CENTENNIAL, COLO. – Leaders of NioCorp, which is permitted to start construction of the Elk Creek Project, reacted to President Donald Trump’s speech to a joint session of Congress Tuesday with optimism.

In a press release, the company’s CEO Mark Smith noted the President’s intention to take “historic action to massively expand the production of critical minerals and rare earth elements right here in America.”

NioCorp says the proposed polymetallic mining operation in Johnson County would produce critical minerals niobium, scandium, titanium and rare earths. The company is seeking financial backing.

NioCorp: “The U.S. is 100 percent dependent on foreign nations for niobium and scandium and is overwhelmingly dependent on imports for titanium and rare earth oxides, particularly from China and other BRICS nations.”

The company, which has offices in Canada and Colorado, says few US national defense systems can operate without one or more of the minerals NioCorp intends to produce.

Smith said America to ready mine, baby mine and few projects are ready to proceed faster than the Elk Creek project.

A press release quotes former White House official and current president of GreenMet Drew Horn as saying the Elk Creek project has potential to help the US achieve critical minerals self-sufficiency.

During his March 4 speech the president said his administration is working on a natural gas pipeline in Alaska and said he expects to take action soon on domestic critical minerals.

* BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

Here is the company’s press release

 

CENTENNIAL, Colo. (March 5, 2025) – U.S. President Trump told the U.S. Congress and the American people last night that he intends to take “historic action to massively expand the production of critical minerals and rare earth elements right here in America,” a move that should help to accelerate the development of critical minerals and rare earth projects like the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project (“Elk Creek Project”) in Nebraska, according to Mark A. Smith, Executive Chairman and CEO of NioCorp Developments Ltd. (“NioCorp” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ:NB).

NioCorp is fully permitted to start construction of the Elk Creek Project, which is intended to produce the critical minerals niobium, scandium, titanium, and rare earths.  The US is 100% dependent upon foreign nations for niobium and scandium and is overwhelmingly dependent on imports for titanium and rare earth oxides, particularly from China and other BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa).  Few US national defense systems can operate without one or more of the minerals NioCorp intends to produce.

“America is ready to Mine, Baby, Mine in order to reduce our dangerous dependence on China and the other nations of the BRICS cabal,” said Mr. Smith.  “The US is blessed with an abundance of critical minerals resources, and few domestic critical minerals projects are ready to proceed faster than the Elk Creek Project in Nebraska.”

“The United States is now poised to be the extraction and midstream processing leader for the entire world,” said Drew Horn, President of Washington, DC-based GreenMet and a former White House official under President Trump’s first term.  “The best projects, such as NioCorp’s Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project, have unmatched support from both the US government and US private institutional capital, are already fully permitted for construction, and have the potential to help the US achieve critical minerals self-sufficiency and, eventually, critical minerals dominance.”

Messers. Smith and Horn have been advocating for the Trump Administration to take aggressive action to promote domestic production of critical minerals, such as in this op-ed by Mr. Smith published by FoxNews.com on January 10, 2025 and this op-ed by Messers. Smith and Horn in The Daily Caller on January 31, 2025.

Among the proposals advocated to the Trump Administration by NioCorp and GreenMet are these:

Provide low-interest loans to new mines that have already obtained all necessary federal, state, and local permits and which have earned strong buy-in from local communities.

Focus on polymetallic mines that can produce multiple critical minerals from a single orebody and can also expand production by recycling post-consumer waste streams, such as rare earth permanent magnets.

Expand the authority of the U.S. Department of Defense, through its Office of Strategic Capital and Title III programs, to become a major funding source for new mines. Also, enable the National Defense Stockpile to build a much larger store of a defense-critical minerals and to enter into forward purchase agreements with U.S. mines not yet in production.

Encourage the U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) to accelerate debt financing of domestic critical minerals projects. EXIM’s loan revenue has historically covered its operating costs and allowed it to generate net government revenues.

Waive NEPA reviews for defense critical minerals projects that are not otherwise subject to NEPA but for the receipt of federal funding.

Legislate reasonable limits on litigation timelines. It now takes an average of 29 years to get a mine online in the U.S.  Only Zambia is worse.

Streamline federal permitting processes. The first Trump Administration made excellent progress on this, but much of that was reversed by follow-on executive orders.  Permitting reform via changes to U.S. statutes is a must.

“President Trump understands the strategic imperative of reducing our dependence on foreign adversaries for the critical minerals that keep our nation safe and our economy growing,” said Mr. Horn.  “He knows that critical minerals dominance is well within our grasp, and his strength and creativity are exactly what America to achieve this strategic goal.”

“The U.S. does mining and mineral processing more efficiently and with greater environmental care than any nation in the world,” Mr. Smith added.  “Let’s restore and unleash the American entrepreneurial spirit and Mine, Baby, Mine our way to a more prosperous and secure future.”