Niocorp Developments Ltd (NB)

[scooter83]

Some ideas.

Looking at Neal Shah linked in page:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/nealshah
Neal Shah
CFO at NioCorp

Neil was a Board Member
Intermetallics Japan
Dec 2011 - Sep 2013 1 year 10 months
Nagoya, Aichi, Japan

Who is Masato Sagawa
In 1988, Sagawa founded Intermetallics, a research and development company devoted to the development of neodymium magnets.
Sagawa is a Japanese scientist and entrepreneur, and the inventor of the sintered permanent neodymium magnet (NdFeB).

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/honda-prize-2023-awarded-dr-060000258.html
Honda Prize 2023 Awarded to Dr. Masato Sagawa of Japan (an advisor to Daido Steel Co)
and Dr. John J. Croat of U.S. both of whom invented the world's most powerful permanent magnet, the neodymium magnet.
An award ceremony will be held at the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo, Japan, on November 16, 2023.

Interestingly,
Intermetallics Japan Co., Ltd. merged with Daido Electronics Co., Ltd. in January 2017.
Daido Electronics is 100% owned by Daido Steel with equity stakes by Honda and Toyota.

Honda - neodymium magnet
https://global.honda/en/newsroom/news/2016/4160712eng.html
Daido Steel and Honda Adopt World's First Hybrid Vehicle Motor Magnet Free of Heavy Rare Earth Elements

Toyota - neodymium magnet
https://global.toyota/en/newsroom/corporate/21139684.html
Toyota Develops New Magnet for Electric Motors Aiming to Reduce Use of Critical Rare-Earth Element by up to 50%

Daido Steel to make neodymium magnets in US
https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Daido-Steel-to-make-neodymium-magnets-in-US

Daido Steel to make neodymium magnets in US
August 26, 2016 04:15 JST
NAGOYA -- Daido Steel has decided to build a neodymium magnet factory in the U.S. to meet growing demand from automakers there for motors used in hybrid and electric vehicles.

The plan is to initially spend several billion yen -- the equivalent of tens of millions of dollars -- to get the plant up and running by 2019. More equipment will be added later in a stepwise fashion between then and 2026. Investment will ultimately total around 10 billion yen.

The Japanese maker of specialty steels and magnetic materials is the fourth-largest producer of high-performance neodymium magnets in Japan, after the big three of Shin-Etsu Chemical, Hitachi Metals and TDK.

Daido Steel already operates factories for neodymium magnets in Thailand and the Chinese cities of Shenzhen and Suzhou, making the American site its fourth overseas production base.

The company also plans to reorganize the group's magnetic business, merging subsidiaries Daido Electronics and Intermetallics Japan next January to unify production, development and sales activities.

Daido Steel and Daido Electronics worked with Honda Motor to develop a neodymium magnet that does not use any heavy rare-earth elements. The Japanese automaker plans to employ this magnet in hybrid systems of new models.

Intermetallics Japan specializes in high-purity, resource-saving sintered magnets and has supplied them to BMW since 2013 for hybrid vehicles.

Let me add one other note from the NYTimes article:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2023/02/03/world/nebraska-mining-patriotic-duty/
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.

“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.