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In an interview with InvestorNews host Pat Bolland, Edward Gosselin, CEO, Director, and Corporate Secretary of Kobo Resources Inc. (TSXV: KRI), highlighted the company’s Kossou Project in Côte d’Ivoire, one of West Africa’s rapidly developing gold districts. The company’s Kossou Gold Project, located approximately 20 km northwest of Yamoussoukro, is adjacent to a significant gold mine with established processing facilities. Kobo has completed extensive drilling and trenching, identifying significant gold mineralization at three primary targets within a broad, altered structural corridor. Recent results from their inaugural diamond drill program, which included 4,368 meters of drilling in 25 holes, revealed notable gold intercepts, reinforcing the potential of their geological models.



Gosselin emphasized the favorable investment environment in Côte d’Ivoire, highlighting the country’s stable GDP growth and infrastructure improvements. “Economically and politically speaking, Côte d’Ivoire is booming,” Gosselin noted. Discussing the Kossou Gold Project, he detailed significant findings from the Road Cut Zone, initially discovered in 2016, to the more recent successes in the Jagger and Kadie zones. “Our initial discovery at Road Cut Zone showed 4.68 grams per tonne over 18 meters,” he stated. Recent drilling results have continued to impress, with Gosselin mentioning, “The Jagger zone returned 38 meters at 1.55 grams per tonne, which is not shabby at all.” Kobo’s strategy includes leveraging nearby processing facilities to optimize resource allocation and minimize infrastructure investment. He adds, “We are now well-funded and strategically positioned to accelerate our exploration efforts.”

In a recent interview with InvestorNews host Pat Bolland, Greg Fenton, CEO and Director of Zentek Ltd. (NASDAQ: ZTEK | TSXV: ZEN), discussed significant advancements in the Albany Graphite Project. Zentek Ltd., a technology development company, announced that its subsidiary, Albany Graphite Corporation, has achieved a five nines purity of 99.99915% for a graphite sample from the Albany graphite deposit. This high purity level was reached using a simple, environmentally friendly process that avoids the use of hydrofluoric acid, a common but hazardous chemical in graphite purification. Fenton highlighted, “We were able to achieve this five nines purity without the use of hydrofluoric acid. It’s a fairly straightforward process.”



This achievement positions Zentek Ltd. as a strong competitor in both the lithium-ion battery and nuclear markets. The Albany graphite’s unique formation gives it synthetic-like characteristics, making it a viable alternative to synthetic graphite, which commands higher market prices. “Now you’re starting to talk about graphite that has a selling price of $25,000 to $40,000 US per ton,” Fenton noted. The company is also focused on proving the material’s suitability for battery applications and exploring local integration to fill the gap in North American processed graphite supply, a crucial step given the increasing investment in the North American battery supply chain.

In a recent InvestorNews interview with host Pat Bolland, Frank Basa, CEO and Chairman of Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc., (TSXV: NTH | OTCQB: CCWOF), shared insights into the company's high-grade silver and gold projects. Basa highlighted the profitable spinout of the Graal property into a new company, Coniagas Battery Metals Inc., providing shareholders with shares and warrants. "We’ve done this before, very lucrative for the shareholders of Nord," Basa noted, referencing a previous similar strategy that yielded substantial dividends.

Basa expressed excitement about Nord's recent project in Sweden, emphasizing its high-grade gold samples and rare earth elements essential for EV magnets, such as dysprosium. "Finding a property like the one in Sweden, they’re really, really hard to find. The grades are astronomical," he said. The company recently signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire 80% of two exploration permits in Sweden, with samples showing promising grades of gold and rare earth elements. Additionally, Basa highlighted the continued success at their Castle East project in Ontario, where recent drilling revealed significant high-grade silver, including up to 89,000 grams per ton. These discoveries and strategic acquisitions position Nord Precious Metals Mining Inc. as a promising player in the precious metals and critical minerals markets.

In a recent InvestorNews interview with host Pat Bolland, Mark Chalmers, President, CEO, and Director of Energy Fuels Inc. (NYSE American: UUUU | TSX: EFR), highlighted the company’s strategic diversification into critical minerals. A leading American producer of uranium, Energy Fuels saw an opportunity to leverage their existing capabilities to process elements containing uranium and radionuclides that other companies could not monetize. “We have the infrastructure, know-how, and licenses to recover uranium from monazite, making these REEs a bolt-on byproduct of our existing operations,” Chalmers explained. This diversification strategy aims to build a critical minerals hub, focusing on ten elements from the U.S. critical mineral list, which reduces the risk associated with fluctuating commodity prices.



