Mr. Michael Schrider reports

UCORE READIES FOR LOUISIANA 2026 HEAVY RARE EARTH ELEMENT PROCESSING

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has provided an update on its RapidSX rare-earth element (REE) separation technology commercialization progress and its $22.4-million (U.S.) United States Department of War (DoW) other transaction agreement (OTA or the project) through the U.S. Army Contracting Command-Orlando (ACC-ORL).

Since the December, 2023, start of the demonstration program, Ucore has operated and continuously improved its 52-stage RapidSX demonstration plant within the company's Kingston, Ont., commercialization and demonstration facility (CDF). This work is dedicated to transitioning the company's RapidSX separation technology to its underconstruction Louisiana strategic metals complex (SMC) in Alexandria, La. The Louisiana SMC is a developing REE separation and oxide production facility focused on the production of mid (SmEuGd) and heavy (initially Tb and Dy, potentially followed by Y, which is in high demand) rare-earth elements with the ability to also produce an NdPr rare-earth oxide (REO) product.

The CDF work has focused on the precise manipulation of tonnes of a heavy mixed rare-earth oxide derived from a United States-friendly feedstock resource through a series of RapidSX splits.

These splits represent the initial planned REO groups and products for the Louisiana SMC, and in every case have been directly compared to a 52-stage conventional solvent extractant (CSX) pilot circuit at the CDF for direct purity and recovery comparisons.

Ucore's advancements and achievements on the project that lead to Louisiana include:

• Completion of about 5,700 hours of REE processing with tonnes of heavy mixed rare-earth oxides (MREO) in an automated and simulated 24-hour-per-day commercial production environment
• Production of LaCe, NdPr, SmEuGd, Sm, Gd, HoYErTmYbLu, TbDy, Tb, and Dy rare-earth element groups and products, while:
  • Demonstrating the use of one RapidSX machine (that is, the demo plant) for all splits and multiple feed stocks;
  • Instituting a continuous improvement program for the RapidSX technology platform in preparation for copy and paste transfer to the Louisiana SMC;
  • Developing the ability to quickly (that is, within hours) reconfigure the RapidSX unit operational equipment (for example, extract, scrub, strip, et cetera, components) for specific separation requirements;
  • Honing the ability to stop (that is, for minutes, hours, days or weeks) and immediately restart for planned and unplanned events;
  • Establishing protocols for replicating precise and robust manipulation of the standard solvent extraction chemistry within the RapidSX technology platform.
• Construction of a dedicated production environment ICPMS laboratory with seven days per week support (to support 24/seven operations):
  • Analyzed over 25,000 samples proving that RapidSX and CSX yield virtually identical chemistry results;
  • Developed the laboratory and sampling protocols for Louisiana SMC operations.
• Proven RapidSX improvements over CSX include:
  • Enhanced opex (operating expenditure) and more environmentally friendly operations through:
    • Two to four times faster throughput;
    • Constructed primarily from commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) equipment with a significantly reduced individual stage footprint;
    • Leading to a smaller physical plant and environmental impact footprint and an overall capex (capital expenditure) reduction.
• Full commercial-scale Louisiana SMC work is under way for the installation of RapidSX machine No. 1 in mid-2026, including:
  • Field and design engineering, including supporting infrastructure equipment;
  • Permitting activities;
  • Long lead material and equipment procurement;
  • CDF scale-up trials for full-scale RapidSX machine components;
  • Heavy feedstock procurement for initial testing, commissioning and trials:
    • Including co-ordination trials starting at the CDF and culminating at the Louisiana SMC.

"The nearly two years of CDF demonstration work undertaken by Ucore has been done with deliberate coordination with the Louisiana SMC production rollout pathway. The result is a technically proven and derisked commercialization pathway to commence heavy rare-earth processing in Louisiana in 2026," stated Mike Schrider, PE, vice-president and chief operating officer of Ucore. "With our planned sequential deployment of RapidSX machines, based on the unique demonstrated ability to produce products with only one RapidSX machine. Ucore has established a blueprint for smart deployment of capital, with minimal commercial risk, while getting to early heavy rare-earth production within the United States of America -- a stated objective of the initial OTA."

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).

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.

We seek Safe Harbor.