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From the press release the exercise price is 10.28
"In connection with the closing, NioCorp also assumed the outstanding GXII share purchase warrants (the “Assumed Warrants”), which will be exercisable for Common Shares with an exercise price of approximately $10.28 per Common Share. The Assumed Warrants are exercisable beginning on the 30th day after closing and will remain exercisable until the 5th anniversary of the closing date. All numbers in this press release give effect to the completed Consolidation (as defined herein)."
https://www.niocorp.com/niocorp-closes-business-combination-with-gxii-and-separate-financing-deals-providing-access-to-up-to-us71-9-million-in-net-proceeds-over-the-next-three-years/
Per the S4 the warrants exchanged 1 gxiiw for 1 niobw
When you exercise the niobw in the future it gets multiplied by 11.1829212 for NB shares.
'each GX Warrant that is issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Exchange Time shall be converted into one NioCorp Assumed Warrant pursuant to the GX Warrant Agreement. Each NioCorp Assumed Warrant
shall be exercisable solely for NioCorp Common Shares, and the number of NioCorp Common Shares subject to each NioCorp Assumed Warrant shall be equal to the number of shares of GX Common Stock subject to the applicable GX Warrant multiplied by 11.1829212, with the applicable exercise price adjusted accordingly"
The 11.1829212 does not come into play until you exercise the warrant.
The halt on the nasdaq
https://www.nasdaqtrader.com/trader.aspx?id=tradehalts#
Nb and first republic bank both halted, good grief
Halted
If average volume was 400,000 now it will be 40,000
Which would be very low for traders
Again that is nonsense. Read my previous post. Dean provides no value, as a director he is proof that highway robbery occurred.
That is a straw man argument. The fact remains Dean is a director on celu, got his 20% for $25,000 and provided no value to the company as it flushed down to .62
Your point is not valid. With their first SPAC gxgx they merged with celularity in July 2021. Now a year and a half later celu went from $10 down to 62 cents. They are directors at celu and it made no difference. One similarity is celu has 150 million pipe with Yorkville. Celu is ready for delisting.
They own 4.7 million shares now. In the future they get 3.5 million more if NB hits two price targets around $12 and $17.
Who is responsible? Well Mark Smith signed the deal and approved by shareholders.
That's it. Mark Smith post split at 2 million,
creepy kehler and bloom have 8 million. And they only paid $25,000 for it now valued at 56 million.
What I meant was you as well everyone else had to pay a price for your warrants because they have time value.
Niocorp received nothing in return for assuming the warrants. Just like we received nothing from gxii shares, in fact a $5 million deficit. Sorry for the confusion.
Gxii founders are getting up to 20%. What did they deliver- nothing. What is the point in doing a SPAC if you don't get any cash.
17.5 million warrants assumed with nothing in return. th6565 paid more for his than anything we received as compensation.
And now we have Yorkville on the ask soon at 90% vwap for $16 million.
Insult to injury - reverse split and stock dropping like a rock.
Now when mentioned in the media, it will always be "oh they were a SPAC" so of course it's going down.
'Further, there are 7,957,404 Class B shares of GXII (now known as Elk Creek Resources Corp.), as the surviving entity of the merger, that are exchangeable for an aggregate of up to 7,957,404 Common Shares"
NioCorp Closes Business Combination with GXII and Separate Financing Deals Providing Access to Up to US$71.9 Million in Net Proceeds Over the Next Three Years
CENTENNIAL, Colo. (March 17, 2023) – NioCorp Developments Ltd. ("NioCorp" or the "Company") (TSX: NB; OTCQX: NIOBF) today announced the completion of its previously announced business combination (the “Business Combination”) with GX Acquisition Corp. II (“GXII”). Further, NioCorp also announced the closing of both tranches of its previously announced convertible debt financing (the “Yorkville Convertible Debt Financing”) with YA II PN, Ltd., an investment fund managed by Yorkville Advisors Global, LP (together with YA II PN, Ltd., “Yorkville”), and the effectiveness of its previously announced standby equity purchase facility with Yorkville (the “Yorkville Equity Facility Financing”, and together with the Business Combination and the Yorkville Convertible Debt Financing, the “Transactions”).
Pursuant to the Business Combination, a wholly owned, U.S.-based subsidiary of NioCorp merged with and into GXII, with GXII surviving the merger as a subsidiary of NioCorp. In connection with the merger, GXII changed its name to “Elk Creek Resources Corp.” As the parent company of the merged entity, NioCorp issued 1,753,823 common shares (the “Common Shares”) in exchange for all of the Class A shares of GXII issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Business Combination. The Class B shares of GXII issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Business Combination (after giving effect to the surrender of certain Class B shares of GXII in accordance with the support agreement, dated September 25, 2022, among GX Sponsor II LLC, GXII, NioCorp and the other persons party thereto) were converted into Class B shares of GXII (now known as Elk Creek Resources Corp.) as the surviving entity of the merger and became exchangeable into Common Shares on a one-for-one basis, a portion of which are subject to vesting during the first ten years following the Business Combination closing date based upon achieving market share price milestones, and all of which are subject to restrictions on transfer beginning upon the closing and ending upon the earlier of (i) one year after the closing and (ii) the date on which the trading price of the Common Shares exceeds certain thresholds or the date on which NioCorp completes a transaction that results in all of NioCorp’s shareholders having the right to exchange their Common Shares for cash, securities or other property. In connection with the closing, NioCorp also assumed the outstanding GXII share purchase warrants (the “Assumed Warrants”), which will be exercisable for Common Shares with an exercise price of approximately $10.28 per Common Share. The Assumed Warrants are exercisable beginning on the 30th day after closing and will remain exercisable until the 5th anniversary of the closing date. All numbers in this press release give effect to the completed Consolidation (as defined herein).
