Exhibit 96.1

Technical Report Summary on the Coosa Project, Coosa County, Alabama, USA S-K 1300 Report

Westwater Resources, Inc.

SLR Project No: 138.20527.00001

Effective Date:

November 30, 2022

Signature Date:

December 1, 2022

Prepared by:

SLR International Corporation

Technical Report Summary on the Coosa Project, Coosa County, Alabama, USA

SLR Project No: 138.20527.00001

Prepared by

SLR International Corporation

1658 Cole Blvd, Suite 100

Lakewood, CO 80401

for

Westwater Resources, Inc.

6950 South Potomac St., Suite 300

Centennial, CO 80112

Effective Date – November 30, 2022

Signature Date – December 1, 2022

FINAL

1 copy – SLR International Corporation

SLR International Corporation (SLR) was retained by Westwater Resources, Inc. (Westwater or the Company) to prepare an independent Initial Assessment (without cash flow analysis) Technical Report Summary (TRS) on the Coosa Graphite Project (the Project or Coosa), located in Coosa County, Alabama, USA. The purpose of this TRS is to disclose an updated Mineral Resource estimate with an effective date of November 30, 2022. This TRS conforms to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Modernized Property Disclosure Requirements for Mining Registrants as described in Subpart 229.1300 of Regulation S-K, Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations (S-K 1300) and Item 601 (b)(96) Technical Report Summary.

Westwater is a 45-year old public company currently focused on developing battery-grade natural graphite. Originally incorporated in 1977 as Uranium Resources, Inc. to mine uranium in Texas, the Company has been reborn as an energy materials and technology developer. Westwater is focused on battery-grade natural graphite after its acquisition of Alabama Graphite Corp. (AGC) in April 2018.

The Coosa graphite deposit is located at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, in Coosa County, Alabama. The deposit area is approximately 50 miles south-southeast of the city of Birmingham and 23 miles south-southwest of the town of Sylacauga. The Project’s mineral tenure is comprised of approximately 41,965 acres of privately owned mineral rights that the Company holds under a long-term lease. The Project is located in the flake graphite belt of central Alabama, also known as the Alabama Graphite Belt.

SLR’s Qualified Person (QP) visited the Project on April 21-23, 2022. The SLR QP toured the Kellyton Graphite Plant offices, warehouses, operational areas, and processing facility (currently under construction), located in Kellyton, Alabama. At the Project, the SLR QP also toured drilling and trench site locations in the deposit area, reviewed drill core logging and sampling procedures, reviewed geologic cross sections and previous modeling procedures with Westwater’s geologist and other staff, and discussed ongoing and future exploration plans.

A Mineral Resource estimate for the Project, based on 205 drill holes totaling 39,434 ft, was completed by SLR with an effective date of November 30, 2022. Table 1-1 summarizes the Coosa Mineral Resources at a 1.98% graphitic carbon (Cg) cut-off grade envisaging an open pit mining scenario. Indicated Mineral Resources total 26.0 million short tons (Mst) at an average grade of 2.89% Cg for a total of 754,000 st Cg. Inferred Mineral Resources total 97.0 Mst at an average grade of 3.08% Cg for a total of 3.0 Mst Cg.

Table 1-1: Summary of Carbon Graphite (Cg) Mineral Resources – Effective November 30, 2022

Notes:

SLR offers the following interpretations and conclusions on the Project:

SLR offers the following recommendations regarding the advancement of the Project. Westwater is considering a program to advance the development of the Project, which includes an initial budget estimate of approximately US$1,600,000, as presented in Table 1-2. The program consists of two phases, updating Mineral Resources following completion of the delineation drilling programs. Following completion of the update of the resource estimates, SLR recommends that Westwater proceed with activities that will allow completion of a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS). The PFS will cover the following activities:

Table 1-2: 2023 Proposed Drilling Budget

Westwater Resources – Coosa Graphite Project

The Coosa graphite deposit is located at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, in the western part of Coosa County, Alabama, USA. The deposit area is approximately 50 miles (mi) south-southeast of the city of Birmingham and 23 mi south-southwest of the town of Sylacauga. The Project is located in the Alabama Graphite Belt.

The Project consists of six primary areas of interest: Northern Extension (NX), Main Grid, Southwest Extension (SW), Fixico Mine, HS-North, and HS-South. The approximate geographical center of the target areas of interest is located at latitude 32°54’40.7”N and longitude 86°23’52.4”W. Access to the Project site is via Highway US 280 for approximately 64 mi south from Birmingham, Alabama to State Highway AL-9S, then approximately 10 miles west to State Highway AL-22 W, 12 mi west to Coosa County Road 29, and 12 mi north to the property.

The Coosa property mineral tenure is comprised of approximately 41,965 acres of privately owned mineral rights held by Westwater under a long-term lease located in parts of townships T. 21 N., T. 22 N., T. 23 N., and T. 24 N. and ranges R. 16 E., R. 17 E., R. 18 E., and R. 19 E. The western boundary is approximately the Coosa River.

A 2% net smelter return (NSR) royalty is payable by Westwater to the lessor from the commercial production and sale of graphite from the properties, as well as royalties for any precious metals, mica, iron, magnetite, manganese, calcium carbonate, copper, tantalum, and rare earths commercially produced and sold from the properties. An additional 0.5% NSR royalty is payable to Charles Merchant, an arm’s length party, who was engaged as an independent contractor to assist AGC with establishing its graphite operations in Alabama.

The presence of graphitic schists in Alabama was recognized before the Civil War (1861-1865) by M. Tuomey. Dr. Gessner, employed by the Confederate Government to recover sulfur from the pyrite deposit at Pyriton, is credited with the first discovery of flake graphite in Alabama. The first commercial graphite operation dates back to 1899 when the Allen Graphite Company built a mill near the Quenelda deposits in Clay County using a patented oil flotation process and produced the first refined graphite in Alabama.

The mineral and surface rights of four sections in the Fixico Mine area of the Project were acquired by the Fixico Mining Company (Fixico) in 1901-1902. The mine operated from 1902 to 1908. There is no record of the amount of graphite and grade produced.

