Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF)
(“Ucore” or the
“Company”) is
pleased to provide the following progress update with respect to
the roll-out of
its
MINE to
METAL to
MARKET plan
of strategic actions (the “
M³ Plan”) for its
Bokan-Dotson Ridge Rare Earth Project (the “
Bokan
Project” or “
Bokan”); further to the
Company’s press release of September 10, 2019.
AIDEA Financing Opportunity
Update
The Alaska Industrial Development and Export
Authority (“AIDEA” or the
“Authority”) is the development finance arm of the
State of Alaska. AIDEA has financed hundreds of projects around the
state from smaller businesses to larger infrastructure development
projects. AIDEA has been involved in mineral development and mining
infrastructure financing.
Ucore is pleased to announce that the Authority,
with the support of Alaska Governor Michael Dunleavy, recently
expressed its renewed and augmented interest in “… working toward
the development of a processing plant for rare earth metals in
Southeast Alaska and the eventual development of the Bokan rare
earth deposit on Prince of Wales Island” (see letter entitled
“AIDEA Review of the Alaska SMC and the Bokan-Dotson Ridge
Projects”, dated December 18, 2019, the “AIDEA
Letter”). The recent AIDEA Letter also stated:
“According to media
reports, the U.S. Army recently sent out memos to a select group of
companies that are advancing potential U.S.-based rare earth
processing plants requesting information on the costs to develop
separation facilities that can produce heavy rare earths. The Army
is considering funding up to two-thirds of the costs required to
establish at least one domestic facility which can separate these
heavy rare earths into the individual metals needed for military
hardware.
"AIDEA understands
Ucore was one of the recipients of the U.S. Army memorandum and
therefore the authority wanted to express its continued interest in
providing financing for Ucore’s Bokan project and its proposed
development of a REEs processing plant located in Alaska.
"In 2014, the Alaska
Legislature, in Senate Bill 99, authorized AIDEA, at its
discretion, to issue up to $145 million dollars in AIDEA bonds to
finance the infrastructure and construction costs of the
Bokan-Dotson Ridge rare earth element project, which is owned by
Ucore.
"In addition to the
bonds authorized by the Alaska State Legislature, AIDEA also has
the ability to provide financing to Ucore by issuing conduit bonds
to potentially support financing the construction of a processing
plant. Conduit bonds are issued on the basis of the revenue
produced by a financed project. AIDEA has issued conduit bonds for
a variety of projects, and can issue this type of bond based on the
approval of its Board.
"We would be glad to
provide the U.S. Army with any additional information it may need
about AIDEA finance programs which could apply to Ucore.”
The prospective AIDEA-provided financing is an
expected integral component of Ucore’s planned objective of
developing: (i) the individual heavy rare earth element
(“HREE”) and co-products processing and separation
plant, the Alaska Strategic Metals Complex (the “Alaska
SMC”) which may commence with alternative U.S. or U.S.
allied feedstocks; and (ii) its planned ultimate source of rare
earth element (“REE”) feedstock, the Bokan mineral
resource.
AIDEA’s support of these two components of
Ucore’s M³ Plan is important to Ucore as the Company seeks
additional project funding through recent U.S. Government
(“USG”) initiatives specifically devoted to
enhancing the domestic supply, separation, and purification of
individual rare earth oxides over the next decade. These
initiatives may provide federal funding opportunities to domestic
entities that can raise from one-third to one-half of a project’s
total required capital funding while meeting the requirements set
forth by the U.S. Government.
“Ucore is grateful to AIDEA for its continued
support of our efforts toward project development in Southeast
Alaska,” said Jim McKenzie, President & CEO of Ucore. “The $145
million AIDEA bonds authorization by the Alaska Legislature for the
Bokan Rare Earth Project, and the recent notification regarding
potential AIDEA conduit bond financing for the Alaska SMC uniquely
positions Ucore in its pursuit to advance these projects. The
current U.S. government initiatives to liberate North America from
Chinese dependence on REEs require an element of self-funding that
the AIDEA financing may provide or contribute to, and it
distinguishes the potential development of Bokan apart from other
Heavy REE projects.”
