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Building the Elk Creek, Nebraska Superalloy Materials Facility (the “Facility”) proposed by NioCorp Developments Ltd. (“NioCorp” or the “Company”) (TSX:NB) (OTCQX:NIOBF) (FSE:BR3) is expected to result in the hiring of as many as 1,200 construction workers at the peak of the construction period. Moreover, of the total $1 billion in capital expenditures required to construct and bring the Facility into operation over that period, between $500-$750 million is expected to be spent in Nebraska.
These are among the findings of an analysis, released by NioCorp, detailing some of the possible macroeconomic benefits to Nebraska and the region of the Facility’s construction and operation. The analysis is based upon the findings and forecasts in the recently completed Elk Creek Feasibility Study (“Feasibility Study”), a CIM-compliant Technical Report developed in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”).
Download the NioCorp Macroeconomic Analysis
Once in production, the Facility is estimated to support as many as 466 full-time jobs, generating an average of $39 million in annual payroll. Additionally, $129 million annually is estimated to be required in operating expenditures. Over the operational life of the Facility, an estimated $5.3 billion will be spent on operating expenses.
In addition to the construction jobs and full-time operational workers, the facility can be expected to support the creation of more than 1,000 additional jobs in Nebraska and throughout the economy. This estimate is based on the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis’ estimate that 2.3 additional jobs are created for every job directly associated with an average metal mining project.
The analysis, which can be downloaded here, provides a high-level summary of the following possible macroeconomic benefits of the Project to Nebraska and the economy:
| Potential Macroeconomic Impacts to Nebraska of the Elk Creek Superalloy Facility |
|
| 466 | Peak number of permanent jobs once in full-scale operation. |
| 1,232 | Construction jobs at height of 3.5-year construction period. |
| 1,035 | Additional jobs created as a result of the Facility’s operation. |
| $39 million | Average annual employee payroll once in full operation. |
| $835 million | Cumulative employee payroll over initial 20 years of operation. |
| $28 million | Estimated average tax revenue to Nebraska governments.i |
| $493 million | Estimated cumulative tax revenue to Nebraska over the Facility’s initial 20 years of operation.i |
| $1.08 billion | Total capital expenditures for Facility construction. |
| $5.3 billion | Cumulative operating expenditures for the facility over the estimated 32 operational life of the Facility. |
“We are proud of the enormous job creation, economic stimulus, government revenue, and workforce training benefits that the Elk Creek Facility is estimated to deliver to Nebraska and the surrounding region,” said Mark A. Smith, Executive Chairman and CEO of NioCorp. “In addition to creating new jobs and injecting billions into the Nebraska economy over its operational life, the Elk Creek Project will also put Nebraska on the map globally as a leader in the production of these key superalloy metals.”
The NioCorp analysis noted that other benefits can be expected to accrue to Nebraska from the project, including the following:
On Behalf of the Board of Directors,
“Mark Smith”
Mark Smith
Executive Chairman, CEO, and Director
QUALIFIED PERSONS
Jeff Osborn, BSc Mining, MMSAQP of SRK Consulting (U.S.), Inc., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has read and approved the technical information related to the Elk Creek Feasibility Study contained in this news release.
Source: NioCorp Developments Ltd.
