NioCorp starts development drilling at Elk Creek
Tue 10:12 am by Deborah Bacal
proactiveinvestors.com
NioCorp Developments (CVE:NB)(OTCQX:NIOBF) has begun drilling at its Elk Creek niobium project in southeast Nebraska, the company said Tuesday, with the three-phase program to total up to 12,000 metres.
The news follows an extensive review process involving the company's key advisors, after which it selected West-Core Drilling of Elko, Nevada to commence the drilling operations.
The first of the three phases will consist of about 4,200 metres of core drilling, NioCorp said.
The campaign is part of the company's overall development plan, which has been designed to bolster the classification of the deposit's resources for an updated NI 43-101 estimate, as well as to provide other technical data to advance the project to the feasibility stage.
The initial phase is aimed at producing an updated NI 43-101 resource report to show a sufficient quantity of material in the measured and indicated categories to satisfy future corporate financing needs.
Drilling is expected to begin this week with one rig, with a second to be mobilized next week. Results will be announced as received, NioCorp said.
"This is a very exciting time for NioCorp as we get back on the ground with very meaningful development work," said VP of business development, Scott Honan, who was just hired last week to oversee development activities on the project.
Honan, who has a degree in mining engineering, previously worked as general manager and environmental manager for Molycorp's Mountain Pass mine and more recently, as VP of health, environment, safety and sustainability at Molycorp's corporate office in Colorado.
The NioCorp property, which lies near Elk Creek, Nebraska, is the highest grade undeveloped niobium deposit in North America, discovered by Molycorp back in the late 1960s.
"I am very impressed with the experienced team of resource development professionals that have been assembled to dramatically improve and enhance our knowledge of this deposit, as we move the project rapidly towards feasibility," added NioCorp's CEO Mark Smith, who is the former chief executive of Molycorp.
Niobium is mainly used in the form of ferro-niobium to produce high strength, low alloy steel, for use in automotive, structural and pipeline applications, and demand is seen increasing as the U.S. currently imports 100% of its niobium needs.
Shares of NioCorp were rising Tuesday, lately up 4.7% at 67 Canadian cents in Toronto. The stock has a 52-week trading range of 10 to 79 cents. Since the beginning of the year, shares have more than quadrupled. |
