HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 26, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Ucore Rare Metals, Inc. (TSXV:UCU) (OTCQX:UURAF) (“Ucore” or the “Company”) is pleased to comment on the filing of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (FY19 NDAA) by the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the US House of Representatives.
The bill is expected to be passed by both chambers of Congress over the next few days1.The legislation contains a Department of Defense prohibition against the use of rare earth magnets and tungsten from non-allied nations, including China.
Section 871 of the FY19 NDAA specifically requires that all rare earth (REE) magnets and tungsten be melted or produced in nations other than China, Russia, Iran and North Korea. Section 871 was introduced during the House Armed Services Committee’s markup of the NDAA by Congressman Paul Cook, a retired U.S. Marine Corps colonel.
“REE magnets are critical components of military systems in the U.S. today,” said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. “We’re pleased that the U.S. Congress has recognized and closed this strategic vulnerability. Ucore has had multiple discussions with the U.S. government about how continued dependence on China for these critical items jeopardizes national security, and this new legislation is evidence that the government is taking serious steps to end Chinese domination of the supply chain and provide a much-needed correction to the American REE industry.”
Ucore notes that the NDAA legislation is only one of several initiatives taken by the government in the past year to challenge the Chinese monopoly on rare earths. Following a White House executive order, the United States Geological Survey and the Department of the Interior placed rare earths on a list of “critical minerals”; Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia introduced the Rare Earth Element Advanced Coal Technologies Act; and Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources just recently held a hearing on improved critical minerals production, at which Ucore’s REE separation platform was hailed as “potentially very revolutionary” by Dr. Roderick Eggert, the Deputy Director of the Critical Minerals Institute.
(Link to Critical Minerals Hearing: https://youtu.be/ucrME90y3m4?t=5m40s)
“It is highly encouraging to see the U.S. Congress taking affirmative steps to end the rare earth supply chain dependency on China,” said Mike Schrider, COO of Ucore. “We will continue to position Ucore to be a key supplier of secure and reliable REE for the U.S. defense and commercial markets. We look forward to working with the U.S. Congress to expand this law to contain materials to be produced by our planned Ketchikan, Alaska, Strategic Metals Complex.”
1 The annual NDAA has been passed by both chambers of Congress for the previous 57 consecutive years.
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 Molecular Recognition Technology for REE and multi-metallic tailings processing applications in North America and associated world markets.
For further information, please contact Mr. Jim McKenzie, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ucore Rare Metals Inc. at: +1 (902) 482-5214 or visit http://www.ucore.com.
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