This article has been disseminated on behalf of  Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) and may include paid advertising.

• China produces more than 90% of the world’s processed rare earths and rare-earth magnets, and the regime will bar exports to overseas defense users.
• This whirlwind of supply-chain risk underscores the urgency for the United States to develop independent sources of essential metals.
• Ucore Rare Metals is positioning itself as a key enabler of Western supply-chain sovereignty.

A tectonic shift in the global minerals landscape has crystallized: China’s Ministry of Commerce announced this month that it is expanding export controls over key rare-earth elements and related processing equipment, marking a strategic tightening of Beijing’s dominance (https://ibn.fm/uyRJa). In the face of this disruption, Ucore Rare Metals (TSX.V: UCU) (OTCQX: UURAF) is ramping up its U.S.-based capabilities to build an independent supply chain of rare earths through its patented RapidSX(TM) technology and strategic partners.

China’s new rules place five additional rare-earth elements — holmium, erbium, thulium, europium and ytterbium — under license controls. At the same time, new restrictions apply to dozens of pieces of processing equipment and technologies used in the mining and refining of rare earths. China produces more than 90% of the world’s processed rare earths and rare-earth magnets, and the regime will bar exports to overseas defense users and apply stricter review for semiconductor-linked users. The effect rippled through financial markets, with shares of rare-earth-mining companies jumping on concerns that supply chains for electric vehicles, wind turbines and defense systems may face bottlenecks.

Data from Chinese customs revealed exports in September decreased by roughly 31% compared with August, signaling how serious the disruption has already been (https://ibn.fm/V8EXt). Moreover, these export-license changes are tied directly to global geopolitics: Beijing is leveraging its control over critical minerals as part of broader negotiations with Washington (https://ibn.fm/UlEgQ).

This whirlwind of supply-chain risk underscores the urgency for the United States to develop independent sources of essential metals. For decades, the U.S. has been almost entirely reliant on imports for rare earths, especially for downstream processing. As China consolidates technology and exports, the opportunity for disruption widens. A 2025 review published by Reuters notes that automakers and defense contractors are already scrambling to beat a deadline imposed by the export changes. In this context, Ucore’s progress takes on renewed significance.

Ucore Rare Metals is positioning itself as a key enabler of Western supply-chain sovereignty. In May 2025 the company announced a $18.4 million funding agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense (“DoD”) to scale its RapidSX rare-earth separation technology toward commercial production at its Strategic Metals Complex (“SMC”) in Alexandria, Louisiana (https://ibn.fm/4StCi). RapidSX is a modular, feed-stock-agnostic separation platform that is designed to outperform conventional solvent-extraction methods in speed, footprint and cost. The company followed up that announcement in September with a report that it had obtained Defense Priorities & Allocations System (“DPAS”) “DO-B8” rating for its U.S. project, prioritizing industrial supply-chain deliveries under the Defense Production Act, an indication of its strategic role in national-security supply chains (https://ibn.fm/Bvdr9).

Ucore has also taken steps to secure feedstock and expand partnerships, which are critical in the rare-earth arena where refining capacity — not just mining — is the choke point. In August,  the company executed a 10-year nonbinding letter of intent with Critical Metals Corp. of Greenland to secure heavy rare-earth concentrate feedstock for the SMC. And then the company entered a binding strategic partnership with Metallium Limited to integrate flash-joule-heating feed-stock upgrades with RapidSX downstream refining, a full feed-stock-to-oxide corridor (https://ibn.fm/DIdSM).

Why is this important? Rare-earth elements such as neodymium, praseodymium, dysprosium and terbium power the magnets used in electric-vehicle motors, wind-turbine generators, missile guidance systems and aerospace actuators. China controls approximately 90% of global processing capacity and up to 85% of magnet manufacturing, according to market analysts (https://ibn.fm/gjtvS). Without a domestic pathway from mining through refining to magnet production, the U.S. and its allies remain exposed to supply shocks, regulatory choke points and strategic manipulation.

Ucore’s approach addresses this exposure by bringing modular separation capacity to North America, creating the infrastructure that has been missing, especially the refining and separation layer downstream of mining. By manufacturing in Louisiana, sourcing from allied feed-stock jurisdictions and avoiding reliance on Chinese equipment and supply chains, the company aligns with the West’s push for resilience in critical minerals. For instance, in early October 2025 Ucore reaffirmed that its equipment sourcing for the SMC does not rely on Chinese-origin components, a step that helps insulate the project from Beijing’s latest export-control regime (https://ibn.fm/vJHhq).

At a time when global supply chains are rattled by export restrictions and geopolitical risk, Ucore Rare Metals stands out as a company delivering tangible infrastructure for independence. Its modular RapidSX platform, backed by U.S. defense funding, integrated feed-stock partnerships and strategic positioning in Louisiana, make it more than a mining early-stage explorer. It is a systems-integration player in the rare-earth value-chain race. For the United States and its allies striving to reduce dependence on a single country for essential metals, Ucore may well supply the bridge from vulnerability to resilience.

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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