AGC’s subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Co. Inc. (Alabama Graphite), acquired the Project from Eugenia W. Dean (since 2014 the Estate of Eugenia W. Dean), Birmingham, Alabama in 2012 and carried out exploration from 2012 to 2018, including channel sampling, trenching, airborne and ground geophysical surveys, and four drilling programs.

Westwater acquired AGC on April 23, 2018. After acquisition, Westwater’s technical staff carried out a review of historical data and geologic information derived from previous graphite exploration drilling and surface trenching programs at Coosa to determine the potential for the presence of substantial vanadium mineralization at the Project. In late 2018, Company personnel carried out an extensive geochemical sampling program, collecting nearly 2,000 samples from many previously completed drill holes and trenches, to determine the presence and intensity of vanadium mineralization at Coosa. The laboratory analytical results of this sampling program outlined widespread and strong vanadium mineralization in very close association with strong flake graphite mineralization at numerous localities within the Project area.

The Project is located at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, a northeast trending belt of folded and metamorphosed rocks of Neoproterozoic to Lower Paleozoic age. These are covered by the Coastal Plain Sediments of Cretaceous and younger age in the southern half of Alabama. The rocks of the southwestern end of the Appalachians are generally separated into four physiographic and geologic provinces which are, from northwest to southeast: the Interior Low Plateau province, the Appalachian Plateau province, the Valley and Ridge province, and the Piedmont province. The Alabama Graphite Belt is located in the Northern Piedmont.

The Northern Piedmont has three structural blocks: the Talladega Block on the northwestern side with low grade greenschist facies metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks; the central Coosa Block with high grade, upper greenschist to kyanite and sillimanite grade metamorphic rocks, and abundant pegmatite and small granitoid bodies; and the Tallapoosa Block on the southeastern side of high grade, middle to upper amphibolite facies metasedimentary, metavolcanic, and metamorphosed ultramafic and mafic rocks, with large areas of quartz diorite to granitic plutonic rocks.

The host of the Project is the Higgins Ferry Formation in the Wedowee Group of the Coosa Block. The Higgins Ferry Formation is defined as an interbedded sequence of four major lithologic units, from top to bottom: a quartz-graphite schist (QGS), a mixed QGS-quartz-muscovite-biotite-graphite schist unit (called INT or intermediate unit), quartz muscovite biotite graphite schist (QMBGS), and a quartz-biotite-garnet schist (QBGS).

The Coosa graphite deposits are flake graphite deposits in high grade metamorphic rocks. Graphite flakes occur as part of the rock forming minerals in the schists. They are often associated with disseminated pyrrhotite and minor pyrite. In places, the green vanadium (V) bearing muscovite, roscoelite, also occurs. Minor late stage, straight-sided veinlets of cubic pyrite up to 10 mm wide with smectite clay cross cut the schistosity and pegmatites. The deposits are characterized by deep weathering.

The lithologic sequence at Coosa, from top to bottom, is QGS overlying INT, overlying QMBGS, overlying QBGS. QGS generally grades downward into INT, then into QMBGS, which in turn grades downward into QBGS. QMBGS is more highly metamorphosed than QGS and less metamorphosed than QBGS. All of the units are moderately to well foliated, with the foliations probably representing paleo-bedding of the original sedimentary rocks. In addition, several amphibolite intrusives occur on the Project, cutting the metamorphic units and intruding them.

QGS is the main host of graphite mineralization at Coosa. QGS can be fine to coarse grained, with minor small biotites and small to medium muscovites, and is usually well foliated. Graphite grades are typically in the order of 2% to 4%, occasionally up to 5% to 7%. QGS also generally contains the largest amount of vanadium-rich muscovite (roscoelite for a field term). Pyrite and/or pyrrhotite can be present, generally averaging less than 1% to 2%, are fine grained, and occur as either disseminated grains or thin (hairline to 1/8 in. thick) veinlets along foliations. Occasional hairline to 1/4 in. thick late pyrite veinlets are found cutting the foliations at high angles. Outcrops of QGS can be light green-gray to dark green, depending on the amount of weathering and oxidation. Roscoelite imparts the light to dark green color to the QGS.

INT reflects a gradual increase in metamorphic grade with depth and/or laterally from QGS towards QMBGS. Graphite ranges from 1% to 2%, occasionally up to 3%. In some places there is a gradual increase in the grain size of muscovite and biotite as the QGS is metamorphosed to QMBGS. In other places, the INT unit is marked by interlayers of QGS and QMBGS. These interlayers vary from several inches to several feet thick. Where there is a gradual change from QGS to QMBGS, graphite grade decreases with increasing metamorphic grade. In areas with interlayers of QGS and QMBGS, the QGS layers have higher graphite grade than the QMBGS layers. INT is rarely distinguishable in outcrop, due to limited vertical exposures providing evidence of interlayering and due to the gradual grain size change from QGS to QMBGS. Roscoelite content in the INT decreases with increasing metamorphism from QGS to QMBGS.

QMBGS is noticeable by its medium to coarse grained nature and by the large biotites and muscovites that occur along foliations. Biotite can be honey colored to dark brown. Pyrite and pyrrhotite can be present, usually less than 1% to 2% and fine to medium grained. QMBGS is well foliated, with the foliations commonly moderately to strongly contorted. Outcrops can range from light to dark gray to grey-brown. Graphite assays are typically less than 1% to 2%, with the graphite often being coarse grained due to recrystallization of the graphite grains.

Several surface exploration campaigns were conducted between 2012 to 2015. Due to the lack of outcrop and dense vegetation, the exploration techniques used were rock sampling in channels mainly along road cuttings, trenching, geophysics, and drilling. Since acquisition of the Project in 2018, Westwater has completed in-fill/delineation diamond drilling for a total of 5,551 ft in 65 holes. The Company has also conducted a geochemical sampling program using available core and trench material to determine the presence and intensity of vanadium mineralization at the Project.

To date, a total of 236 holes for 45,715 ft have been drilled at the Project, of which 205 holes totaling 39,434 ft were used in the Mineral Resource estimation. Since 2012, most drilling was focused on the Main Grid and NX target areas of the Project.

