Niocorp Developments Ltd (NB)

[Middleborder]

PM. One wonders what induces the Pentagon to work with foreign mining companies to import raw materials from Australia to process rather than a US based one with U.S. sourced raw materials. Of course if you are in charge of the White house and Pentagon and actually want to punish your "bad country" with chaos and damage...

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pentagon-moves-wrest-rare-earths-control-china

Tuesday, Jun 28, 2022 - 07:45 PM

Snip..."The Pentagon has agreed to fund the entire $120 million cost of a heavy rare earths separation facility to be built in Texas by Australia’s Lynas Rare Earths, advancing a program launched in 2020, the company announced on June 14.

Located on the Gulf Coast, the new facility will give the United States access to domestically produced heavy rare earths that are essential to industries such as electric vehicles, wind turbines, and electronics, according to the company, which is the largest processor of rare earths outside of China.

The Texas facility that landed Pentagon funding will process heavy rare earth carbonate mined in Australia, forming a production cycle that bypasses China entirely. Lynas Rare Earths plans to combine the upcoming plant with a proposed light rare earths separation facility that is being co-funded by the company and the Defense Department.

The project was first announced in July 2020 as part of the U.S. government’s strategy—under a 2017 executive order signed by former President Donald Trump—to reduce dependence on foreign imports of critical minerals. The Pentagon is also funding a heavy rare earths processing and separation facility in Mountain Pass, California." ...snip.