Company gets a bit closer to raising $1.1B it needs for mine

By JOSH FUNK
AP Business Writer

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A mining company that wants to produce a collection of rare elements in southeast Nebraska has raised funds toward its goal of finding the $1.1 billion it needs to build the mine that has been in the works for decades. A regulatory filing shows that shareholders of a special purpose acquisition company called GX Acquisition Corp. II approved merging with NioCorp, a Centennial, Colorado-based mining company. About $15 million from the deal will go to NioCorp. The mine the company hopes to build about 80 miles south of Omaha could get an even bigger boost later this year if the Export-Import Bank of the United States approves $800 million in financing it said recently that the project might qualify for.