HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA–(Marketwired – May 25, 2017) – Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF) (“Ucore” or the “Company”) is pleased to comment on recent initiatives by the US government to assist in the development of strategic metals mining and separation in the United States. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (the “Act”) which has been signed into law this month, includes a significant authorization of funds for the processing and acquisition of strategic metals from tailings on US soil, and directly addresses the Bokan project in Southeast Alaska.
The Act authorizes budget expenditures for F2017, including USD$5.5 million for the remediation of historic uranium mine waste from the Bokan Mountain site in Alaska, in addition to an allocation of USD$15 million for the extraction of rare earth elements (REE) and minerals from strategic coal tailings sites in the Eastern US.
“The US government’s dedication of over 20 million dollars in F2017 to projects which are directly aligned with Ucore’s Strategic Metals Complex (SMC) facilities and our strategy of tailings processing/monetization, is well timed,” said Jim McKenzie, President & CEO of Ucore. “We’re pleased that Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and their colleagues have ensured that the development of US based REE resources and the remediation and economic development of resource-rich tailings sites using clean extraction technologies, are high priorities for the U.S. government. Ucore, with its partner IBC Advanced Technologies Inc, is pursuing the application of the SuperLig® metals separation and tailings processing platform in both instances.”
“In cooperation with Ucore, we now have a suite of REE separation ligands ready for deployment, as well as uranium and thorium ligands which have seen extensive historical testing and use,” said Steve Izatt, President of IBC. “Our MRT platform, a US based technology addressing US strategic metals opportunities, is well suited to address domestic tailings operations.”
The Act approvingly notes the National Forest Service’s dedication of $5.5 million in funding for the remediation of historic uranium mining at the Ross-Adams mine site at Bokan Mountain, Alaska. The Ross-Adams mine, which produced high grade uranium ore during the cold war era, remains open at depth, and is 100% controlled by Ucore’s Landmark Alaska operating unit. The Bokan project also houses Ucore’s Dotson-Ridge REE deposit, the site of an NI 43-101 compliant HREO resource, which is a distinct and spatially removed deposit from the Ross Adams underground mine. (http://ucore.com/projects/bokan-mountain-alaska/43-101) Ucore welcomes the improvements made to the Bokan Mountain site, an important asset which also houses Ucore’s Bokan Dotson-Ridge rare earth resource.
The Act additionally provides $15 million to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) for the development and testing of commercially viable separation technologies which can be utilized in the near future to extract REE from the byproducts of coal mining. Ucore has engaged NETL for the prospective application of the SuperLig® REE platform in the coal tailings sector, a resource-rich US asset in West Virginia and other areas of the Northern Appalachians. The ability to acquire and separate REE from above-ground resources at a commercially viable level would be a significant achievement in developing successful alternative supply sources in a Chinese-dominated market.
About Ucore
Ucore Rare Metals is a development-phase company focused on rare metals resources, extraction and beneficiation technologies with near term potential for production, growth and scalability. On March 3, 2015, Ucore announced the development of a joint venture with IBC for the deployment of SuperLig® technology for rare earths and multi-metallic tailings processing applications in North America and associated world markets. The Company has a 100% ownership stake in the Bokan project. On March 31, 2014, Ucore announced the unanimous support of the Alaska State Legislature for the investment of up to USD $145 Million in the Bokan project at the discretion of the Alaska Import Development and Export Agency (“AIDEA”).
About IBC
IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc. is an award-winning, green chemical selective separations company based on innovative MRT products. Headquartered in American Fork, Utah, with manufacturing facilities in Utah and Houston, Texas, IBC has supplied industrial, governmental and academic customers worldwide with environmentally friendly products, processes and services for over 27 years.
IBC specializes in MRT, utilizing green chemistry to achieve highly selective separations of metal ions in complex matrices. Based on Nobel Prize-winning technology (1987), IBC’s proprietary products and processes are used worldwide by premier metals refining and mining companies such as Tanaka Kikinzoku K.K. (Japan), Asarco Grupo Mexico (USA), Impala Platinum Ltd. (South Africa), and Sino Platinum (China). The Japanese Government (Mitsubishi Research, Inc.) recently awarded to IBC a highly competitive subsidy grant, “Demonstration Project for Seawater Purification Technologies”, concerning the selective separation of the radionuclides strontium and cesium from contaminated seawater at Fukushima, Japan.
IBC’s expertise is illustrated by its extensive development and commercialization of separations systems for platinum group metals (“PGM’s”) at a world level. PGM’s are analogous to the rare earth elements, in that they are considered difficult to selectively separate due to their constituent chemical similarities.
The Ucore-IBC alliance builds on IBC’s proven capabilities to develop, scale-up and commercialize selective separations systems for a number of diverse and complex applications. See www.ibcmrt.com for additional information.
Cautionary Notes
This press release includes certain statements that may be deemed “forward-looking statements”. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address future exploration drilling, exploration activities, research and development timelines, and events or developments that the Company expects, are forward looking statements. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include exploitation and exploration successes or setbacks, research and develop successes or setbacks, continued availability of financing, and general economic, market or business conditions.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined by the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is a development-phase mining company focused on establishing rare metal resources and beneficiation technologies with near term potential for production, growth and scalability. With multiple projects across North America, Ucore’s primary focus is the 100% owned Bokan-Dotson Ridge REE property in Alaska.
Mr. Jim McKenzie
President and Chief Executive Officer
+1 (902) 482-5214
www.ucore.com