Ucore Rare Metals Inc (UURAF)

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$UURAF Ucore Rare Metals Inc. $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(R) 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(R) 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.