Pursuant to the Yorkville Convertible Debt Financing, Yorkville advanced a total of US$15.36 million to NioCorp in consideration of the issuance of US$16.0 million aggregate principal amount of convertible debentures of NioCorp convertible into Common Shares of NioCorp (the “Convertible Debentures”). Each Convertible Debenture issued under the Yorkville Convertible Debt Financing is an unsecured obligation of NioCorp, may be converted at a discount to the market price as of the date of conversion, has an 18-month term, which may be extended for one six-month period in certain circumstances at the option of NioCorp, and incurs a simple interest rate obligation of 5.0% per annum (which will increase to 15.0% per annum upon the occurrence of an event of default). In conjunction with the issuance of the Convertible Debentures, NioCorp issued to Yorkville 1,789,267 Common Share purchase warrants entitling Yorkville to purchase Common Shares (the “Financing Warrants”) at an exercise price of approximately $8.94 per Common Share. The Financing Warrants are exercisable beginning on the earlier of (a) six months from their issuance or (b) the effective date of the initial registration statement registering the resale by Yorkville of the Common Shares issuable upon the conversion of the Convertible Debentures and the exercise of the Financing Warrants under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (the “Exercise Date”), and may be exercised at any time prior to their expiration. On each of the first 12 monthly anniversaries of the Exercise Date, 1/12th of the Financing Warrants will expire.
Pursuant to the Yorkville Equity Facility Financing, NioCorp will have the right, but not the obligation, to sell Common Shares to Yorkville with a maximum aggregate value of up to US$65.0 million (the “Commitment Amount”) for a period of up to 36 months at a discount to the market price as of the date of each respective issuance, subject to certain limitations and the satisfaction of certain conditions. Upon closing, NioCorp paid US$0.5 million to Yorkville as part of a cash fee, and will pay an additional US$1.0 million in cash to Yorkville in installments over the next 12-months. Further, within five days of closing, NioCorp will issue to Yorkville 81,213 Common Shares as consideration for Yorkville’s irrevocable commitment to purchase Common Shares under the Yorkville Equity Facility Financing.
In connection with closing, NioCorp received approximately US$15.28 million in gross proceeds from the Business Combination. Deal costs are anticipated to be approximately US$20.3 million. NioCorp received an additional US$15.36 million in net proceeds from the Yorkville Convertible Debt Financing. NioCorp also expects to have access to up to an additional $61.6 million in net proceeds from the Yorkville Equity Facility Financing over the next three years. After giving effect to the Business Combination, the Yorkville Convertible Debt Financing and the Yorkville Equity Facility Financing, NioCorp expects to have access to a total of US$71.9 million in net proceeds over the next three years.
NioCorp Board of Directors
Following completion of the Business Combination, Dean C. Kehler and Michael G. Maselli have been appointed to the NioCorp board of directors, joining the seven existing NioCorp board members. Mr. Kehler is a Managing Partner of Trimaran Capital Partners, a manager of private investment funds, and currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Celularity Inc., El Pollo Loco Holdings, Inc. and Portman Ridge Finance Corporation. Mr. Maselli is a Managing Director of Trimaran Capital Partners and the Chairman of the Board of El Pollo Loco Holdings Inc.
Share Consolidation
The Company also effected a share consolidation (reverse stock split) (the “Consolidation”) of its issued and outstanding Common Shares on the basis of one (1) post-Consolidation Common Share for every ten (10) pre-Consolidation Common Shares. Following completion of the Business Combination and the Consolidation, there are currently 30,000,442 Common Shares issued and outstanding. Further, there are 7,957,404 Class B shares of GXII (now known as Elk Creek Resources Corp.), as the surviving entity of the merger, that are exchangeable for an aggregate of up to 7,957,404 Common Shares and 15,666,667 Assumed Warrants exercisable for an aggregate of up to 17,519,910 Common Shares. All existing convertible securities of the Company have proportionally adjusted as result of the Consolidation, in accordance with their respective terms. The Convertible Debentures and the Financing Warrants were issued following the Consolidation, but have similar terms that provide for proportional adjustment thereof.
The Common Shares and the Assumed Warrants are expected to begin trading on The Nasdaq Global Market and The Nasdaq Capital Market, respectively, on March 21, 2023, under the symbols “NB” and “NIOBW,” respectively. The Common Shares will continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange (“TSX”) under the symbol “NB,” and will continue to trade on a pre-consolidated basis until such time as the TSX advises that trading on a post-consolidated basis will commence, which is expected to be at the beginning of regular trading hours on March 21, 2023. The Common Shares will cease being quoted on the OTC Markets in connection with the commencement of trading on The Nasdaq Global Market.
# # #
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For More Information:
Jim Sims, Corporate Communications Officer, NioCorp Developments Ltd., +1 (720) 334-7066, jim.sims@niocorp.com
@NioCorp @GXII $NB.TO $NIOBF $BR3 $GXII #Niobium #Scandium #rareearth #neodymium #dysprosium #terbium #ElkCreek #EV #electricvehicle
About NioCorp
NioCorp is developing a critical minerals project in Southeast Nebraska that will produce niobium, scandium, and titanium. The Company also is evaluating the potential to produce several rare earths from the Project. Niobium is used to produce specialty alloys 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 specialty metal that can be combined with Aluminum to make alloys with increased strength and improved corrosion resistance. Scandium is also a critical component of advanced solid oxide fuel cells. Titanium is used in various lightweight alloys and is a key component of pigments used in paper, paint and plastics and is also used for aerospace applications, armor, and medical implants. Magnetic rare earths, such as neodymium, praseodymium, terbium, and dysprosium are critical to the making of Neodymium-Iron-Boron (“NdFeB”) magnets, which are used across a wide variety of defense and civilian applications.