A Mineral Resource estimate was completed by SLR using a conventional block modeling approach. The general workflow performed by SLR included the construction of a geological or stratigraphic model representing the Higgins Ferry Group Graphitic Schist sequence in Seequent’s Leapfrog Geo (Leapfrog Geo) from mapping, drill hole logging, and sampling data, which was used to define discrete domains and surfaces representing the upper contact of each unit. The geologic model was then used to constrain resource estimation. The resource estimate used regularized block models, the inverse distance squared (ID²) methodology, and length-weighted, 10 ft, uncapped composites to estimate the Cg and V in a three-search pass approach, using hard boundaries between subunits, ellipsoidal search ranges, and search ellipse orientation informed by geology. Average density values were assigned by lithological unit.

Estimates were validated using standard industry techniques including statistical comparisons with composite samples and parallel nearest neighbor (NN) estimates, swath plots, and visual reviews in cross-section and plan. A visual review comparing blocks to drill holes was completed after the block modeling work was performed to ensure general lithologic and analytical conformance and was peer reviewed prior to finalization.

Mineral Resources have been classified in accordance with the definitions for Mineral Resources in S-K 1300. Mineral Resources estimated by SLR used all drill results available as of March 17, 2022, and are summarized in Table 1-1.

To ensure that all Mineral Resource statements satisfy the “reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction” (RPEEE) requirement, factors significant to technical feasibility and potential economic viability were considered. Mineral Resources were defined and constrained within an open-pit shell prepared by SLR and based on a US$1,100/st graphite value.

The SLR QP is of the opinion that with consideration of the recommendations summarized in this section of the TRS, any issues relating to all relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospect of economic extraction can be resolved with further work. There are no other known legal, social, or other factors that would affect the development of the Mineral Resources.

SLR International Corp. (SLR) was retained by Westwater Resources, Inc. (Westwater or the Company) to prepare an independent Technical Report Summary (TRS) on the Coosa Graphite Project (the Project or Coosa), located in Coosa County, Alabama, USA. The purpose of this TRS is to disclose an updated Mineral Resource estimate with an effective date of November 30, 2022.

This TRS conforms to United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Modernized Property Disclosure Requirements for Mining Registrants as described in Subpart 229.1300 of Regulation S-K, Disclosure by Registrants Engaged in Mining Operations (S-K 1300) and Item 601 (b)(96) Technical Report Summary.

Westwater is a 45-year old public company currently focused on developing battery-grade natural graphite. Originally incorporated in 1977 as Uranium Resources, Inc. to mine uranium in Texas, the Company has been reborn as an energy materials and technology developer. Westwater is focused on battery-grade natural graphite after its acquisition of Alabama Graphite Corp. (AGC) in April 2018.

The Coosa graphite deposit is located at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, in Coosa County, Alabama. The deposit area is approximately 52 miles south-southeast of the city of Birmingham and 23 miles south-southwest of the town of Sylacauga. The Project’s mineral tenure is comprised of approximately 41,965 acres of privately owned mineral rights that the Company holds under a long-term lease. The Project is located in the flake graphite belt of central Alabama, also known as the Alabama Graphite Belt.

AGC acquired the Project in 2012 based on the geologic setting. On April 23, 2018, Westwater acquired a 100% interest in AGC as part of a strategic decision to refocus the Company to supply battery manufacturers with low-cost, high-quality, and high-margin natural graphite products. As a result of that business transaction, Westwater became the owner of the Project.

The Coosa graphite deposit is expected to be mined by conventional small-scale open pit mining methods through several shallow pits (less than 100 ft deep each) that will be developed over life of the project. At full-scale production, the mining rate will be approximately 577,000 short tons per annum (stpa), at an average grade of 3.2% Cg. Mine operations will employ small conventional loading and haulage equipment, including a 6.0 cubic yard excavator and 45-ton articulated haul trucks. Mineralized material will be ripped with a bulldozer to prepare the mineralized material for mining with the excavator.

In late November 2018, Westwater announced the discovery of significant concentration of vanadium-bearing micas at several locations, hosted in the graphitic schists at Coosa. Westwater subsequently commenced the first of a four-phase exploration program designed to determine the extent, character, and quality of the vanadium mineralization at Coosa. As announced by the Company on February 19, 2019, the first phase demonstrated widespread positive values for vanadium that extended beyond the Coosa graphite deposit.

SLR’s Qualified Person (QP) visited the Project on April 21-23, 2022. The SLR QP toured the Kellyton Graphite Plant offices, warehouses, operational areas, and processing facility (currently under construction), located in Kellyton, Alabama. At the Project, the SLR QP also toured drilling and trench site locations in the deposit area, reviewed drill core logging and sampling procedures, reviewed geologic cross sections and previous modeling procedures with Westwater’s geologist and other staff, and discussed ongoing and future exploration plans.

During the preparation of this TRS, discussions were held with personnel from Westwater:

The documentation reviewed, and other sources of information, are listed at the end of this TRS in Section 24.0 References.

The U.S. System for weights and units has been used throughout this TRS. Tons are reported in short tons (st) of 2,000 lb unless otherwise noted. All currency in this TRS is US dollars (US$) unless otherwise noted.

Abbreviations used in this TRS are listed below.

The Coosa graphite deposit is located at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, in the western part Coosa County, Alabama, USA. The deposit area is approximately 50 miles (mi) south-southeast of the city of Birmingham and 23 mi south-southwest of the town of Sylacauga. The Project is located in the flake graphite belt of central Alabama, also known as the Alabama Graphite Belt.

The Coosa property mineral tenure is comprised of approximately 41,965 acres of privately owned mineral rights held by Westwater under a long-term lease located in parts of townships T. 21 N., T. 22 N., T. 23 N., and T. 24 N. and ranges R. 16 E., R. 17 E., R. 18 E., and R. 19 E. The western boundary is approximately the Coosa River.

The primary target areas of interest for this TRS are located in parts of Sections 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, T. 22 N, R. 17 E, Coosa County, Alabama. The primary area of interest is referred to as the Coosa Graphite Project and is divided into six target areas (HS-North is excluded from this resource estimate due to limited number of drill holes):

The approximate geographical center of the target areas of interest is located at 32°54’40.7”N and longitude 86°23’52.4”W. All surface data coordinates are State Plane 1927 Alabama East FIPS 0101 (US feet) system. Maps of the Project location, mineral rights, and target areas are provided in Figure 3-1, Figure 3-2, and Figure 3-3 respectively. A list of the mineral rights is given in Table 3-1.

