Ucore Rare Metals Inc. V.UCU

UCU post

[Moulouk]

While looking at replies obtained on the CCE bullboard, Thairat made a reference to this below post published at he following link:

https://rareearthsinvestor.discussion.community/post/ucores-response-10262700 

I did not know this forum, but I will have a look at it. I reproduced the lenghty comment of the poster which seems to be from someone knowledgable in the REE sector. I still lack the background to fully grasp all the assertions, but working on it :)

For your benefit, below...

Moulouk


"TK il y a 13 heures

Wordy response, as ever with no tangible facts.

Bokan can barely turn out 2.5 years worth of US yearly REO requirements, in my humble opinion, formed by external information, because Ucore don't provide the needful.

Ucore write

Quote:

Ucore's initial exploration work at Bokan commenced in 2009, and almost immediately uncovered unusually high concentrations of rare earth elements ("REE").

In addition Ucore say 

Quote:

As of 2015, Ucore's unyielding focus on REE development at Bokan had borne two significant assets for the Company: (i) An Established Mineral Resource 1 - The highest grade NI 43-101 compliant HREE resource on U.S. soil;

Is Bokan NI43-101 compliant? Where is the report?

According to published numbers elsewhere, Bokan contains an estimated 5.8 million tons of of mineable material at ca. 0.6% total rare earths content, equal to 35,000 t of REO or 2.5 years of US RE consumption. One of the lowest TREO concentrations in my RE-mine list.

Ucore also state

Quote:

The Bokan U3O8 deposit (located approximately a mile away from the Bokan rare earth deposit) remains open both at depth and along strike and continues to be a highly prospective target for future development.

According to groundtruthtrekking.org in 2014: "Ucore has also conduced exploration in the area for uranium, but that project appears to have been abandoned."

The Bokan relative distribution of REE is, according to other sources:

 
Calculating based on a really high recovery rate of 85% this results in a total value of REO contained of US$ 791 million over the lifetime of the deposit.

In terms of recovery rate Ucore state 

Quote:

The SuperLig®-One pilot plant (the “Plant”, “Pilot Plant” or “SuperLig-One”) has been engineered to accept a Pregnant Leach Solution (“PLS”), with the initial output products being carbonate salts of the critical rare earth elements dysprosium, europium and terbium derived from the Bokan Dotson-Ridge Heavy REE Project in Southeast Alaska.

and 

Quote:

High Selectivity – the high selectivity of the SuperLig® products makes possible separation and recovery of REE from the PLS at >99% purity level, and subsequent separation of individual REE at >99% levels. Results of these high recovery levels are achievement of maximum economic value, minimal loss of REE to the tailings, many fewer stages required to achieve given REE purities, and reduced use of auxiliary substances.

If we assume for a moment, that the high recovery rate does not only apply to these three elements but all of them, then total value may reach US$ 931 mio over the lifetime of the mine.

Ucore assess CAPEX of ca. US$ 220 million, which in all likelihood is not ore-to-oxide but ore to ore-to-concentrate, which is not yet a pregnant leach solution (PSL). The investment amount needed for concentrate-to-oxide using SuperLig can only be speculated about, along with the operating expenses.

In my personal, contestable opinion, the open market (read "China") value of the concentrate may be assessed at 1/3 of of the above US$ 791-931 million, i.e. US$ 263-310 mio.

As long as Ucore don't publish the numbers (details feasibility study were announced to be published in 2013), it is impossible to finally judge the viability of Bokan. Ucore base on this study from 1989, which does little in terms of convincing me.

For me as an investor in RE, at this time Bokan is commercially as dead as a doornail and the entire value of Ucore rests with IBC's SuperLig, which is subject to the outcome of a lawsuit, that may well end in Ucore's favour. "