NioCorp

NioCorp is the company where Mark Smith works in the later section of Battlefield rare earths: How the U.S. lost to China. The episode says NioCorp is trying to develop a rare-earth mine in Nebraska and has received millions of dollars in government loans.

The company matters as a live example of State-Backed Rare Earth Rebuilding. Smith says NioCorp has been meeting with defense, commerce, interior, and White House officials, and he says he would view the U.S. government as a strong equity partner if it invested directly.

NioCorp extends the episode beyond the Mountain Pass Rare Earth Mine story. It shows that rebuilding rare-earth capacity is not only about one reopened legacy mine; it is also a financing and permitting problem for newer projects that need government help before private markets can trust the economics.

Connections

• Mark Smith - executive voice attached to the company in the source.
• State-Backed Rare Earth Rebuilding - policy and financing frame.
• Rare Earth Processing Bottleneck - broader supply-chain problem the company is trying to address.
• United States and White House - government-policy context.