The Pentagon announced a $10 million award to Elk Creek Resources Corporation (ECRC) to develop America’s first domestic scandium supply chain since 1969.
The Defense Production Act (DPA) funding will support a Nebraska mining project targeting production of scandium and other critical minerals for military aerospace applications.
The investment addresses a strategic vulnerability: China controls virtually all global scandium production, while the lightweight metal increasingly replaces titanium in advanced defense systems.
The last U.S. scandium mining operation shut down 56 years ago.
“Scandium alloys are increasingly replacing titanium alloy and legacy aluminum alloy components in DoD systems due to their superior lightweight, high-strength characteristics,” said Dr. Vic Ramdass, Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. “Geological scarcity and limited production infrastructure drive scandium industrial shortages.”
The Elk Creek project near Elk Creek, Nebraska, aims to extract scandium, niobium, titanium, and other critical minerals. ECRC, a subsidiary of NioCorp Developments Ltd., will use the funds for feasibility studies, reserve drilling, and cost estimates.
The company will also partner with a defense contractor to integrate aluminum-scandium alloys into aerospace platforms. Successful development could supply scandium for hypersonic weapons, next-generation energy systems, and advanced aircraft propulsion.
“The last recorded scandium mining in the United States occurred in 1969, with substantially all current scandium production, in any form, now occurring in China,” said William “Greg” Davis, Acting Director of the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization Directorate. “DPA Title III investments like this one are key for reducing the U.S. defense industrial base’s dependence on foreign sources for critical minerals.”
The award represents one of ten DPA investments totaling $336.4 million in fiscal year 2025. Recipients have contributed $88 million in matching funds.
The funding supports President Trump’s March 20 executive order aimed at boosting domestic mineral production. Pentagon officials emphasized that scandium scarcity currently limits broader adoption in aerospace and hypersonic platforms.