Niocorp Developments Ltd (NB)

[stark12]

Close except I think the scandium-aluminum ingots needs further explanation. This press release might be helpful: https://www.niocorp.com/niocorp-plans-to-produce-made-in-usa-scandium-master-alloy-to-supply-lightweight-parts-to-vehicles/

As I see it, the latent demand for scandium is there but a bit fuzzy. What potential purchasers of scandium really want is scandium-aluminum that meets specs for the products they plan to produce. NB already has an offtake agreement for 10% of the scandium they plan to produce, but the company wants to lock in some other purchasers via offtakes. This is easier and more realistic if they have the scandium-aluminum alloy that the purchaser can use. Stellantis is the obvious choice for a potential offtake with the company for scandium-aluminum. Other car manufacturers, aerospace, and the government (for military applications) are other potential buyers. The market for scandium-aluminum currently is nascent due to production of only about 12-15 tonnes per year. Niocorp plans to produce over 100 tonnes. The production of alloy is both to help meet latent demand (which well exceeds 100 tonnes) and to help create the market. The end-users don't want scandium since they would then need to contract out the production of alloy. Niocorp would eliminate that step and provide a more usable product. NB could also sell this at a higher cost per unit of scandium then selling scandium oxide that was not alloyed.