Ucore Participates in USFS Roundtable Discussion on Alaska Resource Development

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, Feb. 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV:UCU) (OTCQX:UURAF) (“Ucore” or the “Company”) is pleased to report that representatives of the Company attended and actively participated in the recent US Forest Service (“USFS”) Roundtable Discussion (“Roundtable”) held on February 24, 2018, at the Ketchikan Public Library.

The one-day event, hosted and chaired by Senator Lisa Murkowski, was organized to solicit input from local stakeholders and to gain a greater understanding of the forest management challenges faced by communities in the Tongass National Forest (the “Tongass”), the nation’s largest national forest for the benefit of USFS Chief Tony Tooke.

Randy MacGillivray, Ucore’s VP of Project Development, represented the Company as a panel member in the Roundtable interactions. Also in attendance was Ucore Advisory Board member Randy Johnson, of Orca Holdings, LLC. The Ucore contingent participated in order to obtain ongoing stakeholder input and feedback, focusing on opportunities to improve access to the Tongass and build a diverse and broad-based economy in southeast Alaska, and in support of U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s efforts to ensure sustainable access to and development of mineral resources in Southeast Alaska.

Ucore recently announced the selection of Ketchikan as the location for the Company’s forthcoming U.S. Strategic Metals Complex (SMC) (see Ucore Press Release dated January 30, 2018). The SMC is being developed for the purpose of processing rare earth containing concentrates to coincide with the increasing demand for electric vehicles and the need to provide a domestic supply of individual REE oxides for US commercial and military technologies. Feedstock from locations in the continental US, South America, Africa, Asia, and Australia are under consideration. The Ketchikan SMC will also serve as the separation plant for REEs mined from the Bokan project into individual saleable rare earth oxides once the development of the mine project is realized.

“We’re committed to the continued pursuit of development required to advance the Bokan – Dotson Ridge Rare Earth Project on Prince of Wales Island,” said Randy MacGillivray. “We appreciate the invitation to participate in this important dialogue with the Chief of the Forest Service due to the fact that the USFS will be the lead agency during the permitting process to bring Bokan online. Further, our recent selection of Ketchikan as our targeted site for the Strategic Metals Separation Complex will serve as the first step to ensuring that saleable rare earth oxide products can ultimately be produced locally from rare earth ore concentrate.”

Background

Ucore Rare Metals is a development-phase company focused on rare metals resources, extraction and beneficiation technologies. 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”).

For further information regarding the Bokan – Dotson Ridge Rare Earth Project, please contact: Randy MacGillivray: randy@ucore.com; 604.842.9802

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.