The mineral rights are patents of private land issued between 1842 and 1860. The surface land rights were subsequently sold separately from the mineral rights and are now held by a different owner. The ownership of the mineral rights is a matter of public record in the Probate Records of Coosa County, Alabama. The authority for the State of Alabama non-fuel minerals surface mining is the Alabama Department of Labor, Mining Division. No assessment work is required to hold mineral rights on private land. The mineral rights were granted in perpetuity. The Coosa mineral rights are identified by their township, range, section and, where relevant, quarters, in the same manner as land rights, and do not have an identification number or name. The mineral rights have not been surveyed.

As the mineral rights are patents of private land and were issued before the introduction of the General Mining Law of 1872, which governs mining on Federal public lands, this law is not applicable to the Project and the mineral rights are not held as either patented or unpatented lode claims. Thus, the mineral rights do not have claim names and are not defined by metes and bounds.

Table 3-1: Summary of Land Tenure Mineral Resources

Westwater Resources, Inc. – Coosa Graphite Project

Figure 3-1: Location Map

Figure 3-2: Westwater Mineral Holdings Map

Figure 3-3: Target Areas

On August 1, 2012, AGC’s subsidiary, Alabama Graphite Co. Inc. (Alabama Graphite), a company registered in Alabama, entered into a Mining Lease Agreement (the Agreement) and Option with Eugenia W. Dean (since 2014 the estate of Eugenia W. Dean), Birmingham, Alabama pursuant to which it: (a) leased the mineral rights in respect to an area with the potential for graphite comprising 14,020.86 acres (approximately 5,674 ha) in township 22N, range 17E, Coosa County, Alabama; and (b) received an option of first refusal to lease the mineral rights to adjacent areas comprising 30,756.52 acres (12,447 ha). On November 5, 2012, Alabama Graphite exercised the option and leased an additional 27,944.02 acres (approximately 11,308 ha) of the remaining available acres under the same terms as in the initial agreement. The total property under lease is now 41,964.88 acres (approximately 16,982 ha).

Under the terms of the Agreement, the lease is for successive renewable five-year terms (not to exceed 70 years) in consideration of an initial cash payment of $30,000 and annual advance royalty payments of $10,000, starting on July 1, 2015 (paid). Alabama Graphite also paid $1,000 for the Option and was required to make annual payments of $1,000 to keep the Option in good standing. Alabama Graphite made a payment of $48,537 on November 5, 2012, to exercise the Option as an initial three-year payment through November 4, 2015, and issued 25,000 shares to the lessor.

Alabama Graphite is also obliged to pay the lessor a net smelter returns (NSR) royalty of 2% from the commercial production and sale of graphite from the properties, as well as royalties for any precious metals, mica, iron, magnetite, manganese, calcium carbonate, copper, tantalum, and rare earths commercially produced and sold from the properties.

In connection with entering into the Agreement and Option, Alabama Graphite engaged Charles Merchant (Merchant), an arm’s length party, as an independent contractor to assist it with establishing its graphite operations in Alabama. As consideration for his services, Alabama Graphite paid Merchant the cash sum of $320,000 and he is entitled to 800 common shares¹ of the Company (the “Finder’s Shares”) to him once Alabama Graphite has a surface rights agreement to engage in meaningful mining operations on the mineral interests for the Coosa Graphite property. There is currently no surface rights agreement in place for the Coosa Graphite property.

Alabama Graphite is obliged to pay Merchant an additional $100,000 upon receipt by Alabama Graphite of a bankable feasibility study (FS) in respect of the leased property and a further $150,000 upon full permitting of the leased property. This TRS is not an FS, and currently the Coosa Graphite property does not have any permits. The Company is also obliged to pay Merchant NSR royalties of 0.5% up to an aggregate amount of $150,000 if and when graphite mining operations commence on the leased property.

On November 23, 2020, Westwater executed a temporary access permit (TAP) with Hancock Forest Management, Inc. (Hancock) which currently owns the surface rights for the Coosa graphite properties. Hancock purchased the surface rights from Headwaters Investment Corp. in 2018. The TAP allows Westwater to engage in core drilling and testing for graphite deposits, and to travel to the Project via vehicles on existing roads and routes, until January 31, 2023. On January 28, 2021, the TAP was amended to allow access to the property even during the hunting season provided hunter orange vests are worn.

Previously, AGC had a Surface Use Agreement with Headwaters Investments Corporation covering 3,481 acres (1,409 ha). The first period of that agreement was until September 1, 2013, and it was renewed for a second period until September 30, 2015. The agreement covered the area of the drill grid and allowed AGC to carry out exploration including sampling, trenching and drilling. Payments of $53,000 were made for the first period and $50,000 for the second period plus a guarantee of $20,000 placed in escrow. The payments were based on the amount of anticipated surface disturbance. The Surface Use Agreement provided for unrestricted access to the property with the stipulation that AGC is responsible for reclamation of any surface disturbance caused by its exploration activities.

Headwater Investments Corp. has fee simple ownership of the surface rights. They are required to pay an annual property tax of $1.13 per acre. The property taxes have been paid in full to date and the property is in good standing.

SLR is not aware of any royalties other than those discussed in the previous sections.

Exploration, road access, and drilling at the Project is subject to environmental permits from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) including a Construction storm water permit under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), and General Permit #ALR1000000 authorizing discharges. A Construction Best Management Practices Plan (CBMPP) was issued on March 12, 2021 for Westwater’s 2021-2022 drilling program and expires on March 31, 2026.

SLR is not aware of any environmental liabilities on the property. Provided that TAP is extended beyond its current expiration date of January 31, 2023, Westwater has all required permits to conduct the proposed work on the property. SLR is not aware of any other significant factors and risks that may affect access, title, or the right or ability to perform the proposed work program on the property.

