listed rare earth miner targeting NdPr and heavy rare earth markets.
- Energy Fuels: Energy Fuels is a U.S.-based critical minerals company producing rare earth oxides from monazite sands and uranium. Directly comparable to NioCorp as a North American critical minerals developer pursuing government partnerships (DoD) and rare earth oxide production.
- Iluka Resources: Iluka is an Australian mineral sands company producing titanium dioxide, zircon, and rare earths (notably dysprosium and terbium from its Eneabba refinery). Comparable to NioCorp as a multi-product critical minerals miner with rare earth refining capabilities.
- USA Rare Earth: USA Rare Earth is developing the Round Top heavy rare earth and critical minerals project in Texas, with downstream magnet manufacturing plans. Directly comparable to NioCorp as a U.S.-focused critical minerals developer pursuing vertically integrated rare earth supply chains.
- Texas Mineral Resources: Texas Mineral Resources is developing rare earth and critical minerals projects in Texas (in partnership with USA Rare Earth). Comparable to NioCorp as a U.S.-focused critical minerals mining developer targeting the defense and clean energy sectors.
Broad incumbents
- Tronox Holdings: Tronox is one of the world's largest vertically integrated producers of titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigments. It overlaps with NioCorp's planned TiO2 production but operates as a mature incumbent across multiple geographies rather than a single-asset developer.
- Albemarle Corporation: Albemarle is the world's largest lithium producer and a major bromine and catalyst manufacturer. It represents a broad incumbent in the critical minerals space with a similar customer base (EV, energy storage) as NioCorp, though focused on lithium rather than rare earths/niobium/scandium.
Emerging players
- Piedmont Lithium: Piedmont Lithium is a U.S.-based development-stage lithium producer targeting the EV battery supply chain. Comparable to NioCorp as a publicly listed critical minerals developer serving the same clean energy and electrification end markets.
- Standard Lithium: Standard Lithium is a development-stage lithium company with direct lithium extraction (DLE) technology in Arkansas. Comparable to NioCorp as a small-cap critical minerals developer using proprietary processing technology to address U.S. supply gaps.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat6 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
NioCorp social profiles
Digital presenceNioCorp compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
NioCorp financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
NioCorp leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles5 records
NioCorp subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries2 records
NioCorp funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds19 records
Investors3 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
NioCorp M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about NioCorp
What does NioCorp do?
NioCorp is developing the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project in southeast Nebraska to produce ferroniobium, scandium oxide, titanium dioxide, and rare earth oxides. The project is designed to be a vertically integrated, underground mining and processing operation targeting commercial production of multiple critical minerals from a single U.S.-based resource.
Is NioCorp a public or private company?
NioCorp is a public company. It is classified as public and is currently operating.
When was NioCorp founded?
NioCorp was founded in 2015. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is NioCorp based?
NioCorp is headquartered in Centennial, United States, in the North America region.
How does NioCorp make money?
One revenue line is on record: critical Minerals Production and Sales.
Who are NioCorp's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are MP Materials, Lynas Rare Earths, Energy Fuels, Iluka Resources, USA Rare Earth and Texas Mineral Resources. Broad incumbents are Tronox Holdings and Albemarle Corporation. Emerging players are Piedmont Lithium and Standard Lithium.
Does NioCorp have an API?
No public API is recorded for NioCorp.
What industry is NioCorp in?
NioCorp's product category is Critical Minerals Mining. Its primary akta.pro industry code is IMAAAEAA, Aerospace & Defense (Production AM Parts). Its NAICS code is 212390 and its SIC code is 1000.