Mr. Chris Grove reports

COMMERCE RESOURCES CORP. ADVANCES IMPURITY SUPPRESSION FOR FLUORSPAR CONCENTRATE FROM THE ASHRAM DEPOSIT, QUEBEC

Commerce Resources Corp. has made continued advancements toward impurity suppression and removal from high-grade fluorspar concentrate produced from the Ashram rare earth and fluorspar deposit, Quebec.

Previous testwork has demonstrated the ability to achieve fluorspar (CaF2) grades in excess of 97 per cent CaF2, as well as specifications for SiO2 (silicon dioxide), Al2O3 (aluminum oxide), Cl (chlorine), Be (beryllium) and Cd (cadmium) (see news release dated Feb. 28, 2020). Since that time, additional testwork has further achieved the standard specifications for lead, arsenic and mercury while maintaining a high CaF2 grade (about 96.5 per cent). The company continues to advance the impurity removal with several other elements approaching standard specification for acid-grade fluorspar in recent tests.

The testwork on fluorspar recovery is being carried out by Hazen Research, Colorado, United States, which is also developing the primary rare earth element (REE) recovery flow sheet. The recovery of fluorspar from the Ashram deposit has been approached as a secondary objective to the primary REE recovery. Further, depending on the process approach for fluorspar recovery, impurity removal may also increase overall REE recovery in the flow sheet.

In addition to being one of the largest rare earth deposits globally, the Ashram deposit is also one of the largest fluorspar deposits globally. The production of REEs and fluorspar is currently dominated by China, placing Ashram in a unique position to potentially address the supply concerns of these two critical commodities. Both REEs and fluorspar are considered critical/strategic commodities by the U.S. Department of the Interior, the European Union and the Province of Quebec, Canada.

Fluorspar market

Fluorspar is an essential raw material to the steel, aluminum and chemical industries in two marketable products: acid spar grade and met spar grade.

Acid spar (greater than 97 per cent CaF2), accounting for roughly 60 per cent of the market, is primarily used to synthesize hydrofluoric acid (HF) and subsequent fluorochemicals, and in the production of aluminum metal, to reduce process temperatures and energy consumption. It is also a key raw ingredient of materials used in enhancing the operational performance of lithium-ion batteries.

Met spar (greater than 60 per cent CaF2), accounting for roughly 40 per cent of the global fluorspar market, is primarily used as a flux in the steelmaking process to lower the melting temperature, to reduce slag viscosity and remove impurities.

Similar to the prevailing dynamics for rare earth elements, China was historically the largest exporter of fluorspar. However, in the last three years, China has become a net importer. This has caused significant price appreciation for fluorspar and market interest from industry in new sources.

National Instrument 43-101 disclosure

Darren L. Smith, MSc, PGeo, Dahrouge Geological Consulting Ltd., a permit holder with the Ordre des Geologues du Quebec and qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, supervised the preparation of the technical information in this news release.

About Commerce Resources Corp.

Commerce Resources is an exploration and development company with a particular focus on deposits of rare metals and rare earth elements. The company is focused on the development of its Ashram rare earth element deposit in Quebec and the Upper Fir tantalum-niobium deposit in British Columbia.

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