“Ucore is embarking on a series of incremental
engineering and technical development activities to bolster its
knowledge of Bokan and to enhance its capabilities regarding the
planned Alaska SMC separation and purification facility,” stated
Mike Schrider, COO of Ucore. “AIDEA’s potential financing
assistance will be fundamental as we look to aggregate these
various technical initiatives within the eventual feasibility study
that is ultimately required for the development of the Bokan
mineral resource.”
About Ucore
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is a company focused on
rare and critical metals resources, extraction and beneficiation
technologies with potential for production, growth, and
scalability. The Company has a 100% ownership stake in the
Bokan-Dotson Ridge Rare Earth Project.
Ucore’s vision and plan is to transition to
become a leading advanced technology company that provides mineral
separation products and services to the mining and mineral
extraction industry. This vision includes the development of the
Alaska SMC in Southeast Alaska and the development of the Company’s
rare earth minerals property located at Bokan Mountain in
Alaska.
The first component of the Company’s M3 Plan
(i.e. the potential “Mine”) is founded upon the Company’s
Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”), an NI
43-101 Technical Report filed on SEDAR on March 14, 2013, that was
based upon an inferred mineral resource estimate with an effective
date of March 7, 2011 (as supplemented by separate mineral resource
updates on May 11, 2015, and October 15, 2019).
Ucore’s PEA is preliminary in nature, it
includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too
speculative geologically to have the economic considerations
applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral
reserves, and there is no certainty that the PEA will be realized.
Mineral resources that are not mineral reserves do not have
demonstrated economic viability.
For further information, please contact Mr. Jim
McKenzie, President & CEO of Ucore Rare Metals Inc. at: +1
(902) 482-5214 or visit <http://www.ucore.com>.
Qualified Person
Mr. Edwin H. Bentzen III, a consulting
metallurgical engineer, has approved the scientific and technical
content of this news release and is the Qualified Person
responsible for its accuracy. Mr. Bentzen received a B.Sc. degree
in 1967, at the Mackey School of Mines, University of Nevada, Reno,
with a Minor in Chemistry. He has worked with industrial minerals
while at the Minerals Research Laboratory, in Asheville, N.C. and
been employed by the Colorado School of Mines Research Institute,
Ore Sorters (North America) Inc., Hazen Research, MD Mineral
Technologies, Lyntek Inc. and Resource Development Inc. He is
active in SME (Registered Member) and is past President of the
Colorado Section SME.
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 business development and/or acquisition activities
(including any related required financings), timelines, litigation
outcomes, 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 or results and actual results or developments
may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.
Regarding Ucore’s M3 Plan of Action and the disclosure in the
“About Ucore” section above, the Company has assumed that it will
be able to procure or retain geometallurgy partners and/or
suppliers, including a solvent extraction (“SX”) partner or SX
supplier for Ucore’s expected future Alaska Strategic Metals
Complex (“Alaska SMC”). Ucore has also assumed that sufficient
external funding will be found to prepare a new NI 43-101 technical
report that demonstrates that the Bokan Project is feasible and
economically viable for the production of both REE and co-product
mineral materials and metals and the then prevailing market prices
based upon assumed customer off-take agreements. Ucore has also
assumed that sufficient external funding will be found to develop
the specific engineering plans for the Alaska SMC and its
construction. Factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from those in forward-looking statements include: Ucore
not being able to procure an SX partner or supplier for the Alaska
SMC; Ucore not being able to raise sufficient funds to fund the
specific design and construction of the Alaska SMC; adverse capital
market conditions; unexpected due diligence findings; unexpected or
adverse outcomes in the currently outstanding litigation matters
between Ucore and IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc.; the emergence of
alternative superior metallurgy and metal separation technologies;
the inability of Ucore to retain its key staff members; unexpected
transaction costs or other deal completion setbacks; a change in
the legislation in Alaska and/or in the support expressed by AIDEA
regarding the development of Bokan and/or the Alaska SMC; the
availability and procurement of any required interim and/or
long-term financing that may be required; 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.
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