NioCorp completes five pilot plant runs as part of its Elk Creek Project feasibility study

Mark Smith, Executive Chairman, CEO, and Director of NioCorp. — Photo courtesy NioCorp

NioCorp Developments Ltd. (“NioCorp” or the "Company”) (TSX:NB) (OTCQX:NIOBF) (FSE:BR3) is pleased to announce the successful conclusion of five metallurgical pilot plant runs that have tested the Company’s Scandium, Niobium, and Titanium production operations under continuous conditions. These pilot plants were constructed and operated at the SGS facility in Lakefield, Ontario.

Two of the pilots involved separate one-week runs of a Scandium Solvent Extraction Circuit, a conventional technology that would be used in the Company’s flagship Elk Creek Project production process to separate and concentrate Scandium. The first pilot was completed between July 18 and July 23, 2016, and the second pilot was competed between August 8 and August 12, 2016. Scandium losses were less than 1% when averaged over the two weeks of operation, representing excellent performance for a solvent extraction operation. These results will be combined with data from upstream and downstream metallurgical results to determine, through follow-on testing, the ultimate recovery of Scandium to a final commercial product.

In addition to the Scandium Solvent Extraction Pilot, the Company completed two pilot runs of its Acid Baking technology from July 25 to July 29 and from August 15 to August 20, 2016. The Acid Bake operation dissolves Niobium and Titanium for subsequent recovery in the Company’s Niobium and Titanium production operations.

Finally, the Niobium and Titanium production operations (Nb/Ti Pilot) were piloted between August 29 and September 2, 2016. The Nb/Ti Pilot successfully produced kilogram quantities of Niobium that will be used in the final testing of the Company’s Ferroniobium production operation, along with kilogram quantities of a Titanium product that will be evaluated for prospective sales.

“I am extremely pleased with the rapid progress that has been made in completing numerous metallurgical pilot plants over the past two months,” said Scott Honan, President of Elk Creek Resources Corporation, the wholly-owned NioCorp subsidiary that is developing the Elk Creek Project. “The pilot plants have demonstrated our ability to run key Scandium, Niobium, and Titanium production processes on a continuous basis, and have provided critical data that will allow our engineering design team to complete design work in these areas of the Elk Creek Project.”

The Company is now proceeding toward its final pilot plants necessary to complete the Elk Creek Project Feasibility Study, including those related to regenerating and recycling acid used in the Elk Creek Project production process and additional Scandium recovery and purification operations.

About NioCorp

NioCorp is developing a superalloy materials project in Southeast Nebraska that will aim to produce Niobium, Scandium, and Titanium. Niobium is used to produce superalloys 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 superalloy material that can be combined with Aluminum to make alloys with increased strength and improved corrosion resistance. Scandium also is a critical component of advanced solid oxide fuel cells. Titanium is used in various superalloys and is a key component of pigments used in paper, paint and plastics and is also used for aerospace applications, armor and medical implants.