NioCorp Developments Ltd. announced that a phased program to establish U.S. commercial production of aluminum-scandium master alloy took another step forward recently as NioCorp Developments Ltd. and its development partner Nanoscale Powders LLC successfully produced scandium metal at pilot-scale at a facility owned and operated by Creative Engineers in Pennsylvania. AlSc master alloy, which generally contains 2% by weight scandium, is used to introduce scandium into aluminum for the purpose of producing various AlSc alloys, which generally contain a fraction of a percent scandium by weight. These alloys help to reduce weight, increase strength and corrosion resistance, and make the material weldable in automotive and mass transit, aerospace, defense, space and other systems. NioCorp's goal is to demonstrate the ability to make AlSc master alloy containing from 2% by weight scandium to as much as 10% by weight scandium.

Three-Phase Commercialization Program NioCorp and Nanoscale are pursuing a three-phased development plan for commercial production of AlSc master alloy. The goal of this program is to achieve full-scale AlSc master alloy production at approximately the same time as the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project (the "Elk Creek Project") achieves commercial operation and planned production of approximately 100 tonnes per year of scandium oxide. Pilot scale batch production of 10 kilogram master alloy ingots.

Master alloy produced will be fully analyzed (metals and gases) at independent test facilities. Ingot samples will be available for third-party examination and prospective customer testing /sampling. Commercial demonstration production of 100 kg ingots.

NioCorp expects to perform this work at a third-party ingot casting facility, which is expected to significantly reduce development timelines and cost as well as leverage existing facility permits and operator experience. The objective of this stage will be to optimize the production process and operating conditions. Full scale commercial production of master alloy.

Assuming successful results at the pilot scale and commercial demonstration stages, and once project financing is obtained, NioCorp intends to secure an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction contractor to construct, start up, and commission a full-scale production facility with the capacity to consume up to the Elk Creek Project's projected scandium production of approximately 100 tonnes (Sc metal contained in master alloy) per year. NioCorp intends to co-locate the full-scale production facility with the Elk Creek Project in Nebraska in order to take advantage of the infrastructure (i.e., low-cost power, water, and natural gas) that will be in place for mining operations.