HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - May 25, 2017) - Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF)
("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to comment on recent initiatives by the US government to assist in the development of
strategic metals mining and separation in the United States. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017 (the
"Act") which has been signed into law this month, includes a significant authorization of funds for the processing and
acquisition of strategic metals from tailings on US soil, and directly addresses the Bokan project in Southeast Alaska.
The Act authorizes budget expenditures for F2017, including USD$5.5 million for the remediation of historic uranium mine waste
from the Bokan Mountain site in Alaska, in addition to an allocation of USD$15 million for the extraction of rare earth elements
(REE) and minerals from strategic coal tailings sites in the Eastern US.
"The US government's dedication of over 20 million dollars in F2017 to projects which are directly aligned with Ucore's
Strategic Metals Complex (SMC) facilities and our strategy of tailings processing/monetization, is well timed," said Jim
McKenzie, President & CEO of Ucore. "We're pleased that Sen. Joe Manchin, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and their colleagues have ensured
that the development of US based REE resources and the remediation and economic development of resource-rich tailings sites using
clean extraction technologies, are high priorities for the U.S. government. Ucore, with its partner IBC Advanced Technologies
Inc, is pursuing the application of the SuperLig® metals separation and tailings processing platform in both instances."
"In cooperation with Ucore, we now have a suite of REE separation ligands ready for deployment, as well as uranium and thorium
ligands which have seen extensive historical testing and use," said Steve Izatt, President of IBC. "Our MRT platform, a US based
technology addressing US strategic metals opportunities, is well suited to address domestic tailings operations."
The Act approvingly notes the National Forest Service's dedication of $5.5 million in funding for the remediation of historic
uranium mining at the Ross-Adams mine site at Bokan Mountain, Alaska. The Ross-Adams mine, which produced high grade uranium ore
during the cold war era, remains open at depth, and is 100% controlled by Ucore's Landmark Alaska operating unit. The Bokan
project also houses Ucore's Dotson-Ridge REE deposit, the site of an NI 43-101 compliant HREO resource, which is a distinct and
spatially removed deposit from the Ross Adams underground mine. (http://ucore.com/projects/bokan-mountain-alaska/43-101) Ucore
welcomes the improvements made to the Bokan Mountain site, an important asset which also houses Ucore's Bokan Dotson-Ridge rare
earth resource.
The Act additionally provides $15 million to the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) for the development and testing
of commercially viable separation technologies which can be utilized in the near future to extract REE from the byproducts of
coal mining. Ucore has engaged NETL for the prospective application of the SuperLig® REE platform in the coal tailings sector, a
resource-rich US asset in West Virginia and other areas of the Northern Appalachians. The ability to acquire and separate REE
from above-ground resources at a commercially viable level would be a significant achievement in developing successful
alternative supply sources in a Chinese-dominated market.
About Ucore
Ucore Rare Metals is a development-phase company focused on rare metals resources, extraction and beneficiation technologies
with near term potential for production, growth and scalability. On March 3, 2015, Ucore announced the development of a joint
venture with IBC for the deployment of SuperLig® technology for rare earths and multi-metallic tailings processing applications
in North America and associated world markets. 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").
About IBC
IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc. is an award-winning, green chemical selective separations company based on innovative MRT
products. Headquartered in American Fork, Utah, with manufacturing facilities in Utah and Houston, Texas, IBC has supplied
industrial, governmental and academic customers worldwide with environmentally friendly products, processes and services for over
27 years.
IBC specializes in MRT, utilizing green chemistry to achieve highly selective separations of metal ions in complex matrices.
Based on Nobel Prize-winning technology (1987), IBC's proprietary products and processes are used worldwide by premier metals
refining and mining companies such as Tanaka Kikinzoku K.K. (Japan), Asarco Grupo Mexico (USA), Impala Platinum Ltd. (South
Africa), and Sino Platinum (China). The Japanese Government (Mitsubishi Research, Inc.) recently awarded to IBC a highly
competitive subsidy grant, "Demonstration Project for Seawater Purification Technologies", concerning the selective separation of
the radionuclides strontium and cesium from contaminated seawater at Fukushima, Japan.
IBC's expertise is illustrated by its extensive development and commercialization of separations systems for platinum group
metals ("PGM's") at a world level. PGM's are analogous to the rare earth elements, in that they are considered difficult to
selectively separate due to their constituent chemical similarities.
The Ucore-IBC alliance builds on IBC's proven capabilities to develop, scale-up and commercialize selective separations
systems for a number of diverse and complex applications. See www.ibcmrt.com
for additional information.
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. Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is a development-phase mining company
focused on establishing rare metal resources and beneficiation technologies with near term potential for production, growth and
scalability. With multiple projects across North America, Ucore's primary focus is the 100% owned Bokan-Dotson Ridge REE property
in Alaska.