Niocorp Developments Ltd (NB)

[grunt23]

Good Morning Putz:

In my opinion, the water is all still there. The reason we will have less water is because of the ground freezing technology. They will freeze the ground where the two shafts will be opened. They will seal the shafts so that the water will not work itself into the shafts. The water is not in an underground lake or deposit. It is contained within the rock itself. Once the shafts are complete, they will not have to worry about the water surrounding them, so the ground freezing is only temporary. In the previous plan they would of had to deal with water coming into the mine for its entire life.

The water that they have to deal with is the water contained within the rock they are working with at the time. They will be taking material out, extracting our 3 (or more) elements, backfilling the open spaces with the leftover tailings, going to another level and so on.

Information obtained from the FS Section 1.7 and 16.6.1): Two shafts, the access shaft 7.5m in diameter, 440m deep and the ventilation & emergency escape system 5.5m in diameter.

Of course, we do not have the estimated cost for the ground freezing technology vs the one used in the FS. However, the time saving is considerable, 12 to 18 months savings.

As I have previously expressed my opinion is that the current FS would rate our project as a "B". Even if the cost of the water line method vs the ground freezing method is equal, the time savings alone could propel the project to an "A". 12 to 18 months faster to production - Is 12 to 18 months earlier to profitability. Of course, we would realize considerable savings in operating costs, since we do not have to pump the water to the river for the life of the mine. This is, of course, my opinion only.

Yes, it seems that progress is slow, but many things are happening simultaneously. Hopefully, we receive some great news before the annual meeting.

Have a great day.