Mr. Mark Smith reports

NIOCORP COMPLETES METALLURGICAL TEST PROGRAM AND BEGINS MAKING TITANIUM SAMPLES FOR PROSPECTIVE CUSTOMERS

Niocorp Developments Ltd. has completed its metallurgical testing program at its Quebec-based demonstration plant. Results show that Niocorp's enhanced processing design can produce, at demonstration scale, higher-purity forms of niobium and titanium, and higher yields for each product, than previously attained. The results also show that Niocorp can produce, at demonstration scale, scandium and magnetic rare earth products with commercial purities at recovery rates of 92 per cent or higher.

With all metallurgical work required to update Niocorp's current feasibility study for the Elk Creek critical minerals project now completed, Niocorp is working to update its mineral reserve to include rare earths, complete additional engineering required by the new processing design, update project capital and operating cost estimates, and producing other information required for publication in an updated feasibility study. This is expected to be completed as early as possible in 2024.

Higher-purity form of titanium can be produced

Niocorp's new process can produce, at demonstration scale, a higher purity and more valuable form of titanium, known as titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4), than its previous process. The company has shifted operations at its demonstration plant to produce sufficient quantities of TiCl4 for quality and purity testing by multiple prospective customers who have requested samples. Niocorp expects to make a final determination on its plans to produce TiCl4 after completing all work required for publishing an updated feasibility study.

TiCl4 is a highly versatile form of titanium that can be used to make both titanium dioxide, used in paints and pigments, and titanium metal. Demand for titanium metal is forecasted to grow by a 6.8-per-cent CAGR (compound annual growth rate) between 2022 and 2030, driven primarily by increasing demand in defence and industrial segments.

Global markets for aerospace-grade titanium metal have tightened sharply in recent years because of increased demand and supply chain pressures that have resulted from the Ukraine conflict with Russia, the world's largest supplier. The last titanium sponge plant in the United States closed in 2020, and current titanium sponge production capacity is overwhelmingly centred today in China, Japan, Russia, Kazakhstan and other nations.

The second-largest rare earth mineral resource in the U.S.

Niocorp's demonstration plant also showed that the company's process can make, at demonstration scale, the following high-purity forms of the separated magnetic rare earth oxides: neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) oxide, dysprosium (Dy) oxide and terbium (Tb) oxide. The metallurgical testing showed that Niocorp can make, at demonstration scale, each of these commercial products at recovery rates of 92 per cent or higher, which is considered to be an exceptionally high rate of recovery in the rare earth industry.

However, as no economic analysis has been completed on the rare earth mineral resource comprising a portion of the Elk Creek project, further studies are required before determining whether extraction of rare earth elements can be reasonably justified and economically viable after taking into account all relevant factors. Final determination by Niocorp of possible rare earth production can be made only after Niocorp publishes a new feasibility study, expected to occur as early as possible in 2024.

Currently, there is no commercial-scale production in the U.S. of high-purity separated rare earth oxides, even though demand is forecasted to rise sharply because of increased demand for rare earth permanent magnets in electric and hybrid vehicles, and advanced wind turbines.

In terms of its mineral resource, the Elk Creek project represents the second-largest rare earth resource in the U.S. of indicated or higher classification, based on data from the USGS report entitled "Critical Mineral Resources of the United States-Economic and Environmental Geology and Prospects for Future Supply (2017)," and from company-issued reports. Based on these sources, the Elk Creek project represents the largest indicated Tb mineral resource in the U.S., and the second-largest indicated Nd/Pr and Dy mineral resource in the U.S. Tb and Dy are used in high-strength rare earth permanent magnets used in the traction motor systems of most electric vehicles.

"By proving out this new approach to processing critical minerals at the demonstration plant level, we have shown that we can achieve, at the demonstration level, greater recoveries and higher purities of niobium and titanium products, while also adding significant quantities of key magnetic rare earths in a high-purity, separated oxide form," said Mark A. Smith, chief executive officer and executive chairman of Niocorp.

"I am very pleased with the recovery rates and product purities that the development team obtained at the demonstration plant level in the new process, and this success brings us another step forward in our evaluation of the feasibility of adding rare earths to our product offering," said Scott Honan, chief operating officer of Niocorp. "All of this testing data is integral to the updated feasibility study, on which we are working now."

Demonstration plant results

Niocorp's demonstration plant succeeded in demonstrating that Niocorp's new approach to processing ore that Niocorp expects to extract from the Elk Creek project is more efficient than the previous design and is expected to require fewer processing steps. For example, it may allow the elimination of entire processes in Niocorp's planned processing, such as acid regeneration.

A high-level summary of the results obtained by Niocorp from the demonstration plant is shown in the associated table.

Qualified persons

Eric Larochelle, BEng, co-owner of L3 Process Development, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information, and verified the data contained in this news release.

Mr. Honan, MSc, SME-RM, chief operating officer of Niocorp Developments, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in the news release.

About Niocorp Developments Ltd.

Niocorp is developing a critical mineral 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 Elk Creek 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, armour 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 defence and civilian applications.

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