Mr. Mike Schrider reports

UCORE CONDUCTS INITIAL US DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE POST AWARD CONFERENCE

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has conducted the initial programmatic postaward conference with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) for the company's recently announced $4-million (U.S.) other transaction agreement (OTA). This rare earth element (REE) separation technology capabilities prototype project, administered by the U.S. Army Contracting Command -- Orlando (ACC-ORL), is taking place at the company's RapidSX commercialization and demonstration facility (CDF) in Kingston, Ont., utilizing its 52-stage RapidSX demonstration plant for the separation of mixed heavy and light REE concentrate feedstocks.

The Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD)/Office of Industrial Base Policy (OIBP) is the primary DoD agent funding and supporting the capability development efforts addressing this REE initiative project.

Through ACC-ORL, the Program Executive Office for Simulation, Training & Instrumentation (PEO STRI) is conducting the project to address domestic (defined as United States and Canada) REE separation technology capabilities. The goal of the project is to undertake efforts that demonstrate and develop solutions that:

• Advance and sustain both traditional and emerging defence manufacturing sectors;
• Preserve critical and unique manufacturing and design skills;
• Support and expand reliable sources;
• Identify and mitigate supply chain vulnerabilities, including cyber, manufacturing and trade skill vulnerabilities.

On July 6, 2023, Ucore's project team, led by program manager Mike Schrider, outlined the planned schedule of events to undertake and complete the project. This schedule ultimately leads the company to establish the first modern-technology heavy and light REE processing facility in North America in Alexandria, La., as announced on April 6, 2023.

"Ucore is very pleased to have been awarded this project by the U.S. government," stated Mike Schrider, PE, Ucore's vice-president and chief operating officer. "Last week's kickoff meeting allowed us to present our current detailed project plan of execution to the DoD and ultimately incorporate our potential pathway to rare earth commercial separation through the Louisiana strategic metals complex (SMC) in Alexandria.

"The OTA has a provision for potential follow-on opportunities for deployment of the RapidSX technology in the United States; this is a critical aspect of ensuring the United States has access to modern critical metals separation technologies that are competitive on the world stage."

In addition to increasing the technology readiness level (TRL) of the RapidSX platform and developing a corresponding techno-economic assessment with direct comparison against the company's constructed 52-stage pilot-scale conventional solvent extraction (SX) plant, the project is designed to demonstrate that RapidSX can be used to efficiently and quickly separate individual light and heavy REEs and compounds (such as neodymium-praseodymium, praseodymium, neodymium, terbium and dysprosium) sourced from a domestic-friendly mixed heavy rare earth oxide concentrate feedstock source.

About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.

Ucore is focused on rare metal and critical metal resources, extraction, beneficiation and separation technologies with the potential for production, growth and scalability. Ucore's vision and plan are to become a leading advanced technology company, providing best-in-class metal separation products and services to the mining and mineral extraction industry.

Through strategic partnerships, this plan includes disrupting the People's Republic of China's control of the North American REE supply chain through the near-term development of a heavy and light rare earth processing facility in the U.S. state of Louisiana, subsequent SMCs in Canada and Alaska, and the longer-term development of Ucore's 100-per-cent-controlled Bokan/Dotson Ridge rare heavy REE project on Prince of Wales Island in southeast Alaska, United States.

Ucore is listed on the TSX Venture Exchange under the trading symbol UCU and in the United States on the OTC Markets' OTCQX Best Market under the ticker symbol UURAF.

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