- Strained Sino-U.S. relations make it more important than ever for North America to explore options for procuring rare earth element (“REE”) and rare earth oxide (“REO”) resources
- Ucore has positioned itself to fulfill North America’s unmet REE, and REO needs through its RapidSX(TM) demonstration plant and future commercial production plants
- Ucore’s first commercial production plant is already being engineered to ramp up for customers, located in Louisiana, with two additional plants in the pipeline
With China’s attitude toward developing a healthy, stable, and constructive Sino-U.S. relationship unchanged, it has become imperative for North America to consider options for procuring rare earth elements (“REEs”) and rare earth oxides (“REOs”) without reliance on China, which is currently dominating the REE market. Ucore Rare Metals (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) is a critical metals separation technology company executing an ESG-centered plan to establish a comprehensive North American critical metals supply chain. The company is positioning itself to fulfill North America’s unmet REE, and REO needs through commercial production plants, with the first expected to be operational by the end of 2024 in Louisiana.
Ucore recently participated in the 2023 Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (“PDAC”) mining convention, the world’s premier convention for people, companies, and organizations connected to mineral exploration. The Toronto, Ontario convention attracts up to 30,000 attendees from over 130+ countries. During the convention, Ucore’s CEO Pat Ryan participated in an interview with Goldinvest’s Managing Director Bjorn Junker (https://nnw.fm/joKAI).
During the interview, Ryan clarified that Ucore is not a mining company but a processing and refining technology company focusing on critical metals. These metals are used in vehicle electrification, and while many people focus on the batteries, the use of REOs in the motors is equally as important. Ryan pointed out that people are beginning to pay attention, demonstrated in Ucore’s share price, which has risen 100% over the last few months – thanks to the commissioning of Ucore’s demonstration plant in Kingston, Ontario.
Over the last few years, Ucore has invested about $10 million in the demonstration plant and its RapidSX(TM) technology. RapidSX(TM) is a westernized form of solvent extraction using fewer chemicals, quicker throughput, less capital expenditure and better operational expenditure. According to Ryan, the size of the demonstration plant allows it to accommodate tens of tons of earth concentrate, including heavy rare earth, which no one is currently doing in North America. It allows the company to gather thousands of hours of run-time to move to a bigger commercial plant with real revenue, which will start as it begins servicing customers.
Since Ucore is not building a mine, which can take six to seven years to complete, the company’s current timeline involves having the first commercial plant ready by the end of 2024. Currently, Ucore is engineering a plant in Louisiana to ramp up and move the company’s plans forward. Through the demonstration plant, Ucore is gathering the necessary metric data. The company has even had evaluations completed by notable industry experts – including Automotive Companies who have brought in their own processing specialists.
Ryan stated that the individual rare oxide market is expected to reach $32 billion by the decade’s end, with approximately $16 billion belonging to the ex-China market. Ucore is targeting 20% of that market, with the commercial plant in Louisiana expected to take on one-third of that capacity. Additionally, Ucore plans to engineer a second and third commercial plant to handle the remaining capacity in the future.
“Twenty percent is reasonable. Talking to real customers that need a real product and real points of time – what you need in 2025, what you need in 2026, what you need in 2027 – we are ramping up a plan that includes great people, really good tech, and financing plans that will get us there,” Ryan added.
For more information, visit the company’s website at www.Ucore.com.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to UURAF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://nnw.fm/UURAF
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