Forward-Looking Statements
This communication contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, the anticipated benefits of the proposed Transactions, including the ability to access the full amount of the expected net proceeds over the next three years; the financial and business performance of NioCorp; NioCorp’s anticipated results and developments in the operations of NioCorp in future periods; NioCorp’s planned exploration activities; the adequacy of NioCorp’s financial resources; NioCorp’s ability to secure sufficient project financing to complete construction and commence operation of the Elk Creek Project; NioCorp’s expectation and ability to produce niobium, scandium and titanium at the Elk Creek Project; the outcome of current recovery process improvement testing, and NioCorp’s expectation that such process improvements could lead to greater efficiencies and cost savings in the Elk Creek Project; the Elk Creek Project’s ability to produce multiple critical metals; the Elk Creek Project’s projected ore production and mining operations over its expected mine life; the completion of the demonstration plant and technical and economic analyses on the potential addition of magnetic rare earth oxides to NioCorp’s planned product suite; the exercise of options to purchase additional land parcels; the execution of contracts with engineering, procurement and construction companies; NioCorp’s ongoing evaluation of the impact of inflation, supply chain issues and geopolitical unrest on the Elk Creek Project’s economic model; the impact of health epidemics, including the COVID-19 pandemic, on NioCorp’s business and the actions NioCorp may take in response thereto; and the creation of full time and contract construction jobs over the construction period of the Elk Creek Project. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words such as “plan,” “believe,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “intend,” “outlook,” “estimate,” “forecast,” “project,” “continue,” “could,” “may,” “might,” “possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “should,” “would” and other similar words and expressions, but the absence of these words does not mean that a statement is not forward-looking.
The forward-looking statements are based on the current expectations of the management of NioCorp and are inherently subject to uncertainties and changes in circumstances and their potential effects and speak only as of the date of such statement. There can be no assurance that future developments will be those that have been anticipated. Forward-looking statements reflect material expectations and assumptions, including, without limitation, expectations and assumptions relating to: the future price of metals; the stability of the financial and capital markets; and other current estimates and assumptions regarding the Transactions and their benefits. Such expectations and assumptions are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies regarding future events and, as such, are subject to change. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, those discussed and identified in public filings made by NioCorp and GXII with the SEC and, in the case of NioCorp, with the applicable Canadian securities regulatory authorities and the following: the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against NioCorp or GXII following closing of the Transaction; the inability to access the full amount of net proceeds under the Yorkville Equity Facility Financing over the next three years; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Transactions; unexpected costs related to the Transactions; the completion of processes required to effect the trading of the Common Shares on a post-Consolidation basis on the TSX and the Nasdaq being delayed; NioCorp’s ability to submit a complete application to begin the EXIM Phase I evaluation process; NioCorp’s ability to pay the necessary fees in connection with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (“EXIM”) underwriting process, including the expenses of EXIM’s or any other lenders’ legal and other advisors and NioCorp’s own advisors; the completion of the Phase I due diligence process and the receipt of a preliminary project letter indicating that EXIM is prepared to undertake Phase II due diligence; the completion of the Phase II due diligence process; the possibility that, even if NioCorp completes the application process, it does not receive a final commitment of financing from EXIM on the anticipated timeline, on acceptable terms, or at all; NioCorp’s ability to operate as a going concern; NioCorp’s requirement of significant additional capital; NioCorp’s limited operating history; NioCorp’s history of losses; cost increases for NioCorp’s exploration and, if warranted, development projects; a disruption in, or failure of, NioCorp’s information technology systems, including those related to cybersecurity; equipment and supply shortages; current and future offtake agreements, joint ventures, and partnerships; NioCorp’s ability to attract qualified management; the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic or other global health crises on NioCorp’s business plans, financial condition and liquidity; estimates of mineral resources and reserves; mineral exploration and production activities; feasibility study results; changes in demand for and price of commodities (such as fuel and electricity) and currencies; changes or disruptions in the securities markets; legislative, political or economic developments; the need to obtain permits and comply with laws and regulations and other regulatory requirements; the possibility that actual results of work may differ from projections/expectations or may not realize the perceived potential of NioCorp’s projects; risks of accidents, equipment breakdowns, and labor disputes or other unanticipated difficulties or interruptions; the possibility of cost overruns or unanticipated expenses in development programs; operating or technical difficulties in connection with exploration, mining, or development activities; the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities of grades of reserves and resources; claims on the title to NioCorp’s properties; potential future litigation; and NioCorp’s lack of insurance covering all of NioCorp’s operations.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize or should any of the assumptions made by the management of NioCorp and GXII prove incorrect, actual results may vary in material respects from those projected in these forward-looking statements.
All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements concerning the Transactions or other matters addressed in this communication and attributable to NioCorp, GXII or any person acting on their behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this communication. Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, NioCorp undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this communication to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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If you buy gxii now at 7.05 your cost on niobf will be .64
I agree
I think job years counts only " during construction and over the life of EXIM’s financing."
3 years construction
1200 jobs x 3 = 3600 job years
3600 x $189,242 = $681,415,200
Plus
3 years Financing
436 jobs x 3 = 1308 job years
1308 x $189,242 = $247,528,536
$681,415,200 + $247,528,536
= $928,943,736
"The amount of EXIM financing made available for individual projects will be scaled based on the number of US jobs supported, both during construction and over the life of EXIM’s financing.
Each job-year – one job over five years is five job-years – allows for up to $189,242 in financing."
I agree Walter. The EXIM bank is a breakthrough as well as the much anticipated ree numbers. Future equity raise should come at a more welcomed higher price.
Th6575 I am only guesstimating, the Yorkville money should close on Friday with the merger exchange giving 81 million plus 15 million from the trust.
Approximately $100 million with OS around 35 million.
Ree results soon (smiles)
EXIM bank coming up
I liked that part too:
President Joe Biden wants to see more of produced domestically.
The letter the bank issued to NioCorp is one of the first given to a U.S. project since the Export-Import Bank decided last year — in response a Biden executive order — to expand funding to domestic projects proposed by companies planning to export their products. A bank spokeswoman said NioCorp operates in an industry the bank is eager to support because so few critical minerals are produced in the United States.
Here is the article
Company gets closer to raising $1.1B it needs for mine
By Josh Funk?|?AP
March 15, 2023 at 6:47 p.m. EDT
Comment
OMAHA, Neb. — A mining company that wants to extract a collection of rare elements from beneath southeast Nebraska raised funds Wednesday toward its goal of finding the $1.1 billion it needs to build the mine that has been in the works for decades.
Shareholders of a special purpose acquisition company called GX Acquisition Corp. II overwhelmingly approved merging with NioCorp, a Centennial, Colorado-based mining company, according to a regulatory filing. About $15 million from the deal will go to NioCorp, the company said.
