Rare Earth Directory

Nebraska ยท state page

Rare earth mines, projects and companies in Nebraska

Nebraska has 1 tracked rare earth mine or project: Elk Creek. None is producing rare earths yet: 1 in development. Rare Earth Salts (based in Beatrice) is also tracked here.

Elk Creek is a niobium, scandium and titanium project in which rare earths are a by-product stream, and NioCorp reports holding the permits needed to start construction.

Verified through Oct 1, 2026

See the sites Open on the map
Elk Creek: Development Elk Creek
Pins mark an area or a city, not a surveyed point. Circles are mines and projects, squares are plants and mills.
Sites on the map
1Mines, projects, mills and plants
Mines and projects
1
Plants and mills
0
Companies and pilots
2Tracked in the state

Which rare earth mines and plants are in Nebraska?

Elk Creek is the only site tracked in Nebraska, and it is in development. The table gives the owner and the next step for each.

Tracked rare earth mines, projects, mills and plants in Nebraska, by status
SiteLayerStatusOwner or operatorNext step or status note
Elk CreekJohnson County (southeast Nebraska)Mines and projectsDevelopmentNioCorpConstruction start targeted Dec 2026, subject to EXIM financing

Mines and projects link to their own profile. Plants link to the profile of the company that operates them. See the map page for how precise each pin is.

Verified Oct 1, 2026

What permits do rare earth projects in Nebraska need?

The summary comes from the permits section of the Elk Creek profile, where the sources are listed.

  • Elk Creek Development

    Elk Creek holds its key permits, including a Johnson County special use permit and a Nebraska air construction permit issued on Jun 2, 2020. NioCorp reports having all permits needed to start construction, and local coverage describes broad community support with groundwater as the main concern.

    Read the permits and community section on the Elk Creek profile

Which rare earth companies are based or building in Nebraska?

NioCorp (Elk Creek) and Rare Earth Salts (based in Beatrice) are tracked in Nebraska. Companies marked "Not profiled" have no profile page yet, and what is said about them comes from the sources listed below.

Rare earth companies, pilots and institutions tracked in Nebraska
CompanyWhy it is in NebraskaRoleListingGovernment support
NioCorpElk CreekDeveloper (niobium, scandium, titanium, rare earths)Nasdaq: NBEXIM about $780M to $800M (in review); $10M Department of War grant
Rare Earth SaltsNot profiledBeatriceRare Earth Salts says its process separates heavy and light rare earths without solvent extraction, and announced commercial-scale production in Aug 2023 (company-reported). The OSTI review lists it as an e-waste separation demonstration plant. Output has not been independently confirmed.CompanyNot statedNone recorded

A company with several sites appears on each state page where it has one. Companies without a link have no profile yet. Government support is the company-wide summary and is not allocated to a state.

What happens next with rare earths in Nebraska?

One dated milestone is on the directory's calendar for Nebraska. The next step for each project is in the table above.

Dated milestones

What government support is going to rare earth companies in Nebraska?

No state or local incentive is tracked for Nebraska. 2 federal support items are tracked for companies with a site or headquarters here, each with a status.

Federal support tracked for companies with a site or headquarters in Nebraska
CompanyAgencyInstrumentAmountStatus
NioCorpEXIMLoan application2025 to 2026$780M to $800MIn review
NioCorpDepartment of WarGrant2025$10MClosed

These amounts attach to companies, not to sites in this state: many of the companies have projects elsewhere. Do not add them up as spending in the state. The government support tracker has the terms and sources.

Which neighboring states have rare earth projects?

Colorado and Wyoming border Nebraska and have tracked rare earth sites, companies or pilots.

All states: rare earth mines, projects and companies by US state.

Questions about rare earth in Nebraska

Does Nebraska have rare earth mines?

Nebraska has 1 tracked rare earth mine or project: Elk Creek (in development). None produces rare earths today, and the only active primary rare earth mine in the United States is Mountain Pass in California.

Which rare earth companies are based or building in Nebraska?

NioCorp (Elk Creek) and Rare Earth Salts (based in Beatrice) are tracked in Nebraska. Rare Earth Salts is not profiled yet, so the directory has limited information on it.

Sources and verification

Each profile lists its sources, a confidence grade and a verification date. Order of authority: official records (SEC filings, agency documents), company documents and technical reports, research papers, then independent press. Syndicated copies and reference works are labeled and are never the only source for a number. Company-reported figures are labeled as such, and non-binding deals are labeled "letter of intent" or "conditional".

Tags show what kind of source each link is. How sources are ranked