Mr. Michael Schrider reports

UCORE PROVIDES LOUISIANA SMC ORGANIZATIONAL AND PROJECT TEAM UPDATES

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has retained the services of Process Engineering Associates LLC as its owner's engineering representative and to provide specialty process engineering support to the Orbital Engineering Inc.-led Louisiana strategic metals complex project's engineering consortium. The company is also pleased to announce personnel additions across operations and project and construction management as the project execution accelerates. These additions, along with the enhanced process integration engineering and operational appointments made earlier this year, help to ensure timely project delivery and preparations for initial plant start-up. Ucore's primary focus is to advance the commercial deployment of its RapidSX rare earth element separation technology at its under-construction SMC facility in Alexandria, La. This begins with installing, testing and commissioning its first 600 tonnes per annum of total rare earth oxide processing capacity production line, enhanced machine A, in first half 2027.

Process Engineering Associates provides owner oversight and process expertise

PEA now provides project-wide oversight as Ucore's owner's engineering representative, which is a new project responsibility. PEA monitors overall engineering progress and provides regular updates to Ucore on engineering status, potential delays and emerging risks. Ucore and PEA began working together on oxide production in early 2026, and, in addition to the aforementioned roles, PEA is also fully integrated with Orbital Engineering for additional process engineering expertise.

At the Louisiana SMC, PEA has supported process design, flow sheet development and equipment specifications for final oxide processing, including kiln and jet mill systems designed to deliver rare earth oxide products to the required specifications. Founded in 1996, PEA specializes in chemical process engineering and has completed thousands of process design, engineering and safety projects for more than 700 clients worldwide. Its experience spans chemical production, petroleum refining, metal and mineral, and other process industries.

Orbital Engineering leads the engineering consortium

Orbital has been leading the Louisiana SMC engineering consortium since 2025. Established in 1969, the firm brings more than five decades of experience in project development, execution and asset management for heavy industry and utilities.

Orbital employs dedicated specialists across process, civil, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation and control engineering disciplines. The consortium consists of Mech-Chem Associates Inc., PEA, permitting, fire and safety, and other specialists. Additionally, Ucore and the engineering consortium are fully integrated with a procurement specialty team to provide seamless integration with the project management and operational teams.

"Successful delivery of a process facility depends on close co-ordination between engineering, procurement, construction and operations," said Larry Rushing, senior project manager of Orbital Engineering. "Working daily with PEA and Ucore's expanded project and operational teams helps us anticipate issues early, align equipment specifications with process requirements, and plan for optimum installation, testing and commissioning at the Louisiana SMC."

Four key appointments strengthen the Louisiana SMC team

Ucore has recruited and directly hired a substantial operational and project execution team for the SMC undertaking. This started with the January, 2026, hiring of Greg Montgomery as Louisiana SMC plant manager and, following the most recent $69-million capital raise, the hiring of Bryan Peak as project manager and Brad Laeger as construction manager, relieving a significant daily effort from the Ucore management team. These additions, along with a growing SMC operational engineering team, including Didi Kazadi, bring to bear approximately 60 people directly and indirectly hired by and dedicated to advancing the objectives of Ucore in Louisiana, United States, and Nova Scotia and Ontario, Canada.

Greg Montgomery

Plant manager, Louisiana SMC

Mr. Montgomery was the first Ucore employee headquartered in Louisiana and has spent almost a year developing and preparing for plant operations. He focuses on work force and procedural development, operational readiness, and integrating commissioning between the project and operations teams. He has held leadership roles in four new plant start-ups, including chemical and Tier 1 automotive manufacturing. He is a former U.S. Navy nuclear plant supervisor on special operations submarines and taught at Knolls atomic propulsion laboratory in Ballston Spa, N.Y.

Bryan Peak

Project manager, Louisiana SMC

Hired in September, Mr. Peak is a direct Ucore employee headquartered in Baton Rouge with Orbital. He oversees delivery of the Louisiana SMC project from enhanced machine A through the planned development of the full SMC. He brings decades of chemical plant project management experience, and is responsible for managing scope, schedule and budget throughout the project life cycle, collaborating daily with major contractors and Ucore's engineering, operational and management teams.

Brad Laeger

Construction manager, Louisiana SMC

Also hired in September, Mr. Laeger is a direct Ucore employee headquartered in Alexandria at the SMC, with decades of construction management experience. He leads construction management for the Louisiana SMC, connecting Ucore's project objectives with the work of architects, engineers, contractors, subcontractors and site crews. His responsibilities include co-ordinating the daily construction activities in line with project specifications, budgets, schedules and safety requirements.

Didi Kazadi

Operational process engineer, Louisiana SMC

Since May, 2026, Mr. Kazadi has worked with the Ucore technology and process development teams to prepare to integrate and execute operational engineering processes at the Louisiana SMC. He brings more than 15 years of experience in extractive metallurgy, hydrometallurgy and mineral processing.

His experience includes critical metal leaching, solution purification, solvent extraction, precipitation and oxide production, as well as expertise in critical and battery raw materials for a major automotive manufacturer.

"Building the Louisiana SMC requires experienced people who can turn engineering plans into a working facility," said Mike Schrider, PE, Ucore vice-president and chief operating officer. "Greg, Bryan, Brad, Didi and other soon-to-be direct team members strengthen the day-to-day leadership needed to manage construction, integrate the production process and prepare the plant for operation. Together with the PEA and Orbital team members, they expand our ability to advance the project and build greatly needed U.S. rare earth element processing capacity commencing in H1 2027."

The expanded team supports Ucore's continuing engineering and construction activities for enhanced machine A, the company's first commercial-scale RapidSX rare earth element separation capacity at the Louisiana SMC. Installation, testing and commissioning are targeted for the first half of 2027 as part of the facility's phased development, with the team also preparing for subsequent early product qualification trials and the advancement of production line 1.

About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.

Ucore is focused on rare earth and critical metal resource, extraction, beneficiation and separation technologies with the potential for production, growth and scalability. Ucore's vision and plan are to become a leading advanced technology company, providing best-in-class metal separation products and services to the mining and mineral extraction industry.

Through strategic partnerships, Ucore aims to support the development of a more diversified and resilient North American rare earth element supply chain through the near-term development of a heavy and light rare earth processing facility in the U.S. state of Louisiana, subsequent SMCs in Canada and Alaska, and the longer-term development of Ucore's 100-per-cent-controlled Bokan-Dotson Ridge heavy rare earth element project on Prince of Wales Island in southeastern Alaska, United States.

Ucore is listed on the TSX-V under the trading symbol UCU and in the United States on the OTC Markets' OTCQX Best Market under the ticker symbol UURAF.

We seek Safe Harbor.