- Ucore continues to execute its 2023 transition to production and appoints:
- Rare earth industry veteran Mr. Geoff Atkins, as Vice President of Business Development
- Former Innovation Metals Corp.'s RapidSX™ Platform Design Manager, Mr. Jaan Hurditch, CEng, as Engineering Director
- Entrepreneur, scientist, and government relations expert Dr. Ahmad Hussein, as a member of the Advisory Board and Government Liaison
Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 22, 2023) - Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the strengthening of its executive and management team as it transitions to its production model in 2023. The company is strategically focused on the deployment of its RapidSX™ technology platform for the separation of heavy and light rare earth elements ("REEs"), the development of its planned Strategic Metals Complex ("SMC") REE processing facility in the US State of Louisiana, and securing upstream and downstream partnerships to support these endeavors.
All of these efforts have been enhanced through the recent additions of the following Ucore team members:
Mr. Geoff Atkins, Ucore Vice President of Business Development
Mr. Atkins is a skilled mining executive with 30 years of experience, including over 15 years in the critical mineral sector, focusing on the development of rare earth projects and joins the Company as Vice President of Business Development. He remains one of the few mining executives outside of China who has played a critical role in establishing two different rare earth operations, Mt. Weld with Lynas Corporation (Lynas) and Nechalacho with Vital Metals Ltd. (Vital Metals). While at Lynas, he was responsible for a range of functions, including the construction of the Mt. Weld rare earth project, providing corporate construction oversight for the Lynas Advanced Materials Plant in Malaysia, and developing long-term strategic plans.
Mr. Atkins utilized his particular skills in project delivery, finance, and corporate strategy to then found Cheetah Resources, which was subsequently taken over by Vital Metals. By applying this unique mix of expertise and experience, he will similarly develop implementation strategies to secure contracts with rare earth feedstock projects around the globe to support Ucore's SMC Business Model. He will evaluate each project's specific attributes to ensure a diverse security of supply with minimized geo-political risks and development timelines. The Nechalacho rare earth project in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada, best demonstrated this approach. Mr. Atkins finalized the acquisition of this asset in 2019, resulting in the commencement of operations at Canada's first rare earth mine within 2 years. This represented a remarkable achievement compared to the typical industry standard of 10+ year mining development timelines. Nechalacho was the first new rare earth project brought into production in nearly 10 years. These achievements and industry experience uniquely qualify Mr. Atkins to lead the feedstock acquisition efforts for Ucore's North American SMC strategy.
Mr. Jaan Hurditch, CEng, Ucore Engineering Director
Mr. Hurditch joins the Company as Engineering Director and leads Ucore's engineering activities. He formerly worked with Ucore's subsidiary Innovation Metals Corp. ("IMC") for the past 2-1/2 years as the RapidSX™ Platform Development Manager. Mr. Huditch has been the driving force behind the development of the RapidSX™ hardware platform, which is now undergoing commissioning trials at the Kingston, Ontario, Demonstration Plant and will soon be commercially deployed during the construction of the Louisiana SMC over 2023 and 2024.
Mr. Hurditch received a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanical Technology from the Queensland University of Technology in Australia and has 18 years of experience in mineral processing, material handling and resource recovery. He has managed the technical objectives for projects in North America, Europe, Australia, Africa, and Mexico. Mr. Hurditch brings both managerial and technical skills with experience developing new and innovative systems and products, having strong competencies in team building, 3D computer-aided design, finite element analysis, computational fluid dynamics and rapid prototyping technologies.
Dr. Ahmad Hussein, Ucore Advisory Board Member and Government Liaison
In concert with the addition of Mr. Atkins and Mr. Hurditch, Ucore has significantly strengthened its Advisory Board with the recent appointment of Dr. Ahmad Hussein as Ucore's designated Government Liaison. Dr. Hussein is cultivating strategic relationships with Canadian and US government agencies slated to award billions of funding dollars over the remainder of the decade toward essential North American critical minerals projects.
Dr. Hussein's previous international success in launching, scaling, and funding renewable energy projects has enabled him to develop business connectivity throughout all levels of government. In addition, he brings potential partners across the supply chain that will add value to Ucore's proprietary RapidSX™ technology platform opportunities and long-term strategic plans. Over the last year, significant advances in the Company's technology, market presence, and commercialization efforts have created the impetus to accelerate the Company's goals by expanding the capacity and focus of its Advisory Board, to which Dr. Hussein is a very welcome addition.
"One of the key pillars of our business model includes building the right team to execute a fundamentally sound economic business plan underpinned by the best available technology," stated Pat Ryan, P.Eng., Chairman and CEO of Ucore. "The recent additions to the Ucore team allow the company to strengthen and advance this fundamental corporate tenet as Ucore executes its transition to a technology company entering into a production environment throughout 2023 and 2024. We sincerely welcome Geoff, Jaan, and Ahmad to our remarkable Ucore team."