Shares of NioCorp Developments Ltd. (TSX:NB) (OTCQX:NIOBF) are climbing in morning trading action after the company said it produced high-purity 99.9% commercial grade Scandium Trioxide from ore unearthed at its Elk Creek Nebraska property. Often called "3Ns," premium grade scandium is in demand as it meets or exceeds the quality standards for virtually any commercial application, including aerospace.
The property is getting far along in development, with expectations that a feasibility study will be completed and released during the second quarter. Following the feasibility study, NioCorp said it wants to aggressively pursue securing requisite permits and financing to begin construction for a proposed Scandium purification circuit at its Elk Creek Superalloy Materials project.
According to a preliminary economic assessment for the project, NioCorp expects to be able to produce 97 tonnes of the high-grade Scandium at its facility each year once at full production.
After closing Friday at 72 cents, Toronto-listed shares of NioCorp are trading at 77 cents early Monday morning and have moved as high at 79 cents.
