HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - May 9, 2016) - Ucore Rare Metals, Inc. (TSX VENTURE:UCU)(OTCQX:UURAF) ("Ucore" or the "Company") is pleased to update on the early-stage performance of the SuperLig®-One rare earth element ("REE") separation pilot plant (the "Plant" or "SuperLig®-One").
Pregnant leach solution ("PLS") derived from the Company's Bokan-Dotson Ridge project in Alaska has been treated by the first circuit of the SuperLig®-One Molecular Recognition Technology ("MRT") Plant, at the IBC Advanced Technologies, Inc. ("IBC") Utah facility, to separate and recover the REE contained therein, as a group.
Since announcement of the completion of SuperLig® certifications, PLS analysis, automation control verification, water testing, and process flow testing of the Plant (see Ucore Press Release dated April 4, 2016), PLS has been run through the first processing circuit of the Plant, with the following results:
"We're pleased with IBC's continued rapid progress towards confirming the use of MRT for the separation of rare earth elements at pilot scale," said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. "To see the results of the Rare Earth Class Separation, completely consistent with those predicted at bench-scale, provides us with further confidence regarding the ability for SuperLig® to scale to full production levels. We look forward to releasing ongoing results as they become available."
The next stages of operation will consist of running pure REE solution sequentially through each unit operation in the Plant to accomplish the following:
After confirmatory testing of each unit operation, the Plant will undergo a continuous run of PLS.
For further information on the SuperLig®-One Pilot Plant Mission Summary, please see the following link: http://ucore.com/superlig-one
For background on the traditional approaches to the separation of REE and the historical advance offered by MRT, please refer to the recently published White Paper on Separation of Rare Earth Elements, entitled "Molecular Recognition Technology: A Green Chemistry Process for Separation of Individual Rare Earth Metals," at the following link: http://ucore.com/academic-papers
Steven R. Izatt, President and CEO of IBC, has approved the scientific and technical content of this news release and is the Qualified Person responsible for its accuracy. Mr. Izatt, Registered Member SME, holds a B.A. degree in Chemistry from Brigham Young University ("BYU"), as well as an M.S. in Chemical Engineering Practice and an M.S. in Technology and Policy, both from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology ("MIT").
Background
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 right to acquire a controlling ownership interest in the exclusive rights to IBC 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").
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.
MRT is at advanced testing stages and has yet to be proven, at a commercial scale, for the separation of rare earth elements. The Company has not yet released an economic assessment on the use of MRT for the separation of rare earth elements and does not yet have any specific contracts for the processing of rare earths using MRT.
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.
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