The GXII deal involves one of the risky shell companies once popular on Wall Street before many fell out of favor and had to be liquidated before they ever completed a deal. The SPACs, as they are known, are essentially companies created solely to merge with another business to invest in it.
NioCorp shareholders also approved an $81 million financing deal with Yorkville Advisors Global last week.
But the mine the company hopes to build about 80 miles (130 kilometers) south of Omaha near the town of Elk Creek could get an even bigger boost later this year. The Export-Import Bank of the United States recently issued a formal “letter of interest” saying that NioCorp may qualify for up to $800 million in financing. If that comes through after the bank conducts a detailed review of the project, NioCorp would have enough cash to build the mine.
First the project will have to undergo at least six to nine months of review by the bank. The letter from the Export-Import Bank is just a preliminary step, but it has NioCorp officials extremely optimistic.
Story continues below advertisement
“It’s unbelievably exciting. Sleep is a little hard to come by for our team right now,” NioCorp CEO Mark Smith said. “We see what’s happening and this project is actually going to happen.”
NioCorp has raised more than $80 million since 2013 to explore the site, but development of the project dates back to the 1970s when a different company first started drilling samples. The proposed mine is expected to create over 400 jobs if it is built.
The main element NioCorp plans to produce is a heat-resistant element called niobium, which is used to make steel lighter and stronger. The mine could also produce scandium that can be used to make aluminum stronger and titanium that would be used in paint production. The company has said analysis of samples from the site shows there is also a significant amount of rare earth elements used in a variety of high-tech products that are primarily produced in China. But it’s not yet clear whether it will be economically feasible to mine those rare earth elements that President Joe Biden wants to see more of produced domestically.
Story continues below advertisement
The letter the bank issued to NioCorp is one of the first given to a U.S. project since the Export-Import Bank decided last year — in response a Biden executive order — to expand funding to domestic projects proposed by companies planning to export their products. A bank spokeswoman said NioCorp operates in an industry the bank is eager to support because so few critical minerals are produced in the United States.
NioCorp officials say getting funding from the bank, which is run by the government under congressional authorization, would help level the playing field with Chinese companies that are heavily subsidized by their government. The Export-Import Bank would likely offer better terms than commercial banks, but NioCorp continues to talk with other banks.
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Looks like my prediction in Feb was accurate.
Congratulations. You now control how many millions of niocorp? for the next 5 years, at what 4 to 5 cents each... Well done. By the way are you ready to reveal the hidden benefits of the warrants that you alluded to previously?
Risk off on the warrants
My understanding is if you have 10,000 gxiiw before the merger you will have 1,000 niobw niocorp assumed warrants after the merger as a result of the 1 for 10 reverse split.
The 1,000 niobw when exercised are exercisable into NB shares multiplied by 11.1829212 or 11,182 NB shares.
NioCorp Assumed Warrants” means the NioCorp Common Share purchase warrants to be issued by NioCorp at the time of the Exchange as a result of the conversion of GX Warrants that are issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Exchange into warrants to acquire NioCorp Common Shares, with each NioCorp Assumed Warrant to be exercisable for a number of NioCorp Common Shares equal to the number of shares of GX Common Stock subject to the applicable GX Warrant multiplied by 11.1829212.
Well done Chico!
https://electrek.co/2023/02/20/tesla-buying-lithium-miner-report/
Tesla is considering buying a lithium miner, report says
Tesla is reportedly considering buying Brazil-based lithium miner Sigma Lithium, which is currently valued at $3 billion.
With the rapidly rising costs of key minerals for battery production, Tesla has been considering venturing into the mining world.
For example, in response to the rising cost of lithium, CEO Elon Musk said last year that Tesla “might” now get into the lithium mining business, even though it’s already supposed to be in it.
At Tesla’s Battery Day event in 2020, the automaker announced that it is getting into the mining business – starting with buying lithium claims on 10,000 acres in Nevada.
https://electrek.co/2023/03/01/tesla-is-going-back-to-ev-motors-with-no-rare-earth-elements/
Tesla will create a permanent magnet electric vehicle motor with zero rare earth elements in it, the company announced at its Investor Day today
Rare earth elements are a bone of contention in EV supply chains, as it can be hard to secure supplies of them, and a large majority of worldwide production is either sourced or processed in China.
This is important for several reasons, not the least of which is due to the Biden Administration’s current push for domestically produced electric vehicle component materials.
However, there are a lot of misconceptions about what a rare earth element is and how many of them are used by electric cars. In fact, lithium-ion batteries typically contain zero rare earth elements (though they do contain other “critical minerals” as defined in the Inflation Reduction Act).
On the periodic table, “rare earth elements” are those outlined in red in the graphic below – Lanthanides, plus Scandium and Yttrium. They are not actually all that particularly rare either, with Neodymium being about two-thirds as abundant as copper
There are 10 million public warrants and 5.667 million private warrants for a total of 15.667 million warrants.
15.667 x 11.1829 gives 175 million warrants after the merger. If 1 for 10 reverse split gives 17.5 million warrants.
Now if the warrants were called for a penny and deemed cashless exercise the 17.5 million could be reduced to about 10 million.
Remember the exercise price is $11.5. After the merger it will be adjusted by dividing it by the exchange ratio (11.1829) to make the new exercise price of $1.02. after the reverse split it will be adjusted again.
"each whole Warrant entitling the holder thereof to purchase one share of Class A Common Stock for $11.50 per share"
Yes but the correct number is around $16.09
$18 / 11.1829 = 1.609
1.609 x 10 = $16.09
https://www.exim.gov/about/special-initiatives/make-more-in-america-initiative
MAKE MORE IN AMERICA INITIATIVE
Strengthening America’s Supply Chains with EXIM’s Make More in America Initiative
The COVID-19 pandemic and recent global events have exposed long-standing holes in America’s supply chains, including insufficient manufacturing capacity, the erosion of the United States’ export industrial base, and competition with China and other countries. These structural weaknesses in both domestic and international supply chains threaten America’s economic and national security. Solving these challenges, fostering economic resilience, and revitalizing America’s manufacturing and export capacity requires the United States to use all the tools in our toolkit – including the Export-Import Bank.
