Ucore Announces Groundbreaking Ceremony for Louisiana Rare Earth Element Processing Facility
Ucore Announces Groundbreaking Ceremony for
Louisiana Rare Earth Element Processing Facility
Halifax, Nova Scotia (May 28, 2025) – Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU; OTCQX:
UURAF) (“Ucore” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it will hold a formal
ground-breaking ceremony on Thursday, May 29th for its Louisiana Strategic Metals
Complex (“SMC”), the Company’s first commercial rare earth element (“ REE”) refining
facility, located at the England Airpark in Alexandria, Louisiana.
The Louisiana SMC will produce high-purity rare earth oxides from mixed rare earth
chemical concentrates obtained from multiple global feedstock sources. The 80,800-
square-foot brownfield facility is under a long-term lease agreement with the
England Authority, the entity that manages England Airpark, a repurposed U.S. Air
Force base transformed into a regional economic hub.
Aerial View of the Developing Louisiana SMC – Alexandria, Louisiana
Pat Ryan, P.Eng., Chairman & CEO, commented: “Breaking ground on the SMC is a
pivotal moment - for Ucore and for North American critical mineral processing. We are
very fortunate to have a host of strong partners at the local, regional, state, and federal
levels. This includes the England Authority, Louisiana Central, the State of Louisiana,
and the U.S. Department of Defense. We thank all of our supporters as we continue our
work to develop a secure, domestic rare earth element supply chain.”
Strategic Metals Complex (SMC) Overview
The Louisiana SMC is the first step in Ucore’s commercial deployment of the RapidSX™
technology platform, a patent-pending advanced solvent extraction process that aims
to reshape the rare earth industry with faster, more efficient, and more environmentally
sound separation methods. Once operational, the SMC will produce commercial
quantities of critical rare earth elements , such as neodymium, praseodymium,
dysprosium, and terbium, which are essential to produce rare earth permanent magnets
for electric vehicles, wind turbines, and national defense applications.
Federal and State Support
U.S. Department of Defense Funding
Ucore recently agreed on a US$18.4 million project extension from the U.S.
Department of Defense (DoD) under the Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment
(“IBAS”) Program. This grant funding will be used to initiate construction and
equipment procurement for the Louisiana SMC. The DoD support reflects the strategic
importance of securing a domestic supply chain for rare earth materials critical to national
defense.
England Airpark
England Airpark has been a critical partner in supporting Ucore’s vision for the Strategic
Metals Complex. As the operator of the former England Air Force Base, the England
Authority has transformed the site into a thriving commercial and industrial hub. England
Airpark has provided Ucore with a strategically located, infrastructure-ready site—within
a federally designated Foreign Trade Zone ( “FTZ”). This designation allows Ucore to
benefit from potential duty deferrals, reductions, or eliminations on imported feedstock
materials, enhancing the global competitiveness of its rare earth processing operations.
Combined with collaborative local support a nd expedited permitting, the partnership
underscores England Airpark’s role in advancing U.S. critical mineral independence.
Louisiana Incentive Package
In addition to federal funding, the State of Louisiana and local partners have assembled
a US $15+ million incentive package for the Company, including:
• Industrial Tax Exemption Program (“ITEP”): up to US $8.2 million in ad-
valorem tax savings over 10 years
• Infrastructure Grant: US $900,000 for facility upgrades
• Facility Offset: US $360,000 over 24 months to reduce initial lease costs
• Additional Support Includes: payroll rebates, LED FastStart™ workforce
training, and expedited state permitting
These incentives underscore Louisiana’s commitment to establishing Alexandria as a
key node in North America’s emerging critical mineral supply chain.
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About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.
Ucore is focused on rare - and critical -metal resources, extraction, beneficiation, and
separation technologies with the potential for production, growth, and scalability. Ucore’s
vision and plan is to become a leading advanced technology company, providing best-in-
class metal separation products and services to the mining and mineral extraction
industry.
Through strategic partnerships, this plan includes disrupting the People’s Republic of
China’s control of the North American REE supply chain through the near -term
development of a heavy and light rare -earth processing facility in the US State of
Louisiana, subsequent SMCs in Canada and Alaska and the longer-term development of
Ucore’s 100% controlled Bokan -Dotson Ridge Rare Heavy REE Project on Prince of
Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, USA.
Ucore is listed on the TSXV under the trading symbol “UCU” and in the United States on
the OTC Markets’ OTCQX® Best Market under the ticker symbol “UURAF.”
For further information, please visit www.ucore.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
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, technological development and/or acquisitio n
activities (including any related required financings), timelines, events, or developments
that the Company is pursuing 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 the disclosure in the press release above about the DOD project and the
expected successful progress of the project and the resulting milestone payments from
the DoD, the Company has assumed that the project (including each of its milestones)
will be completed in a satisfactory manner and in a reasonable period of time within
approximately the next two years. For additional risks and uncertainties regarding the
Company, the Commercialization and Demonstration Facility (“ CDF”), the Demo Plant
and the project (generally), see the risk disclosure in the Company’s MD&A for Q1 2025
(filed on SEDAR on May 9, 2025) (www. sedarplus.ca) as well as the risks described
below.
Regarding the disclosure above in the “About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.” section, the
Company has assumed that it will be able to procure or retain additional partners and/or
suppliers, in addition to Innovation Metals Corp. (“IMC”), as suppliers for Ucore’s
developing and future Strategic Metals Complexes (“SMCs”). Ucore has also assumed
that sufficient external funding will be found to complete the demonstration schedule and
also later prepare a new National Instrument 43 -101 (“NI 43 -101”) technical report th at
demonstrates that the Bokan Mountain Rare Earth Element project (“Bokan”) is feasible
and economically viable for the production of both REE and co -product metals and the
then prevailing market prices based upon assumed customer offtake agreements. Ucore
has also assumed that sufficient external funding will be secured to continue the
development of the specific engineering plans for the SMCs and their construction.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward -looking
statements include, without limitation: IMC failing to protect its intellectual property rights
in RapidSX™; RapidSX™ failing to demonstrate commercial viability in large commercial-
scale applications; Ucore not being able to procure additional key partners or suppliers
for the SMCs; Ucore not being able to raise sufficient funds to fund the specific design
and construction of the SMCs and/or the continued development of RapidSX™; adverse
capital-market conditions; unexpected due -diligence findings; the e mergence of
alternative superior metallurgy and metal -separation technologies; the inability of Ucore
and/or IMC to retain its key staff members; a change in the legislation in Louisiana or
Alaska and/or in the support expressed by the Alaska Industrial Development and Export
Authority (“AIDEA”) regarding the development of Bokan; 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 TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined by the
TSXV) accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
CONTACTS
Mr. Michael Schrider, P.E., Ucore Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, is
responsible for the content of this news release and may be contacted at 1.902.482.5214.
For additional information, please contact:
Mark MacDonald
Vice President, Investor Relations
Ucore Rare Metals Inc.
1.902.482.5214