Global scramble for critical minerals fuelling protectionism
Protectionism is rising across 72 nations as governments vie for critical minerals, Verisk Maplecroft research shows.
Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSX-V:UCU) announced the first NI 43-101 compliant independent resource estimate for the company’s 100%-owned Bokan Mountain rare earth element (REE) project in southeastern Alaska.
The resource estimate was prepared by Aurora Geosciences Ltd. (“Aurora”) of Yellowknife, NWT which recommends that the deposit merits additional drilling, metallurgical research and economic investigation.
“This is a pivotal advancement for Ucore,” said Jim McKenzie, President and CEO of Ucore. “It marks our transition from a junior exploration company to a fast track mine development enterprise. Ucore is now positioned as the 100% owner of America’s only primarily heavy rare earth enriched deposit with an NI 43-101 compliant resource.
McKenzie said a large percentage of Bokan’s value lies in its unusually high content of metals that are strategically essential to America. These include heavy rare earths such as dysprosium and terbium; critical materials that the U.S. requires to compete at a world level, especially in the defence and clean energy arenas.
“They are also materials that China is aggressively withdrawing from availability to the U.S., and have been earmarked as critically threatened by federal agencies. We’re looking forward to working with national and state level stakeholders to bring this project to term in the shortest time possible.”
Mineral resources were modeled by Aurora and reported at seven different total rare earth oxide (TREO) cut-off grades, with a base-case resource estimated using a TREO cut-off of 0.5%. At this cut-off, Bokan hosts an inferred mineral resource of 3.7 million tonnes grading 0.75% TREO, with 39% of the TREO being the higher value HREO (heavy rare earth oxides).
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