Access to the Project site is via Highway US 280 for approximately 50 mi south from Birmingham, Alabama to State Highway AL-9S, then approximately 10 miles west to State Highway AL-22 W, 12 mi west to Coosa County Road 29, and 12 mi north to the property. Sylacauga and Alexander City, Alabama, located approximately 24 mi and 38 mi respectively from the property are the closest small cities with hotels and services. The nearest major airport with scheduled flights is in Birmingham, Alabama, and there is an airfield at Sylacauga. All material mined from the Project will be milled at the Project site and the concentrate will be transported to Westwater’s graphite processing plant located in Kellyton, Alabama, approximately 35 mi to the east.

The climate zone of Alabama is classified as humid subtropical (Cfa) under the Koppen Climate Classification. The Holdridge Life Zones Climate Classification is subtropical moist forest.

The nearest climatic data available is for Sylacauga, 20 mi northeast of the Project. The average annual temperature is 61.7°F. The warmest month is July with an average temperature of 78.7°F and the coolest month is January with an average temperature of 43.2°F. The maximum average high is 90.6°F in July, and the minimum average low is 31.4°F in January. Average annual precipitation is 55.2 in. The wettest month is March with an average of 5.9 in. Snow is rare with an average of 0.8 in. It is humid in the summer. The state is prone to tropical storms, hurricanes, thunderstorms, and tornadoes. Due to the moderate climate in the Project area, the operating season is year round.

Personnel and supplies for future mining operations are expected to be sourced from the nearby towns of Birmingham and Sylacauga, Alabama (50 mi and 23 mi, respectively). The area within 10 mi of the property is very sparsely populated, so a mine would directly affect very few people. Mining has been a traditional industry in the area, and marble quarries are still active.

There is no infrastructure in the immediate area of the property, other than a network of well-maintained logging access roads. An electrical transmission line occurs approximately one mile west of the drill grid. Water is abundant in small streams and in Mitchell Lake, a large impoundment on the Coosa River at the western edge of the property.

The property is located in an area of ridges and valleys with elevations of approximately 350 fasl to 1,200 fasl. The area of the drill grid is a peneplain surface dipping gently south at an elevation of 600 fasl to 700 fasl and incised by a meandering river system to give a local relief of up to 300 ft. The elevations of the drill collars vary from approximately 351 fasl to 766 fasl.

The land use is forestry with thick mixed hardwoods and pines, and significant areas of pine plantations which are harvested every 20 to 25 years. There are clearings at towns and for agriculture. Due to extensive weathering, natural outcrops are sparse and most useful exposures are in road cuts, stream drainages, or old mine workings.

Weogufka Creek runs from northeast to southwest on the north side of the drill grid, and joins Swamo Creek, the Coosa River, and the Mitchell Lake dam. This is a tributary of the Alabama River which flows southwest, becomes the Mobile River, and then flows into the Gulf of Mexico at Mobile.

The long and complicated history of ownership of the mineral and surface rights of the Project is described in the Preliminary Title Review dated May, 2021 and prepared by Deborah L. S. Goetz of Landres Management Consultants, for Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9, Township 22 N, range 17 E, where AGC and Westwater have carried out exploration activities. A brief summary is provided below.

The mineral and surface rights of Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, 8 and 9 are patents of private land issued between 1842 and 1860. Most of them were acquired by the Fixico Mining Company in 1901-02. Several other companies and individuals owned other parts. Following bankruptcy of Fixico in 1910, their mineral and surface rights were acquired by John R. Hegeman. In 1929, the mineral rights were acquired by Charles A. Dean (senior). He acquired more mineral rights over the years and, on his death in 1952, they passed to multiple heirs who sold a half interest to Robert A. Russell. In 1980, Charles A. Dean, Junior, acquired all of the mineral rights from the other Dean heirs and the Russell heirs. On the death of Charles A. Dean, Junior in 2008, the mineral rights were inherited by his wife, Eugenia W. Dean, and following her death in 2014, they were inherited by the Estate of Eugenia W. Dean.

On August 1, 2012, AGC’s subsidiary, Alabama Graphite, a company registered in Alabama, entered into a Mining Lease Agreement and Option with Eugenia W. Dean (since 2014 the estate of Eugenia W. Dean), Birmingham, Alabama pursuant to which it: (a) leased the mineral rights in respect to an area with the potential for graphite comprising 14,020.86 acres (approximately 5,674 ha) in township 22N, range 17E, Coosa County, Alabama; and (b) received an option of first refusal to lease the mineral rights to adjacent areas comprising 30,756.52 acres (12,447 ha). On November 5, 2012, Alabama Graphite exercised the option and leased an additional 27,944.02 acres (approximately 11,308 ha) of the remaining available acres under the same terms as in the initial agreement. The total property under lease is now 41,964.88 acres (approximately 16,982 ha).

On April 23, 2018, Westwater acquired a 100% interest in Alabama Graphite as part of a strategic decision to refocus the Company to supply battery manufacturers with low-cost, high-quality, and high-margin natural graphite products. As a result of that business transaction, Westwater became the owner of the Coosa Graphite Project, which was the principal asset of Alabama Graphite.

The following sections describe the history of graphite mining and exploration in the Alabama Graphite Belt and is provided for background information on the regional setting of the Coosa Project. The information is taken from published sources as summarized by Pallister and Thoenen (1948) and Durgin (2013). These are not necessarily an indication of the mineralization that occurs on the Coosa Project.

The Alabama Graphite Belt is a 70 mi long, northeast-trending belt in Clay, Coosa, and Chilton Counties. Most of the historical mines were in the northeast segment around Ashland, Clay County (Area A of Pallister and Thoenen, 1948), approximately 18 mi long, separated by an 11 mi gap from the 40 mi long, southwest segment extending from Goodwater, Coosa County, to Verbena, Chilton County (Areas B and C). The geology of the graphite deposits at Ashland was described by Brown (1925). The Coosa Project occurs beside the historic Fixico Mine in the southwestern part of the belt (Area C).

The presence of graphitic schists in Alabama was recognized by M. Tuomey before the Civil War (1861-1865; Jones, 1929). Dr. Gessner, employed by the Confederate Government to recover sulfur from the pyrite deposit at Pyriton, is credited with the first discovery of flake graphite in Alabama (Clemmer et al., 1941). The first attempt at development was in 1888, however, an experimental mill using water for flotation was unsuccessful. The first commercial graphite operation dates back to 1899 when the Allen Graphite Company built a mill near the Quenelda deposits in Clay County using a patented oil flotation process and produced the first refined graphite in Alabama.

