Mr. Pat Ryan reports

UCORE SECURES ADDITIONAL US$4.6 MILLION FROM U.S. DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO ADVANCE SAMARIUM AND GADOLINIUM REFINING

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has executed a $4.6-million (U.S.) other transaction agreement (OTA) modification from the U.S. Department of War (DoW) to expand its RapidSX rare-earth separation program. The additional funding supports samarium (Sm) and gadolinium (Gd) process development and the deployment of Enhanced Machine A at Ucore's planned Louisiana strategic metals complex (SMC) in Alexandria.

Ucore announces:

• Additional $4.6-million (U.S.) other transaction agreement (OTA) for expanding the first RapidSX Enhanced Machine A in Louisiana, bringing the total OTA grant funding to $27.0-million (U.S.);
• Expanding samarium and gadolinium process development in Kingston, for Enhanced Machine A deployment in Louisiana;
• Ucore reports heightened interest from Washington on samarium and gadolinium development.

This latest award advances work on two materials that the U.S. government has identified as priorities for strengthening domestic critical mineral supply chains. Ucore is deploying separation capabilities intended to address those needs as sourcing requirements tighten. "We are seeing heightened interest from Washington in the role Ucore can play in securing critical rare-earth supplies," stated Pat Ryan, PEng, chairman and chief executive officer of Ucore. "We have optimized our commercial equipment configurations, strengthened our financial position and now secured additional DoW funding for an expanded program. The dots are connecting around a clear national need: the ability to separate the materials that U.S. defence and industrial supply chains depend on."

A growing priority for defence supply chains

Sm is a key input for samarium-cobalt magnets used in demanding defence and aerospace applications where magnetic performance at high temperatures is essential. Gd has specialized coatings, electronics and nuclear applications, including neutron absorption in nuclear reactors. Both were identified by the United States Geological Survey among the mineral commodities with the highest supply-chain risks in its 2025 assessment.

China's April, 2025, export controls included samarium- and gadolinium-related metals, oxides and compounds. In February, 2026, the Defense Industrial Base Consortium (DIBC) issued a U.S. government request for projects addressing domestic production gaps across 13 critical minerals, including both Sm and Gd. Separation and processing were among the capabilities specifically sought.

The procurement requirements are also tightening. Effective Jan. 1, 2027, applicable Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement (DFARS) restrictions for samarium-cobalt and neodymium-iron-boron magnets extend across their upstream supply chains, including mining, refining and separation in covered countries such as China, subject to specified exceptions and non-availability determinations. Ucore believes these requirements increase the importance of qualifying dependable processing sources outside covered countries.

Ucore's role is at the separation stage, where mixed rare-earth feedstocks must be divided into individual rare-earth oxide products suitable for industrial use or further downstream processing. Building that capability is a necessary part of connecting mineral supply with oxide, metal, alloy and/or magnet manufacturing.

Additional funding advances the next stage

The new award increases funding for phase 2 of Ucore's rare-earth separation technology capabilities prototype project from $18.4-million (U.S.) to $23.0-million (U.S.). Including the original $4.0-million (U.S.) phase 1 award, total grant funding under the company's OTA with U.S. Army Contracting Command-Orlando increases to $27.0-million (U.S.).

Building momentum toward commercial deployment

The additional DoW support follows a series of advances across Ucore's commercialization program. In June, the company shipped NdPr oxide qualification samples to major magnet manufacturers. In July, it announced production of 99.9 per cent dysprosium oxide, which it has since shipped for customer qualifications. These steps support the development of future commercial relationships for Ucore's broader rare-earth product platform.

In August, Ucore completed its RapidSX contactor scale-up program following more than 400 optimization tests and closed a public offering raising approximately $69-million in gross proceeds. The financing's net proceeds are intended for Louisiana SMC development, working capital and general corporate purposes.

The expanded DoW program connects that technical progress and stronger financial position to a specific strategic need. Ucore is advancing the separation capabilities intended to turn reliable feedstock sources into a North American supply of the rare-earth products manufacturers require.

About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.

Ucore is focused on rare-earth 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, Ucore aims to support the development of a more diversified and resilient North American rare-earth elements (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, U.S. (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.

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