NioCorp Developments reached a definitive agreement with global metals trader Traxys North America for its Elk Creek Project in Nebraska. The agreement places 100% of the project’s planned mineral production under commercial sales agreements. Those agreements cover the first 15 years of operation, a milestone for the project’s financing and development.
Traxys will buy 50% of NioCorp’s planned ferroniobium production on a take-or-pay basis. An existing offtake agreement with ThyssenKrupp covers the remaining 50%. Traxys also has exclusive rights to market NioCorp’s future scandium, titanium and rare earth products, materials used in defense, aerospace and clean energy applications.
The arrangements could reduce project risk by establishing commercial channels for the planned output. NioCorp says the project would help build a domestic U.S. supply of several federally designated critical minerals and reduce reliance on foreign sources.