NioBay seeks partners to advance Crevier project in Quebec

While niobium and tantalum represent relatively small markets, both carry great promise thanks to their growing use in defence, automobile and artificial intelligence applications.

Junior explorer NioBay Metals (TSXV: NBY; US-OTC: NBYCF) is looking for financial backers to speed up development of its Crevier niobium-tantalum project in northern Quebec and pave the way for first production in the early 2030s, CEO Jean-Sébastien David said.

Potential partners could include large mining groups as well as existing or future clients such as defence companies, David said.

Agreements, which could be announced over the coming months, would go a long way toward helping NioBay proceed with a prefeasibility study and environmental assessment work, he said.

While niobium and tantalum represent relatively small markets, both carry great promise thanks to their growing use in defence, automobile and artificial intelligence applications.

The pair have been designated as critical minerals by Canada and the United States.

“We’re working very hard on partnerships” for Crevier, David told The Northern Miner in an interview.

“We would be interested in partnering with a large mining group or a potential client to move this project forward.

Some clients are pretty big, and they want to make sure that they will get their product.” “Crossing my fingers, I would love to announce something at the end of the year.

To be more realistic, probably in 2027,” David said.

“A letter of intent would be a good start.” In a pit-mining scenario, Crevier contains an estimated 23.7 million measured and indicated tonnes at 0.17% niobium and 202 parts per million (ppm) tantalum for contained metal of 35,200 tonnes of niobium and 4,200 tonnes of tantalum, according to a February 2026 resource.

Junior explorer NioBay Metals (TSXV: NBY; US-OTC: NBYCF) is looking for financial backers to speed up development of its Crevier niobium-tantalum project in northern Quebec and pave the way for first production in the early 2030s, CEO Jean-Sébastien David said.

Potential partners could include large mining groups as well as existing or future clients such as defence companies, David said.

Agreements, which could be announced over the coming months, would go a long way toward helping NioBay proceed with a prefeasibility study and environmental assessment work, he said.

While niobium and tantalum represent relatively small markets, both carry great promise thanks to their growing use in defence, automobile and artificial intelligence applications.

The pair have been designated as critical minerals by Canada and the United States.

“We’re working very hard on partnerships” for Crevier, David told The Northern Miner in an interview.

“We would be interested in partnering with a large mining group or a potential client to move this project forward.

Some clients are pretty big, and they want to make sure that they will get their product.” “Crossing my fingers, I would love to announce something at the end of the year.

To be more realistic, probably in 2027,” David said.