The Fixico Mine in Coosa County, adjacent to the Project, and the Dixie Mine in Chilton County began operations in the early 1900s. By 1906, there were several mines in operation and by 1913, the graphite industry was well established in central Alabama. World War I caused the disruption of foreign graphite imports, leading to significantly higher prices and the Alabama graphite industry boomed. By 1918, there were 25 flotation plants operating in the district with a total production in 1918 of 7.8 million pounds of graphite (Pallister and Thoenen, 1948).

The end of the war and the resumption of foreign imports depressed prices and the Alabama graphite industry dwindled to seven operating plants in 1920. In 1929, the last two mines in the district, the Ceylon Graphite Company in Coosa County and the Superior Flake Plant in Clay County, were closed.

At the start of World War II in 1939, C. J. Johnson rebuilt the mill at the Ceylon Mine and began production of flake graphite on a small scale. In 1940, as a result of the interruption of graphite imports from Madagascar, the US Bureau of Mines made a preliminary survey of the Alabama graphite deposits to determine the viability of resumption of mining, with a report by Clemmer et al. (1941). As the demand for graphite rose, the War Production Board, the Metals Reserve Company, and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation (all federally funded) turned their attention to the district, and a detailed study of the district was carried out between 1942 and 1944 which resulted in a report by Pallister and Thoenen (1948). Based on this report, the graphitic deposits were found to contain significant amounts of green vanadium-bearing mica (roscoelite). A total of 11 mining areas including 49 graphite deposits were mapped and studied in detail for graphite and vanadium. More than nine miles of access roads were built; 17,930 ft of bulldozer trenches, 2,670 ft of power scoop trenches, 5,234 ft of hand trenches, and 3,279 ft of existing trenches were dug and sampled. Diamond drilling totaled 5,453 ft in 84 holes (Pallister and Thoenen, 1948).

A field laboratory was established in Ashland with the capacity for pilot crushing-milling-flotation testing and graphite analyses. In 1943, the Crucible Flake Mill of Haile Mines, Inc. and the Alabama Flake Graphite Co. plant (Gisler, 1943) began to produce. The three plants produced 8.1 Mlb of graphite, with Alabama again ranking first in graphite production in the US. The Crucible Flake Mill was closed at the end of 1943, leaving only two producers in the district.

After World War II, production declined rapidly due to the resumption of imports and subsequent decline in prices. By 1950, only the Pocahontas Mine near Ashland and the Bama Mine in Chilton County were still in production, and they closed in 1953. The Alabama graphite industry has been idle since that time. The processing plants have all been dismantled, burned down, or overgrown, and the graphite workings are hidden under more than 60 years’ vegetation. With the current resurgence of interest in graphite deposits, attention is being turned again to the central Alabama Graphite District.

Mineable grade graphite bodies were greatly elongated along strike and were referred to as “leads”, and often included selvages of waste rock. Cameron and Weiss (1960, p. 263) described the leads as follows:

The total length of some of the larger leads may be measurable in miles, but the full length of a lead is not necessarily ore, for there is much variation in graphite content both along and across strike. A typical section shows alternating layers of rocks of low graphite content, of high graphite content, and of intermediate graphite content. The individual layers range from fractions of an inch (<1 cm) to 10 feet (3 m) in thickness, with aggregate thickness in some cases greater than 100 feet (30 m). Exposures outside the mine workings are poor and none of the individual leads is exposed. The Pocahontas lead was traced by trenching along strike for approximately 4,000 feet (1,220 m) and Brown (1925) reported that he was able to trace a lead on the Griesemer property for a like distance.

Two good examples of mines in the Ashland area are the Quenelda Mine and the Pocahontas Mine. At Quenelda, there were seven pits spaced along the strike of the leads for approximately 2,000 ft. The pits were almost entirely in weathered mineralization along two leads 20 ft to 40 ft apart. The southeast lead was 40 ft to 65 ft thick, and the northwest lead was 50 ft to 80 ft thick, with a strike of 55° to 75° to the northeast and a dip of 55° to 85° to the southeast. Graphite grades averaged approximately 3.0%.

The Pocahontas Mine of the Alabama Flake Graphite Company was one of the last operating mines in Alabama. The workings comprised three parallel open cuts in the leads that were approximately 50 ft wide and several hundred feet long. The depth of weathering could exceed 80 ft. Pallister and Thoenen (1948) indicated that the lead was shown to extend for another 2,400 ft southwest from the third cut. The grade was reported to average 4.0% to 5.0% graphite in later years.

The two most significant mines in the southwestern portion of the Alabama Graphite Belt were the Ceylon and Bama mines. The Ceylon deposit is located approximately eight miles west of the town of Goodwater. One of the largest mines in the district, it operated from 1916 to 1929 and from 1939 to 1947. The principal working developed during the later period was 925 ft long, up to 300 ft wide, and up to 70 ft deep on a series of leads striking 45° to the northeast and dipping 55° to the southeast. The grade ranged from 2.0% to 6.0% graphite and averaged 3%.

The Bama Mine in Chilton County near the southwest end of the graphite belt operated from 1925 to 1930 when the mill burned down. The main pit was 625 ft long, 150 ft wide, and 40 ft to 80 ft deep. Two smaller pits approximately 200 ft long were mined along strike between the main pit and the mill. The deposits trended 20° to 25° to the northwest and dipped 50° to 60° to the south, due to the presence of a large fold.

The Fixico Mine is located approximately 0.5 mi southeast of the Coosa Main Grid area and is a former producer that operated from 1902 to 1908. There is no record of the amount of graphite and grade produced. Westwater geologists have located the old pits and the old wooden dam, described below. The mine was described by Pallister and Thoenen (1948, pp. 72-73):

The Fixico graphite mine, named for the Indian chief Fixico, who lived near the mine. It is in the southern part of sec. 8, T. 22 N., R. 17 E., 11 miles west of Rockford. C. F. Whoolock, who first used a “flotation” process to separate graphite in 1898 at the A. A. Allen plant in Clay County, operated the Fixico mine with his son Kennard. About 1902, they built a log dam, which is still intact, a mill, and houses for their employees and operated the mine until about 1908. It is thus probably the oldest mine in Coosa County.

