Ucore Rare Metals wins round in IBC battle

Ucore Rare Metals Inc. [UCU-TSXV; UURAF-OTQX] shares were active Thursday May 30 after the company released an update on legal proceedings in Utah commenced by IBC Advanced Technologies Inc. and IBC founder Steven R. Izatt against Ucore and some of its executives. IBC is a private company that Ucore has been trying to acquire.

During a hearing on May 23, 2019, Ucore said the Third District Court, Salt Lake Division, Salt Lake County, State of Utah, granted a motion submitted by Ucore to dismiss the January 4, 2019 complaint filed by IBC against Ucore and its executives.

Ucore said the dismissal was granted by the Court on the grounds that the Court does not have the jurisdiction over Ucore and the named individual defendants in this matter.

The associated motion and memorandum in support of temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction submitted by IBC on May 9, 2019, was denied as moot by the court decision, Ucore said in its press release, Thursday.

The next scheduled court appearance is before the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal on June, 2019 to hear IBC’s appeal of the decision of the Supreme Court of Nova Scotia that it had jurisdiction in the matter of Ucore Rare Metals versus IBC and Steven Izatt.

Ucore shares rallied on the news, rising 10.87% or $0.025 to 25.5 cents on volume of 4.01 million. The shares are trading in a 52-week range of $0.085 and 25 cents.

Ucore is a development-phase company with a focus on rare metal resources, extraction and benefication technologies with near term potential for production growth and scalability. The company has a 100%-ownership stake in the Bokan-Dotson Ridge Rare Earth Project in Alaska.

However, it is aiming to transition to become a leading nanotechnology company that provides mineral separation products and services to the mining and mineral extraction industry. The vision includes the development of a strategic metals complex in Ketchikan, Alaska, and the development of the company’s rare earth minerals property located at Bokan Mountain in Alaska.

Thursday legal proceedings update comes just three months after Ucore said it had initiated the acquisition of IBC on terms it said had previously been agreed to by the two companies as well as the majority shareholders of IBC.

In a February 14, 2019 press release, Ucore said it had issued a notice of commencement that initiated a 60-day period during which Ucore said it has the right to conduct a detailed due diligence review of IBC’s operations and financial records.

However, on February 21, 2019, Ucore announced that it was acknowledging a press release issued by IBC (dated February 20, 2019) detailing IBC’s decision to terminate the option to purchase agreement.

“IBC has over 30 years of history, and extensive intellectual property in regards to the commercialization of supramolecular technology for the mining industry,” Ucore said in the February, 2019 press release. It said the acquisition of IBC would transition Ucore to active revenue bearing status, and progressively away from reliance on capital markets.

IBC Advanced Technologies is a privately held corporation, based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1988 by three professors, Reed Izatt, Jerald Bradshaw, and the late James Christensen. IBC is a developer and manufacturer of an extensive portfolio of Molecular Recognition Technology (MRT) products which are sold to metallurgical, advanced materials, chemical health and other industrial companies as well as to domestic and international governmental and academic organizations.