From Day One, President Biden has prioritized addressing these longer-term weaknesses in our nation’s supply chains, the result of decades of underinvestment, outsourcing, and offshoring instead of investment in long-term security, sustainability, and resilience.
In February 2021, President Biden signed Executive Order 14017 directing an all-of-government approach to assessing vulnerabilities in – and strengthening the resilience of – the United States’ critical supply chains. From that Executive Order, the White House released findings from its comprehensive 100-day supply chain assessments for four critical products: semiconductor manufacturing and advanced packaging; large capacity batteries, like those for electric vehicles; critical minerals and materials; and pharmaceuticals and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Included in the recommendations was the following:
Examine the ability of the U.S. Export-Import Bank to use existing authorities to support U.S. manufacturing of products: EXIM should develop a proposal for Board consideration regarding whether EXIM should establish a new Domestic Finance Program that would provide financing to support the establishment and/or expansion of U.S. manufacturing facilities and infrastructure projects in the United States that would facilitate U.S. exports.
EXIM subsequently consulted with a variety of stakeholders and policy experts to identify gaps in private sector financing for critical manufacturing sectors and prepare a plan that leverages EXIM's existing tools, through direct loans, loan guarantees, and insurance, in innovative ways for specific types of domestic manufacturing projects with an export nexus.
EXIM Financing to Make More in America
Too many American manufacturers in sectors critical to America’s national security – especially small- and medium-sized enterprises – struggle to obtain financing to compete for global sales. EXIM is well positioned to address this issue, while supporting jobs in America.
To help companies make more in America – especially in sectors critical to national security – EXIM will make available the agency’s existing medium- and long-term loans, loan guarantees, and insurance to export-oriented domestic manufacturing projects.
The new tool will be open to all sectors, with financing priority available to environmentally beneficial projects, small businesses, and transformational export area transactions, including semiconductors, biotech and biomedical products, renewable energy, and energy storage. This Initiative will help revitalize American manufacturing, improve the resiliency of our supply chains, and level the playing field for American companies competing in overseas markets.
By complementing EXIM’s foreign buyer financing programs, EXIM can spur growth and security of critical supply chains while continuing to meet EXIM’s core mission of supporting U.S. jobs. Such financing will help support American companies across the entire export lifecycle.
Project Eligibility
In addition to EXIM’s standard due diligence procedures and additionality requirements, EXIM will follow two core criteria in assessing project eligibility:
Export Nexus: Transaction eligibility will be determined by the “export nexus” – the percentage of production or shipments tied to exports.
For small businesses (including minority and women-owned business), transformational export areas, and climate-related transactions, the required nexus is 15 percent.
For projects in other sectors, 25 percent of output exported or expected to be exported will be required.
The new tool will also be open to export suppliers as well, if EXIM criteria are met regarding the export nexus standards.
Jobs: The amount of EXIM financing made available for individual projects will be scaled based on the number of U.S. jobs supported, both during construction and over the life of EXIM’s financing.
Each job-year (e.g., one job over five years is five job-years) allows for up to $189,242 in financing.
This standard will replace the U.S. content required in traditional EXIM transactions to foreign buyers.
Reasonable Assurance of Repayment: EXIM is directed by Congress to underwrite to a “reasonable assurance of repayment” standard. For non-project finance transactions, EXIM will generally require:
A minimum three-year revenue producing history in the same line of business
Proven debt service capacity, based on prior financial performance and ability to meet EXIM’s credit standards
A loan amount not disproportionate to the size of the company (in terms of financial resources and business operations); in general the loan should not be more than 40% of tangible net-worth of the borrower
For project finance transactions, please see EXIM’s Approach to Project Finance for details
Commitment to Transparency and Stewardship of Taxpayer Resources
To ensure the Make More in America Initiative remains complementary to private sector and other government financing, upholds high standards of transparency, and fulfills the agency’s stewardship of taxpayer dollars, EXIM is taking several important steps. These include:
Approval from EXIM’s Board of Directors for all domestic finance transactions.
Congressional notification for domestic finance transactions above $50 million.
Annual reporting on aggregate export and jobs performance, with contractual recourse measures should projects fail to meet export nexus and/or jobs standards.
Board approval for any modifications to the initiative.
and this part:
https://www.exim.gov/resources/applications-forms/letter-interest/guidelines-for-letters-interest.
A Letter of Interest (LI) is an indication of financing terms EXIM Bank is prepared to consider based on a limited review of a transaction/project. A standard LI is a pre-export tool used to help strengthen a company's financing bid. The LI provides evidence of EXIM's preliminary understanding of the project, as well as fundamental and overall risk profile. In the case of enhanced LI s, EXIM provides both a letter indicating its willingness to consider financing the anticipated U.S. exports, and a loan officer who has the authority to underwrite the proposed transaction. A Preliminary Commitment (PC) is a preliminary offer of financing terms based on a credit evaluation and policy review. A Final Commitment (AP) is an authorization of EXIM Bank financing.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) is the official export credit agency of the United States. EXIM is an independent Executive Branch agency with a mission of supporting American jobs by facilitating the export of U.S. goods and services.
Here is my prediction for Niocorp's merger and it isn't pretty:
Redemptions
95% redemptions from gxii are coming leaving only 5% for niocorp
5% of 30 million shares is 1,500,000 shares at $10 provides $15 million to niocorp
Niocorp is required to pay the $15 million in fees from gxii trust fund leaving a big fat 0
How much does Niocorp pay for the big fat 0?
16,774,382 niocorp shares for gxii class A (5%)
4,769,574 niocorp shares for other gxii fees (cantor fitz, btig)
47,650,427 niocorp shares for gxii sponsors
This comes to a grand total of 69,194,383 niocorp shares, 20% of the pro forma OS of 351,660,584
This deal is a dirty dog for shareholders.
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1826669/000121390023009323/defm14a0223_gxacq2.htm#T99256
"Together with the 339,468,755 NioCorp Common Shares issuable to the holders of GX Class A Shares, including the Advisor Share Payments (assuming such shares are issued pursuant to a private placement of GX Class A Shares by GX), 81,881,347 NioCorp Common Shares issuable upon exchange of the Second Merger Class B Shares and the 175,199,102 NioCorp Common Shares issuable upon exercise of the NioCorp Assumed Warrants, up to an aggregate of 596,549,204 NioCorp Common Shares may be issuable in connection with the Transactions representing 213% of NioCorp’s total outstanding Common Shares, prior to the Transactions, on a non-diluted basis.
