Mr. Tom Drivas reports

APPIA RECEIVES PROMISING RESULTS FROM INITIAL METALLURGICAL TESTS ON A COMPOSITE SAMPLE FROM ALCES LAKE RARE EARTH PROPERTY, NORTHERN SASKATCHEWAN

Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp. has provided a progress report on bench-scale monazite processing and metallurgical testing on representative sample materials from Appia's high-grade rare earth element (REE) and gallium Alces Lake property, located in Northern Saskatchewan:

• Laboratory heavy liquid separation tests recovered 95 per cent of the total rare earth oxide (TREO) in 45 per cent of the mass of a deslimed feed sample;
• Preliminary locked-cycle flotation tests yielded a concentrate containing 48 per cent TREO at 73-per-cent recovery;
• Two preliminary caustic cracking/acid leach tests on a 45-per-cent TREO flotation concentrate extracted 87 per cent and 78 per cent TREO; Appia will be conducting further laboratory test work and expects improved flotation performance and in excess of 90-per-cent REE extraction from concentrates;
• Preliminary data results show that the gallium concentration follows the rare earths through the beneficiation process and reports to the concentrate.

Appia president Frederick Kozak stated: "These preliminary bench-scale testing results are excellent for the Alces Lake rare earths discovery. TREO recoveries and the percentage of TREO in concentrate are comparable to other producing global rare earths projects, supporting the potential for Alces Lake as a future monazite rare earths supply. We continue to work with the SRC and are confident that future testing will improve TREO recoveries and TREO concentrates."

As announced in a news release dated Feb. 25, 2021, Appia engaged the Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) to undertake metallurgical test work on mineralized material from Appia's Alces Lake high-grade REE property in the Athabasca basin area in Northern Saskatchewan. The test work was performed at SRC in Saskatoon on a 50-kilogram representative composite of mineralized material from the WRCB zone of the property with a grade of approximately 9 per cent TREO. Prior studies have shown that the Alces Lake REEs are hosted exclusively in monazite.

Experimental work commenced in March, 2021, with magnetic and heavy liquid separation tests followed by flotation test work starting in April, 2021. Initial magnetic separation tests were performed on the minus-0.5-to-plus-0.038-millimetre screen fraction of material crushed to minus 5.6 millimetres representing 36 per cent of the whole sample. The results showed limited rejection of barren material with 98-per-cent TREO recovery into 83 per cent of the test feed mass. Initial heavy liquid tests were performed on screen fractions between 0.5 millimetre and 5.6 millimetres and representing 51 per cent of the whole sample. Some promise was noted with the sink fraction at a specific gravity of 3.0 having a mass of 37 per cent of the feed and containing 92 per cent of the REE. At a specific gravity of 2.9, the mass of the sink fraction increased to 45 per cent and TREE recovery increased to 95 per cent.

Most of the experimental effort was spent on froth flotation. Numerous factors were investigated, including grind size, slimes removal, regrind, circuit configuration and reagents. The circuit and procedure that were developed included a grind to 80 per cent passing 106 micrometres, no desliming, oleic acid collector with sodium silicate as a gangue depressant in roughing and initial cleaning, and with reverse cleaning final stages. This was tested in preliminary locked-cycle tests and shown to deliver a concentrate containing 48 per cent TREO at 73-per-cent recovery. Additional beneficiation work is planned to confirm and improve upon these initial test results. Beneficiation tests are also planned for new samples representing other mineralized zones of the Alces Lake.

Two preliminary caustic crack tests were performed on a lower-grade flotation concentrate generated early in the beneficiation program and containing 45.5 per cent TREO. Test CC-1 was done on the as-received flotation concentrate and test CC-2 on the same concentrate after grinding to pass 45 micrometres. Each caustic crack residue was leached with HCl acid. TREO extractions in these two preliminary tests were 87 per cent and 78 per cent respectively. It is fully expected that recoveries in the excess of 90 per cent will be attained with further testing on higher-grade flotation concentrates.

Alces Lake high-grade REE project

Appia drilled a total of 100 core holes and collected approximately 8,075 metres of diamond drill core in its 2021 drilling program. Initial assay results from the Wilson North and Richards drill holes were announced on Nov. 19, 2021, and confirmed some of the highest recorded rare earth grades discovered to date on the Alces Lake property. In addition, high-grade REE mineralization has now been identified throughout an area covering approximately 27 square kilometres of the Alces Lake block. Initial assay results have been returned from channel and grab samples, but the company is still awaiting further drilling core and channel sample assay results from the 2021 program.

With the largest exploration and diamond drilling program in the company's history completed, exploration results will be released as received and analyzed by the company. Analysis of the summer exploration and drilling program will follow and may lead to the preparation of an National Instrument 43-101 (technical report with 3-D geophysical-geological models) report expected in 2022. The Alces Lake project encompasses some of the highest-grade total and critical REEs and gallium mineralization in the world, hosted within a number of surface and near-surface monazite occurrences that remain open at depth and along strike.

The Alces Lake project is located in Northern Saskatchewan, the same provincial jurisdiction that is developing a first-of-its-kind rare earth processing facility in Canada (currently under construction by the Saskatchewan Research Council; it is scheduled to become operational in early 2023). The Alces Lake project area is 35,682 hectares (88,173 acres) in size and is 100 per cent owned by Appia.

To ensure safe work conditions are met for the work force, the company has developed exploration guidelines that comply with the Saskatchewan public health orders and the public health order respecting the Northern Saskatchewan Administration District in order to maintain social distancing and help prevent the transmission of COVID-19.

The metallurgical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by John Goode, PEng, consultant to Appia's board of directors and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. The geologic content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Dr. Irvine R. Annesley, PGeo, adviser to Appia's board of directors, and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101. SRC Geoanalytical Laboratories' management system operates in accordance with ISO/IEC 17025:2005 (CAN-P-4E), General Requirements for the Competence of Mineral Testing and Calibration Laboratories.

About Rare Earths & Uranium Corp.

Appia is a Canadian publicly listed company in the uranium and rare earth element sectors. The company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements, gallium and uranium on the Alces Lake property as well as exploring for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca basin on its Otherside, Loranger, North Wollaston and Eastside properties. The company holds the surface rights to exploration for 105,026 hectares (259,525 acres) in Saskatchewan. The company also has a 100-per-cent interest in 12,545 hectares (31,000 acres), with rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake camp in Ontario.

Appia has 119.6 million common shares outstanding and 142.2 million shares fully diluted.