The graphitic schist that was mined is exposed on the western slope of a tributary of Hatchett Creek, the backwater of which, caused by the Mitchell Dam, is not far from the property. The western slope rises for over 100 feet above the creek level, and the pits open off a small cross valley. Mine pits were opened at various levels and running at angles from northeast through west to southwest. The largest pit is about 10 feet above the creek and extends northeast for a distance of 150 feet. It is 75 feet wide and 50 feet deep at the face. A short distance to the northwest are two parallel pits each 100 feet long, 25 to 30 feet wide, and 30 feet deep with a narrow “horse” between them. The floor of these pits is 40 feet higher than the floor of the largest pit. Four additional pits cut across the top of the slope towards the west, and two more extend southwest at a lower level opposite the northeast pits.

The schist has a general N45°E strike and 45°SE dip. The beds of graphitic schist extend for 150 to 200 feet in thickness, with barren layers between the schist beds. The country to the northeast rises for 400 to 500 feet before it drops off, giving room for large possible reserves.

From 2012 to 2018, exploration on the Project was carried out by AGC’s subsidiary Alabama Graphite and included channel sampling, trenching, airborne and ground geophysical surveys, and drilling. Further details for Alabama Graphite’s exploration are provided in Section 7 of this TRS.

A thorough review was made of all the known graphite producing areas in the Alabama Graphite Belt district in 1942-1944 (Pallister and Thoenen, 1948), which resulted in a historical mineral resource estimate of 25,910,000 st in all classes. This included 11,059,000 st of “measured weathered ore reserves”, 3,351,000 st of “Inferred weathered ore”, and 11,500,000 st of “unweathered ore” in “Measured”, “Indicated” and “Inferred” categories, with an average recoverable grade in the “Measured weathered ore” estimated at 3.0% graphite (Pallister and Thoenen, 1948, p. 77).

These estimates are considered historical in nature as they predate the introduction of the SEC standards and S-K 1300 and are quoted for information purposes only and should not be relied upon. These are mineral resource estimates rather than mineral reserve estimates. The assumptions, parameters, and methods used to make these estimates are not stated in the original publication. The historical resources include multiple deposits throughout the Alabama Graphite District. They were made to evaluate the potential of the whole district. A QP has not completed sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves, and Westwater is not treating the historical resource estimate as current Mineral Resources or Mineral Reserves.

There is no record of the amount of graphite and grade produced from the Fixico Mine area and no production has taken place on other parts of the Project.

There has been historical production from the Alabama Graphite Belt, however, the records are not complete. In 1899, the Allen Graphite Company “was able to produce several hundred tons of graphite” (Jones, 1929). In 1917-1919 Alabama ranked first in production of flake graphite in the USA, and again in 1943 (Pallister and Thoenen, 1948). Between 1913 and 1920, approximately 35.5 Mlb of graphite were produced, with the greatest number of producers in 1918.

In 1929, three mills produced 3.5 Mlb of graphite, but all were closed by 1930. In 1943, a total of 8.1 Mlb were produced, and two mills continued to produce until 1953. Production statistics are unavailable.

The Project is located at the southern end of the Appalachian Mountain range, a northeast trending belt of folded and metamorphosed rocks of Neoproterozoic to Lower Paleozoic age. These are covered by the onlap Coastal Plain Sediments of Cretaceous and younger age in the southern half of Alabama. The geology of Alabama is shown in Figure 6-1. The rocks of the southwestern end of the Appalachians are generally separated into four physiographic and geologic provinces which are, from northwest to southeast: the Interior Low Plateau province, the Appalachian Plateau province, the Valley and Ridge province, and the Piedmont province. The Alabama Graphite Belt is located in the Northern Piedmont.

The regional geology is described by Raymond et al. (1988) in “Alabama Stratigraphy”. The Interior Low Plateau is a Paleozoic limestone plateau of moderate relief. The Appalachian Plateau is underlain by a thick series of carbonates overlain by sandstones and shales of Cambrian to Pennsylvanian age. The rocks have open folding and are moderately dissected resulting in sandstone and shale synclinal plateaus and, in the eastern part, three linear anticlinal limestone valleys. The Valley and Ridge Province is a fold-thrust belt, with east dipping thrusts, of carbonates, sandstones, and shales of Cambrian to Pennsylvanian age, similar to the stratigraphy of the Appalachian and Interior Low Plateaus. It is separated from the Appalachian Plateau by a large scale east dipping thrust fault and consists of a series of subparallel ridges and valleys.

The Piedmont Province is formed of Neoproterozoic to early Paleozoic metamorphic rocks. The metamorphic grade increases across the Piedmont from lower greenschist facies in the northwest to high grade migmatite facies in the southeast. It is divided into three lithotectonic provinces which are, from northwest to southeast: the Northern Piedmont, Inner Piedmont, and Southern Piedmont, each bounded by major faults. The physiography of the Northern Piedmont is characterized by prominent ridges with peaks up to 2,407 ft, becoming lower to the southeast. The Inner and Southern Piedmont provinces have much more subdued topography.

The Northern Piedmont has three structural blocks:

The Coosa Block is thrust over the younger, lower-greenschist facies metamorphic rocks of the Talladega Block along the Hollins Line Fault, located three miles northeast of the Coosa graphite deposit.

The Inner Piedmont includes two groups of high grade metamorphic rocks, including schists, gneisses, and amphibolites: the Dadeville (schist, amphibolite, gneiss, granitic gneiss) and Opelika (schist, gneiss) complexes, with pyroxenite lenses and deformed granites.

The Southern Piedmont occupies the southeastern corner of the region. It is also underlain by high grade metamorphic rocks of the Pine Mountain Block and the Wacoochee and Uchee complexes. The Pine Mountain Block contains quartzite, quartzitic schists, and dolomitic marble. The Wacoochee Complex is largely granitic gneiss and feldspathic muscovite-biotite schist. The Uchee Complex contains a dioritic gneiss and a leucocratic quartz diorite. Folding is much less evident there.