As such, NioCorp has proposed an ordinary resolution to approve the issuance of up to 596,549,204 NioCorp Common Shares to GX Securityholders in connection with the transactions contemplated under the Business Combination Agreement, a copy of which is attached as Annex A hereto, dated as of September 25, 2022, by and among NioCorp, GX and Merger Sub"
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/07/amos-hochstein-us-is-behind-on-supply-chain-independence-from-china.html
U.S. is ‘absolutely’ behind on supply chain independence from China, Biden advisor says
PUBLISHED TUE, FEB 7 20234:53 AM
KEY POINTS
“This is a major concern for the U.S. and I think for the rest of the world,” Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein told CNBC.
China controls roughly 60% of the world’s production of rare earth minerals and materials, according to a recent report by Rice University’s Baker Institute.
For the U.S., whose relations with China can currently be described as tense at best, this poses several potential security risks.
The U.S. has some rapid catching up to do if it is to secure the reliability of its supply chain and its independence from competitors like China, a top White House advisor admitted this week.
“Look, this is a major concern for the U.S. and I think for the rest of the world. As we are going into a cleaner, greener, an entirely new energy system, we have to make sure we have a diversified supply chain,” Special Presidential Coordinator Amos Hochstein told CNBC’s Hadley Gamble on Monday.
We can’t have a supply chain that is concentrated in any country, doesn’t matter which country that is,” he said. “We have to make sure from the mining and refining process to the building of the batteries and wind turbines that we have a diversified system that we can be well supplied for. That is the only way this will work from an economy perspective.”
Asked if the U.S. was behind in this endeavor, Hochstein, who also served in the Obama administration as chief energy envoy, replied: “Absolutely we’re behind.” But, he added, “It doesn’t mean that we’re out.”
China controls roughly 60% of the world’s production of rare earth minerals and materials, according to a recent report by Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. Those resources include lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, manganese and other rare earth elements crucial for making things like electric vehicles, batteries, computers and household goods.
They’re also essential for renewable technology like solar panels and wind turbines, which are central in the U.S.’s attempt at an energy transition away from fossil fuels. As just one example, China refines 95% of the world’s manganese — a chemical element used in batteries and steel manufacturing — despite mining less than 10% of its global supply.
For the U.S., whose relations with China can currently be described as tense at best, this poses several security risks, were China to decide to weaponize that market dominance at any point. The Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war have also highlighted the fragility of the global supply chain.
We have not invested’
The White House, in a Feb. 2022 fact sheet, wrote that “The U.S. is increasingly dependent on foreign sources for many of the processed versions of these minerals. Globally, China controls most of the market for processing and refining for cobalt, lithium, rare earths and other critical minerals.”
“We have to recognize that we have not invested, and that’s what the United States is trying to do now, is not only say the same old talk of we want to have partnerships,” Hochstein said. “We’re going to come to this table together with our G7 allies, we’re going to pool our resources, we’re going to make sure that the money is there.”
This includes dedicated financial and business incentives, Hochstein said. The Biden administration’s mammoth 2022 Inflation Reduction Act aims to invest heavily in the supply of and access to critical minerals in allied countries, and offers approximately $369 billion in funding and tax credits to boost renewable energy technology and critical mineral production.
“We’re giving the incentives, through the IRA, to tell companies ‘look, if you make sure you’re mining in the U.S. or in other countries and bring it to the U.S. for refining, processing and battery manufacturing, there’s going to be the kind of financial incentives there’,” he said.
Despite his warnings about supply chain risk, Hochstein rejected the idea that the U.S. was being held hostage to China.
“I don’t want to talk about being held hostage, at the end of the day China is doing what they think is right for them,” he said. “They’re trying to build an economic energy in the clean energy space and we all need to do the same.”
“We have to learn from what we went through in the oil and gas energy space, as we transition to a new energy market that relies still on natural resources,” he added.
“They may not be oil and gas, but they’re still natural resources — they’re not abundant everywhere in the world — so we have to make sure from the U.S. perspective that we have a supply chain for the United States, and that’s what the legislation that we passed in the United States is trying to do.”
“
I agree. Also remember the equity giveaway was a done deal filed on Sept 25 (Sunday) and was calculated using niobf share price of .78 that was the close on Sept 23rd (Friday). That's when Mark agreed to give gxii 68% of the merged company.
Unless they are a day trader these price movements will not matter
Here is the nyt article with photos:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1512228/000153949723000119/n2574_x79-425.htm
Nyt article:
Two men wearing baseball caps stand in a field of brown grass and weeds.
Scott Honan, a NioCorp executive, left, and a co-worker on the site of a planned niobium mine in Elk Creek, Neb. The fields harbor resources used in everything from fighter jets to car batteries.
Nebraskans Are Sitting on Strategic Metals. Is Mining a Patriotic Duty?
One county has a wealth of minerals essential to defense and the green economy. Mining would transform the community, yet many say they feel a patriotic obligation to dig.
By Dionne Searcey
Photographs by Arin Yoon
Feb. 2, 2023
ELK CREEK, Neb. — In this rural part of Nebraska, county-board agendas include moratoriums on solar farms and some residents scowl when they pass the handful of wind farms that have sprouted. But the idea of a new mine that could help power the transition to renewable energy has received broad support.
The tenor of these quiet flatlands, where deer bounce across gravel roads and neon sunsets scream across the long horizon, would change dramatically if mining for metals like niobium, scandium, titanium and rare earths begins.
But many people here think Southeast Nebraska, dotted with dying downtowns and aging residents, could play a small part in helping to solve a full-blown geopolitical crisis that Doc Evans, a Johnson County commissioner, summed up like this: “The trouble with China.”
Mr. Evans and numerous others welcome the digging that a company called NioCorp wants to begin because they feel it’s their patriotic duty. For too long, they said, the United States has depended on other countries for metals and minerals the nation could find at home, if only someone were willing to spend the money and effort to retrieve them.
