When it comes to stocks the "no such thing as bad publicity" rule does not apply. NioCorp seems to be trying to tread lightly, I would follow their lead. Maybe Nio should build a giant salt water aquarium to use the water for, like Sea World.
Check out linked article . I have pasted what I consider to be the relevant section. They can build a water treatment/desalination plant and potentially have usable water for agricultural use.
Agriculture irrigation systems. About 70 percent of all fresh water is channeled into agriculture for growing corn, wheat and other crops. So, the efficient delivery of water is very important, as water availability shrinks, Berlant says. "And the newer equipment is far more water-efficient."
Two leading irrigation players are Valmont Industries Inc. and Lindsay Corp., both of Omaha, Neb. Hoffmann forecasts that agriculture irrigation revenues will grow by almost 20 percent annually over the next 10 years.