02:42 PM EDT, 08/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with recent stock movement in headline and first paragraph.)

NioCorp Developments ( NB ) shares were up more than 9% in recent Tuesday trading after the company said its Elk Creek Resources unit was awarded up to $10 million by the US Department of Defense to help establish a scandium mine-to-manufacture supply chain at its Elk Creek Critical Minerals project in southeast Nebraska.

The funding was received as part of Title III of the Defense Production Act program, which is intended to ensure the timely availability of private sector resources for national defense.

This funding is expected to enable the completion of feasibility study-level engineering, additional reserve drilling, and updated cost estimates for the Elk Creek project, the company said.

The company said that a successful development of the Elk Creek project is expected to enable production of scandium, a critical resource used in Department of Defense systems like advanced propulsion and multiple structural components.

Price: 3.63, Change: +0.31, Percent Change: +9.34