Search Minerals and USA Rare Earth Sign Technical Collaboration Framework Agreement

Search Minerals Inc. (“Search” or the “Company”) and USA Rare Earth, LLC (“USA Rare Earth”) are pleased to announce that they have entered into a Technical Collaboration Framework Agreement (“Collaboration Agreement”) to govern initial cooperation between USA Rare Earth and Search in a number of important areas of mutual interest.

Search Minerals controls a rapidly emerging Critical Rare Earth Element (CREE) District in SE Labrador that is road accessible and on tidewater. The FOXTROT Deposit, on which a favorable Preliminary Economic Assessment was completed in April 2016, was the first of three important discoveries. Search holds the patented technology of the direct extraction process and owns 100% equity in a key rare earth element area in SE Labrador, Canada. USA Rare Earth is establishing an integrated mine-to-magnet strategy independent of China, including funding and developing the Round Top Heavy Rare Earth and Critical Minerals Project in West Texas.

In January 2020, the United States and Canada announced the "U.S.-Canada Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration, intended to advance “mutual interest(s) in securing supply chains for the critical minerals needed for important manufacturing sectors, including communication technology, aerospace and defense, and clean technology.” In June 2020, the Canadian and U.S Governments reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the North American supply chain for critical minerals – essential to both countries’ national security and economic growth.

USA Rare Earth is the development and funding partner of the Round Top Mountain critical minerals and heavy rare earth project in Hudspeth County, West Texas. It also owns sintered rare earth magnet manufacturing equipment previously in North Carolina, owned and operated by Hitachi Metals and opened a pilot plant for rare earths and key minerals earlier this year using continuous ion exchange (commercial) extraction and separation in the Wheat Ridge Committee And recycling methods, using raw materials from Round Top and other non-Chinese sources.

Search Minerals’ Critical Materials District in southeast Labrador, Canada currently has a Preliminary Economic Assessment report for the Foxtrot Project along with a mineral resource estimate for the Deep Fox Project. In addition, the 2020 exploration program has been completed, as the Company worked on its Fox Meadow, Silver Fox and Awesome Fox prospects within the District. In addition to the rare earth elements, Search is testing a flowsheet to obtain additional value from the high Zirconium and Hafnium values which has been discovered on the surface at Silver Fox.

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