Disseminated on behalf of  Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) and may include paid advertising.

• China controls roughly 70% of global rare-earth mining and as much as 90% of rare-earth magnet production.
• This threat has placed renewed urgency on domestic companies, such as Ucore, that aim to rebuild processing infrastructure the U.S. allowed to atrophy over several decades.
• Ucore’s competitive edge lies in RapidSX, a solvent-extraction-based separation platform designed as a technological improvement over conventional SX systems.

The escalating tug-of-war over critical mineral supply chains has taken another sharp turn, as a recent Wall Street Journal report reveals China’s plans to tighten control over high-performance rare-earth magnets essential for U.S. military systems. The article outlines how Beijing may take steps to limit access to advanced magnet technologies used in fighter jets, missile-guidance components and other defense hardware, potentially deepening U.S. vulnerability in a market it already depends on almost entirely. With this in mind, Ucore Rare Metals (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) is positioning itself as a critical part of the solution, developing a North American supply chain for rare-earth separation using its proprietary RapidSX technology and advancing plans for a commercial facility designed to reduce reliance on Chinese processing.

China controls roughly 70% of global rare-earth mining and as much as 90% of rare-earth magnet production. A 2023 USGS report confirms that the United States imported 74% of its rare-earth compounds and metals from China between 2018 and 2021, underscoring the imbalance that policymakers have warned about for years. The WSJ notes that China’s new proposals, if implemented, would further restrict Western access to the most sophisticated magnet technologies, which are essential for permanent-magnet motors in military aircraft, guided missiles, drones, radar and numerous classified systems. This strategic vulnerability is part of why the U.S. Department of Defense has increasingly emphasized “mine-to-magnet” reshoring efforts.

The concern is not hypothetical. A 2022 study by the Congressional Research Service confirmed that a single F-35 fighter jet requires approximately 920 pounds of rare-earth materials, many of which must undergo separation and magnet-manufacturing processes that currently occur almost entirely in China. New Chinese restrictions could widen this gap by cutting off access to advanced magnet manufacturing know-how, potentially affecting everything from precision-guided munitions to next-generation naval and air-defense platforms. This threat has placed renewed urgency on domestic companies, such as Ucore, that aim to rebuild processing infrastructure the U.S. allowed to atrophy over several decades.

Ucore Rare Metals is central to this reshoring effort through its planned Strategic Metal Complex in Alexandria, Louisiana, where the company intends to separate mixed rare-earth concentrates into individual oxides needed for high-performance magnets. The facility is designed with a nameplate capacity of 7,500 metric tons per year of total rare-earth oxides, including up to 2,000 metric tons of neodymium-praseodymium (“NdPr”) oxide, the primary feedstock for permanent magnets.

Ucore’s competitive edge lies in RapidSX, a solvent-extraction-based separation platform designed as a technological improvement over conventional SX systems. Independent third-party testing commissioned during Ucore’s demonstration program showed that RapidSX can achieve comparable or superior separation performance while reducing processing time and equipment footprint relative to legacy systems. 

This matters because China’s dominance stems not only from resource access but from decades of investment in downstream processing, an area where North America has lagged. By focusing specifically on separation, the most difficult and capital-intensive part of the supply chain, Ucore is addressing the bottleneck that prevents rare-earth mines in North America from supplying magnet-grade materials to the defense sector and to emerging industries such as electric vehicles and wind turbines.

Ucore’s strategy aligns with U.S. policy directives, including the Defense Production Act Title III investments allocated to expand domestic rare-earth processing. The Pentagon has repeatedly stated that dependency on China poses a national-security threat, particularly as demand for NdFeB magnets accelerates. An International Energy Agency report projected that demand for rare-earth magnet materials could triple by 2040 due to electric mobility and renewable energy growth. Ucore’s ability to supply separated oxides to North American magnet manufacturers therefore supports multiple priorities: defense readiness, clean-energy expansion and industrial resiliency.

These efforts are essential. China’s tightening grip on downstream processing and magnet manufacturing is not merely an economic maneuver; it is a geopolitical strategy aimed at maintaining leverage over industries central to the 21st century. As the U.S. accelerates efforts to rebuild a complete rare-earth supply chain, Ucore Rare Metals stands out as a company building the technical and commercial capacity required to shift this balance. The company’s RapidSX technology, Louisiana processing complex and integration plans with North American magnet manufacturers position it as a vital player in reducing dependence on foreign supply chains and ensuring that critical materials essential for national security are available when they are needed most.

For more information, visit www.Ucore.com.

NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to UURAF are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/UURAF

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