NB NioCorp Developments – aims to bring “home” critical mineral supply chains by focusing on the production of niobium, scandium, and titanium. The US Government has designated all of these as “critical minerals” to the United States. NB’s main project is the Elk Creek Critical Minerals Project located in Elk Creek, Nebraska. The company claims that the Project will help the US reduce its dependence on several critical minerals and support the world’s transition to net zero CO2 emissions. NB is still a development-stage company and has not yet generated any production or revenue. Its operating results reflect ongoing project development expenses, resulting in continuous losses (for fiscal year 2025, a preliminary net loss of $16.7 million ($0.35 per share), compared with $11.4 million in the prior year. Quarterly results for Q3 2025 show a loss of $5.4 million for the period, while nine-month cumulative losses narrowed to about $8.0 million. The company is based in Colorado. Application with the DoD is interesting, especially given the current stock price. Potential upside is high and supported by insider buying, but hard to get out of bed for a company with zero production. The Elk Creek mine is not active. However, it is a fully permitted project under development. As of April 2025, the company resumed drilling at the Elk Creek site for the first time since 2015, but this is strictly exploration drilling and not mining. While the project holds NI 43 101 feasibility studies, mineral reserves definitions, and permits, the company projects that commercial production is still several years away, contingent on raising financing and completing engineering studies. This is a pass for now.