Energy Fuels recently achieved a significant milestone by commencing commercial production of separated neodymium-praseodymium (NdPr) at their White Mesa Mill in Utah. This positions Energy Fuels as the first U.S. company to produce on-spec separated REEs from monazite on a commercial scale in several decades. “We are replicating the China story, which dominates 80% of the world’s rare earth production, but with a ‘Made in America’ approach,” Chalmers noted. The company is also advancing its uranium production, expecting to produce between 150,000 to 500,000 pounds of U3O8 in 2024, with further ramp-up in 2025. Strategic acquisitions, such as the Bahia Project in Brazil and the Donald Project in Australia, are ensuring a robust feedstock supply for future operations. Chalmers emphasized the company’s commitment to long-term profitability without reliance on government aid, stating, “We are focused on building a long-term, profitable, sustainable, diversified company with these critical elements.”

In a recent interview with InvestorNews host Tracy Hughes, Nick Holthouse, CEO of Meteoric Resources NL (ASX: MEI), shared exciting updates on the company's strategic developments, notably their recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Latin America's first permanent magnet maker, Lab Fab. Holthouse highlighted the significance of this partnership, which stems from robust relationships and government support in Brazil. He emphasized, "It's a fantastic way for a company like us to get immersed into that downstream space," underscoring the role of government support in bridging the supply chain from mining to magnet production. The facility, acquired by the Federation of the Industries of Minas Gerais (FIEMG) and operated by SENAI, will initially produce a small quantity of magnets for research purposes, with plans to expand capacity, allowing Meteoric to support and grow within this space.

The interview also covered Meteoric's broader strategic goals, including their recent update that outlined scoping study highlights. Holthouse emphasized the company's focus on maintaining low operating costs and capital expenditures, describing their approach as conservative yet realistic. He pointed out, "We are starting off with a conservative number and we are going to chase that number down through the consecutive study," highlighting their disciplined approach to project development. The discussion provided insights into why Brazil's ionic clays make it an attractive location for rare earth projects, with Meteoric's high-grade deposits and favorable operating conditions positioning it well in the competitive landscape.

In a recent interview with InvestorNews, Jack Lifton spoke with Pat Ryan, the CEO and Chairman of Ucore Rare Metals Inc. (TSXV: UCU | OTCQX: UURAF), discussing the company's significant advancements and strategic vision in the rare earth elements (REE, rare earths) sector. Ucore is at the forefront of rare earths sector, focusing on extraction, beneficiation, and separation technologies. The company aims to disrupt China's dominance in the North American REE supply chain by establishing a state-of-the-art heavy and light rare earth processing facility in Louisiana and subsequent strategic complexes in Canada and Alaska. This aligns with Ucore's broader objective to enhance supply chain resilience in the Western world, particularly in light of recent U.S. government actions to bolster the domestic electric vehicle (EV) market through increased tariffs on Chinese imports.

During the interview, Ryan highlighted the progress at Ucore's Kingston Demonstration Facility (KDF), where they have been perfecting their RapidSX™ technology. "We've run several different feedstocks at the facility, including monazite, bastnaesite, and currently an ionic clay for the Department of Defense," Ryan noted. This technology enables efficient separation of heavy rare earth elements, producing high-purity outputs like 98% dysprosium and 2% terbium, crucial for the EV industry's permanent magnets. Ryan emphasized the importance of developing complete flow sheets to ensure the commercial viability of their Louisiana Strategic Metals Complex (SMC), which is set to commence production in Q4 2025 with an initial capacity of 2,500 tonnes per annum, scaling up to 7,500 tonnes.

Jack Lifton praised Ucore's approach, underscoring its unique position in the industry: "You are the very first dedicated heavy rare separation plant outside of China," he remarked. Ryan explained Ucore's strategy of operating without a mine, instead focusing on mid-market separation processes and securing feedstock through quasi joint ventures. This model, combined with strong support from high-net-worth investors and government backing, positions Ucore to play a pivotal role in the Western REE market. "The fact that we're on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. is a good place to be for plant #1," Ryan said, highlighting the strategic location and technological edge of Ucore's operations.

Pat Ryan will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Critical Minerals Summit III in Toronto, Ontario on August 21-22, 2024. For more information, go to www.CriticalMineralSummit.com.

About Ucore Rare Metals Inc.

Ucore is focused on rare- and critical-metal resources, extraction, beneficiation, and separation technologies with the potential for production, growth, and scalability. Ucore’s vision and plan is 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, this plan includes disrupting the People’s Republic of China’s control of the North American REE supply chain through the near-term establishment of a heavy and light rare-earth processing facility in the U.S. State of Louisiana, subsequent Strategic Metal Complexes in Canada and Alaska and the longer-term development of Ucore’s 100% controlled Bokan-Dotson Ridge Rare Heavy REE Project on Prince of Wales Island in Southeast Alaska, USA.

Disclaimer: Ucore Rare Metals Inc. is an advertorial member of InvestorNews Inc.

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