Mr. Pat Ryan reports

UCORE ENTERS INTO STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP WITH METALLIUM LIMITED

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has signed a strategic technology collaboration agreement with Metallium Ltd.

Metallium's Flash Joule Heating (FJH) is capable of upgrading rare-earth mineral concentrates to mixed rare-earth chlorides (MREC), which will then be refined into purified rare-earth oxides utilizing Ucore's RapidSX technology at its Louisiana refinery. FJH provides a potential alternative to traditional approaches for generating mixed rare-earth products. FJH has the potential to significantly expand potential feedstock sources for Ucore's refining facility.

The focus of Ucore's business is to restore rare-earth refining which is a critical bottleneck in an evolving Western World integrated rare-earth supply chain. With its modular and scalable RapidSX technology supported by the United States DoW, the complex task of separating individual rare-earth oxides (REOs) from developing allied feedstock sources is the lynch pin. These reliable REE concentrate sources are fundamental and because RapidSX is feedstock-agnostic, the more sources of inputs, the greater the options for creating (REO) supply pathways.

The agreement formalizes a strategic partnership to integrate Metallium's FJH process, which converts a wide range of rare-earth-bearing materials into high-purity chloride intermediates, with Ucore's RapidSX separation platform, which is being scaled at the strategic metals complex (SMC) in Louisiana. Together, the companies are targeting a modular United States-based refining solution that can process both conventional REE concentrates and alternative feedstocks such as magnet scrap, e-waste and lighting waste, producing separated REOs including NdPr, Dy and Tb, while also opening opportunities to recover other critical and precious metals.

Collaboration scope

Under the agreement, Metallium and Ucore will:

• Collaborate on integrating Metallium's FJH-based chloride upgrading technology with Ucore's RapidSX separation platform across a wide range of feedstocks. The collaboration will explore opportunities to bypass conventional acid-leach circuits by converting REE-bearing feedstocks into enriched mixed rare-earth chlorides.
• The parties will also investigate the recovery of the highly strategic heavy REE terbium and other high-value elements from lighting waste and phosphor powders and separately undertake joint RandD on recovering non-REE metal chlorides such as Au, Sb, Sn and Cu from e-waste brines.

Next steps

• The collaboration will advance through a staged program of testwork and pilot operations. In the first stage, bench-scale testing will focus on processing Ucore-supplied rare-earth concentrate through Metallium's FJH system to produce mixed REE chlorides; the conversion of magnet scrap into chlorides containing neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium; and the extraction of terbium from lighting waste.
• In the second stage, pilot-scale production will involve pilot campaigns to produce mixed REE chlorides for processing at Ucore's commercial demonstration plant in Kingston, Ont., Canada.
  • This second stage will include the processing of mixed metal chlorides derived from e-waste processed using FJH.

Metallium managing director and chief executive officer Michael Walshe commented: "Ucore is constructing one of the most advanced REE downstream separation facilities in North America, and this strategic agreement positions us a key participant in that supply chain. Our FJH platform can help unlock feedstocks that are currently stranded or heavily discounted, especially those rich in heavy REEs."

Ucore chairman and chief executive officer Pat Ryan commented: "We are excited to explore the integration of Metallium's metal recovery platform with our RapidSX This collaboration directly supports the U.S. government's strategic objective of developing Western-aligned separation capabilities that are scalable, flexible and feedstock-agnostic. Our goal is to deliver consistent, high-purity rare-earth outputs suitable for critical defence and commercial applications."

Illustrative flowsheet

Metallium's FJH technology acts as an upstream upgrading step, producing chloride intermediates that are then refined into individual REEs using Ucore's RapidSX separation platform. The diagram below presents a modular rare-earth element (REE) refining pathway capable of processing a wide range of REE-bearing feedstocks. These include primary mineral concentrates, mid-stream MREC from ionic clays, recycled materials (that is, rare-earth magnet scrap), and industrial residues (that is, red mud, coal fly ash).

Using Metallium's proprietary FJH process, these inputs are upgraded into high-purity mixed REE chloride intermediates. The resulting solution is then conditioned and processed via Ucore's RapidSX separation platform to produce individual rare-earth oxides (REOs), such as neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr). This integrated flowsheet represents a scalable, non-Chinese alternative to traditional sulphate-leach and solvent extraction processes, suitable for both conventional and unconventional REE sources.

The binding agreement is for a term of 12 months from the date of signing, Sept. 13, 2025. Each party will enter good faith discussions to explore the potential of a future commercial arrangement for future collaboration. Each party shall retain all rights to their technology and binding non-disclosure agreements are in place between the parties. There are no commercial arrangements by way of fees or consideration associated with this collaboration agreement.

About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.

Ucore is focused on rare- and critical-metal resources, extraction, beneficiation and separation technologies with the potential for production, growth and scalability. Ucore's vision and plan is 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 (Bokan).

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