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“I think it’s good for our country,” said Don Othmer, who lives in Elk Creek, where the mine would be. Relying on other countries for raw materials means “we’re kind of held hostage,” he said.
Geological fate meted out hundreds of millions of years ago left the United States lacking rich stores of many of the raw materials found on the federal list of minerals critical to the economy and national security. The country has relied on imports of certain minerals and metals that are abundant in China and elsewhere and are needed for America’s fighter jets, building materials and cellphone batteries.
The United States is determined to no longer be dependent on other countries, particularly now as these materials, which are also used in making electric-vehicle batteries and for transmitting energy from wind turbines and solar panels to the power grid, are key ingredients for an economy that relies on renewables. Measures enacted under the Biden Administration offer major incentives to mining companies and processing facilities to do their work domestically.
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But the biggest incentive is the market demand that has increased the price of metals including rare earths — a set of elements found together, with names like terbium and dysprosium — making it newly economical for mining companies to scour the nation for even small amounts that can be scraped from underneath the soil.
ImageA row of a half-dozen or so fading, two-story commercial brick buildings line an empty small-town street paved with red bricks that are slick with rain.
Downtown Tecumseh, Neb., one of the nearby towns that would feel ripple effects from a new mine.
Image
A man in a denim jacket with red lining sits at a restaurant table in front of an American flag and a row of storage-locker doors.
Coffee at the Harvest Bowl, a cafe and bowling alley that’s a gathering place in Tecumseh.
Image
A row of four white turbines tower over a field of brown grasses.
A wind farm in Du Bois, Neb., roughly 20 miles south of Elk Creek.
NioCorp wants to bring in hundreds of workers and heavy drilling equipment to dig the metals. After decades of exploration and looking for financing, it soon may be able to get started, buoyed by new demand for a domestic supply of critical minerals and metals that can power America’s transition to renewable energy. And the company has embraced the messaging that plays well in this conservative area that counts patriotism as a key value.
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“It will help America,” said Mark Smith, chief executive of NioCorp, which is based in Colorado.
The federal government is hoping to find new deposits of minerals and metals by carrying out projects to digitize information from 100-year-old geological maps and by flying survey planes all over the country. The government is also financing programs to comb through waste piles of old mines, including coal ash, for materials once deemed worthless. One program tests ways to sift minerals and metals from Superfund sites.
The Rise of Electric Vehicles
Prices: Two weeks after Tesla slashed prices of its electric cars in response to softening demand, Ford Motor announced it was also cutting prices on its top-selling battery-powered model.
Tesla: Tesla will build a factory in northern Nevada that will manufacture its electric semi trucks, which it unveiled in 2017 but has so far built in limited numbers.
Mercedes-Benz: The German carmaker said that it would install a network of 2,500 high-powered chargers in the United States by 2027.
Battery Recycling: As sales of electric cars and trucks take off, the race is on to recycle used lithium-ion batteries — but few will be available to reuse for a decade or more.
“Can the U.S. meet its own mineral supply needs? It’s a big, complicated question,” said Graham Lederer, researcher at the United States Geological Survey’s Geology, Energy & Minerals Science Center. “Anything could be a resource. You just need to develop the technology and bring the cost down.”
Just outside Elk Creek, pronounced by some locally as “Elk Crick,” workers from NioCorp are clearing trees to prep the land for digging, should it succeed in getting more financing. The company, now listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange, said it has lined up German buyers for some of its niobium.
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Hundreds of people and a new governor-elect turned up for a series of town halls in November held by NioCorp. The meetings drew investors from Kansas City who snapped photos as they wandered Elk Creek’s tiny downtown past a bank, a post office, small grocery store and the Village Tavern, which is known for its signature drink, the Elk Creek Water (Mountain Dew, Squirt, 7 UP, vodka and gin) as well as an annual event where beef testicles are served (the “Nut Feed”).
“We’ve had a harder time keeping the younger generation here,” said Don Gottula, who owns a propane shop on Main Street. “We need a booster shot, I guess you could say.”
As the hunt for more materials used in batteries continues, energy officials predict more scenes across America like the one in Nebraska, a state with abundant cornfields and cattle but no operating mines. In Utah, a mine has begun producing tellurium. A new cobalt mine in Idaho is expected to be operational this year. New lithium mining is planned for North Carolina, and in California companies are trying out new technology to extract lithium from geothermal brines.
The world may need more than 300 new mines in the next decade to meet demand for electric-vehicle and energy-storage batteries, according to Benchmark Mineral Intelligence.
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Image
A man in a plaid shirt and tan winter coat stands beside a storefront. A sign for Philgas and a slightly off-center Christmas wreath by the front windows.
Don Gottula at his propane shop in Elk Creek. “We’ve had a harder time keeping the younger generation here,” he said.
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Two silver cylindrical grain bins tower over a street lined with a few storefronts including one called the Village Tavern.
Elk Creek’s tallest building, at the Midwest Farmers Co-Op. The mine would bring, among other things, a 10-story processing facility to the area.
Image
A half-dozen men in baseball caps and blue, green and brown winter jackets sit around restaurant tables in front of coffee mugs and bread.
Coffee at Harvest Bowl on a recent morning included conversation about the mine.
In Nebraska, metals that were a distant memory from high school chemistry class have become part of regular conversation. Like most people in the Elk Creek area, any of the dozen or so farmers who gather for morning coffee several days a week before the lanes light up at Harvest Bowl in nearby Tecumseh can speak fluently about niobium.
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“Didn’t they put that in Superman’s underwear?” one joked on a recent morning.
Niobium might help batteries hold a charge longer, another said, and that’s a good thing out here where miles separate even gas stations. But did anyone ever consider what happens to the wind turbines and solar panels years from now when they no longer function?
“When they wear out there’s no place to go with them,” said Milton Buchholz, a retired farmer and former county roads department worker.
The conversation turned to the prairie fires and dust storms that swept across parts of Nebraska last summer. The crop-withering drought just won’t let up.
“I’m not convinced whether this is all man-made or God-made,” said Mr. Evans, the county commissioner who sat at a table near farmers in hats advertising pesticides and fertilizer and one that read “cow whisperer.”
