Nebraska rare-metal mine could generate $6.4 billion - Money - Omaha.com mobile: Breaking news, weather and local coverage from the Omaha World-Herald Nebraska rare-metal mine could generate 6.4 billion
By Cole Epley / World-Herald staff writer | Posted 4 hours agoA new report estimates an underground mineral deposit near Elk Creek, Nebraska, would generate about $6.4 billion over nearly 40 years of production oncCanadian mining company NioCorp, which is in the process of renewing and negotiating land leases above the deposit in southeastern Nebraska, detailed preliminary costs and values associated with an underground mine.
The report was prepared by Lakewood, Colorado-based SRK Consulting and Roche Ltd. of Quebec City, Quebec.
In it, the consultants’ models showed an operational mine would generate $177 million annually in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization over a life of 36 years.
And that’s being conservative, said NioCorp’s president, Peter Dickie.
“They’ve taken the existing data and knowledge and modeled it based on that, so there’s no guesswork involved. We believe the life of the mine will be substantially longer than this,” Dickie told The World-Herald. “We’ve drilled about 3,000 feet vertically from the surface, and each of our drill holes bottomed out in ore, meaning we don’t know how deep (the deposit) continues, but it continues deeper.”
The primary mineral sought for processing is niobium, a metal used to harden steels for defense industry applications as well as in high-tech gadgetry. Currently, it is mined only in Quebec and in Brazil.
NioCorp in February reported the deposit near Elk Creek is richer in the mineral than previously understood. That report estimated a price range of $45 to $48 per kilogram of niobium, of which there is an estimated 81.2 million tons.
As an added bonus, the organization plans to mine and process rare-earth elements scandium and titanium simultaneously.
The preliminary report issued Monday derived financial figures using a price of $2.10 per kilogram for titanium dioxide and $3,500 per kilogram for scandium. A production model suggested an annual production rate of 23,000 tons and about 13 tons, respectively.
“(Those metals) are not critical to the success of the project, but they are significant contributors to our bottom line,” Dickie said. “Spending the money to extract those minerals adds a huge benefit without a huge cost.”
The report stated the upfront costs to develop a mine and infrastructure for processing would be $653 million. Other costs push the total spending to $919 million.
Dickie said the development and operation of a mine would require “hundreds” of jobs.
A feasibility study for development of a mine is due later this year.
Contact the writer: 402-444-1534, cole.epley@owh.com |