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“I know that we may be contributing but who did it 100,000 years ago when we had an Ice Age?” he added.
To build the mine here, workers would burrow nearly 2,500 feet into the earth, creating an underground mini city to operate machinery. Construction would take almost three years, requiring 400 workers and convoys of heavy trucks rumbling across the plains surrounding Elk Creek, population 98.
“If we want to give our kids a chance, we’ve got to use the resources we have,” said Harold Richardson, a farmer and retired teacher from Elk Creek.
China is the world’s main producer and processor of scandium and rare earths. America has only one rare earth mine, in Mountain Pass, Calif. It sends its ore to China for processing. (Mr. Smith of NioCorp is the former chief executive of MolyCorp, which used to own the Mountain Pass mine.)
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Brazil is by far the world’s biggest producer of niobium, which is used to strengthen steel. China Molybdenum, a state-backed company, bought a key niobium mine in Brazil in 2016.
Image
A man in a tan windbreaker and jeans stands in a wintry field of crop stubble and weeds.
Mr. Honan, NioCorp’s chief operating officer, on Beverly Beethe’s farm. “The rocks are different here,” he said.
Image
Close-up of a hand holding a brown disk with handwritten words on it including “magnetite” and “dolomite.”
Mr. Honan held a core sample.
Image
Rows of white plastic buckets, each labeled by hand, line a wall in front of a rough, unpainted wooden shelf.
Core samples for testing were stacked in sheds on Ms. Beethe’s farm.
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The importance of having a domestic stash of metals was highlighted in 2010 when China blocked exports of rare earths to Japan during a dispute over a fishing trawler incident, sending prices soaring. Since then, tensions between the United States and China only have escalated, prompting fears about politically and economically motivated supply-chain disruptions.
NioCorp executives say the amount of metals they could recover at Elk Creek would be scant compared to the Chinese supply; they are still determining whether they can economically retrieve the rare earths. The company plans to dig titanium, too (China, Japan and Russia are among the world’s biggest titanium producers), but niobium is the most abundant metal at the site, and if operations go forward, Elk Creek would be the only niobium mine in America.
Company executives say they expect demand for the metal to increase for use in new versions of lithium ion electric vehicle batteries under development.
NioCorp has obtained all the necessary permits to start digging. But if it digs the rare earths, NioCorp may need to look overseas for processing. A new processing facility that is in the works in Texas could take years to become operational.
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“I’d really want to see these activities done in the United States or an allied country” such as Japan or Britain, said Mr. Smith of NioCorp.
New demand for greener sources of energy is fueling interest from Wall Street in the Elk Creek mine. But the messaging from NioCorp tends to focus on the metals’ traditional uses — in oil pipelines and guided missiles, residents said.
“NioCorp is being very thoughtful in how they’re communicating with Southeast Nebraskans,” said State Senator Julie Slama, who represents constituents in Johnson County, which has voted Republican in every presidential election since the 1960s. “In Nebraska, we have a sense of patriotism and desire to serve our country.”
People have been talking about a mine in Elk Creek since the early 1970s when, according to local lore, pilots reported their instruments went haywire while flying over southeast Nebraska. The real story: University researchers received a federal grant to fly over the state with instrumentation that identified changes in the earth’s magnetic field, indicating the possible presence of certain minerals and metals.
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“The rocks are different here,” said Scott Honan, NioCorp’s chief operating officer.
Back then local workers were hired to carry out exploratory drilling, digging up hundreds of core samples, tubes of earth, for testing. Stacks of them are stored in metal sheds on Beverly Beethe’s farm, where the mine would be located. Residents signed land leases with the company, which eventually bought 226 acres. Some landowners netted lucrative deals and could receive royalty payouts of as much as $10 million a year.
Image
A woman in a flower-patterned shirt stands with a cane beside a white car.
Ms. Beethe said she and a few others wondered whether they’d received a fair deal.
Image
A man’s hand points to a location marked “Mrs. Clarence Beethe” on an old hand-drawn map.
Lavon Heidemann, a NioCorp spokesman, pointed out Ms. Beethe’s farm on a map at the town’s Frontier Cooperative.
Image
A man in a dark jacket and close-cropped white beard leans on a counter, talking with a woman in a red sweatshirt seated in the foreground.
Mr. Heidemann checked on feed prices at the Frontier Cooperative.
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But the deals created bad blood. Some residents who were left out were miffed. Others like Ms. Beethe question whether they got a fair deal, especially in an area where the price of farmland has recently skyrocketed.
“The way I got treated, I hope that they don’t treat the community that way,” she said.
Many residents also are worried about damage from the toxic chemicals used in mining and processing.
They wonder about cancer cases near the mine site. Rare earth metals are found alongside radioactive elements. Mr. Smith said that at Elk Creek the amounts are so small they don’t require state licensing, but he said as a precaution NioCorp plans to seek licensing anyway and will carry out required monitoring.
Higher paying jobs would be welcome in the area, residents said, but still they wondered, how will the mine ever be able to find 400 workers? The nearby state prison has tried to fill vacancies by nearly doubling starting pay, to $28 an hour. Staff shortages are so severe at the local school district that the superintendent is pondering a four-day week for the next academic year. He already doubles as a bus driver because he can’t fill the job.
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And what if the workers do come? “Where the hell are 400 more people going to eat in this town?” said Tim Weber, who opposes the mine.
Residents like Lavon Heidemann, a former lieutenant governor from Elk Creek, have benefited from the mine already. He was paid to help drill exploratory hole No. 7 back in the 1970s and now works as a local representative for NioCorp, fielding questions from his neighbors.
Mr. Heidemann sometimes stares out from his hilltop farm at the blinking lights on the wind turbines several miles away. They bug him a little. He worries the nation might be transitioning too quickly to renewables. But, he said, the Elk Creek mine would be good for America.
“I wish it wasn’t in my backyard, but it is. Other people sacrificed, and we need to sacrifice too,” Mr. Heidemann said. “I love this country to no end. We have challenges today and if we can help make it a better place in an environmentally safe way then, hot dog, I want to be a part of that.”