Regionally, the Coosa Block is interpreted to be part of the Eastern Blue Ridge terrane which formed on the rifted margin of Laurentia on the breakup of the Rodinia super-continent in the Neoproterozoic, and consists of rifted margin metasedimentary and rift-related volcanic rocks (Hatcher, 2010). The southern part underwent metamorphism to upper amphibolite facies in the Taconian orogeny at 460 to 455 Ma (Upper Ordovician) and is bounded on the west side by the Taconian suture (Hollins Line Fault) which can be traced for the length of the Appalachians, with different names. The Western Blue Ridge terrane including the Talladega belt is a Laurentian margin terrane of Neoproterozoic to Lower Carboniferous (Mississippian) age which was deformed and accreted in the Devonian to Mississippian Neoacadian orogeny (Hatcher, 2010).

Figure 6-1: Regional Geology

Information on local geology is based on an internal memorandum by David Greenan, Consulting Geologist, Westwater (Greenan, 2022) and other documentation provided to SLR by Westwater.

The Coosa graphite deposit is hosted in high grade metamorphic rocks. Graphitic carbon (Cg) material is present in two types of schist of an uncertain age ranging from Precambrian to Paleozoic, a quartz-graphite schist, which generally has grades greater than 1% Cg, and a quartz-biotite-graphite schist, which has grades generally less than 1% Cg.

The host schists exhibit both regional and local folding as well as local-scale low and high angle faulting. Foliations within the mineralized intervals display a variety of dips, ranging from low angle to steeply dipping features. A strong and well developed weathering profile is present in the mineralized units throughout the Project area, with a strongly weathered zone (“saprolite”) exposed at the surface and locally extending to a depth of up to 100 ft. The strongly weathered units overlie a “transition zone” of mixed oxidized and unoxidized material, which in turn, overlies an unoxidized (unweathered or reduced) zone. While the strongly weathered graphitic schist is the primary target of Westwater’s exploration and development evaluation, strong flake graphite mineralization is present in the transition and unweathered zones as well. Graphite mineralization is widespread throughout Westwater’s surface and mineral property holdings, however, the focus of previous exploration has been centered upon the so-called Main Grid area deposit, and its northeastern and southwestern extensions and only portions of the HS-North, HS-South, and Fixico Mine target areas have been tested.

Information on property geology is based on an internal memorandum by David Greenan, Consulting Geologist, Westwater (Greenan, 2022) and other documentation provided to SLR by Westwater.

The host of the Project is the Higgins Ferry Formation in the Wedowee Group of the Coosa Block (Figure 6-2). The Higgins Ferry Formation is defined as an interbedded sequence of three major lithologic units, from top to bottom:

QGS grades downward into INT, then into QMBGS, which in turn grades downward into QBGS. QMBGS is more highly metamorphosed than QGS and less metamorphosed than QBGS. In most places, the mixed QGS-QMBGS unit (INT) consists of interlayers of finer grained QGS with QMBGS layers containing medium to large muscovites and biotites, reflecting a gradual increase in metamorphic grade from the QGS to the QMBGS (Greenan, 2022).

Figure 6-2: Stratigraphic Column

In some places, QGS grades downward into QMBGS without interlayering of the two units. The contact between these two units is somewhat arbitrary and is taken as where the muscovites and biotites become much larger and more common than in the QGS and where the rock has larger, coarser foliations. This change is reflected in the Cg assays, with the QMBGS generally having much lower Cg grades than the QGS.

In some of the drill core, the transformation from QGS to QMBGS appears to have been caused by the introduction of a large number of pegmatites emplaced very close together. The heat from this process caused recrystallization and regrowth of the muscovites and biotites. The heat also caused remobilization and growth of the Cg flakes, giving rise to medium to very large Cg flakes in many of these zones. Cg grades are sometimes lower due to the pegmatites, while the flake size is larger.

Overall, metamorphism increases with depth. This may be caused by the depth of a lithological unit and/or regional metamorphism, or by a buried heat source below the QBGS (contact metamorphism). Near the bottom of some of the holes, the QBGS has gneissic intervals. These are suggested to be fingers/sills of a gneissic intrusive that may have caused the different metamorphic grades.

Metamorphic grade can also increase laterally, with a transition from QGS to INT to QMBGS. Changes such as these appear to be evidence of a contact metamorphic aureole, possibly from a buried amphibolite or other intrusive body. These types of changes, along with thrust faulting, help explain the apparent lack of horizontal and/or vertical continuity of the various lithologies in the cross sections. Increasing metamorphic grade from QGS to QMBGS also generally correlates with lower Cg values, indicating that the Cg was driven off by the metamorphism. In general, metamorphic grades increase from east to west in the Main Grid area. Kyanite and sillimanite increase closer to the large amphibolite intrusive that occurs to the east of the Main Grid area. These also increase closer to a postulated buried granitic intrusive that occurs on the southeast end of Line 05 in the Main Grid area (Figure 6-3).

There is no definitive correlation between the different iron oxides (jarosite, goethite, and hematite) and Cg mineralization. However, areas with more jarosite ± goethite generally occur above more pyritic unoxidized QGS. Quartz veins/veinlets that cut the foliations usually have more hematite than jarosite or goethite. Hematite is most common in and close to amphibolite sills and intrusives.

There appears to be at least two distinct generations of quartz veins.

In addition to the quartz veins, there are two types of pegmatites found on the Project:

Larger Cg flakes often appear to be from remobilized carbon/graphite and are generally associated with/found in:

In addition to larger Cg flakes occurring in the QMBGS unit, larger, coarser grained Cg flakes appear to occur more often in areas that have been more fractured, with the Cg occupying the fractures and microfractures, in particular in the QGS, INT, and QMBGS units. Quartz veins and pegmatites that have been fractured also often have larger Cg flakes occupying the fractures, including what looks like veinlets of graphite, some of which may be amorphous. Larger Cg flakes can also often occur on the edges of the pegmatites and quartz veins, providing more evidence of remobilization of the Cg. Further evidence of remobilized graphite is observed in the sulfidic portions of some of the core, where Cg flakes can be seen cutting across and/or causing embayments in pyrite. Good examples of this occur in drill hole AGC-F04 at 79.5 ft.

Granitic sills appear to have been one of the earliest episodes of intrusives and are sometimes cut by later pegmatites. The granitic sills appear to have been emplaced in thermal equilibrium with the metasediments as there are no visible alteration haloes on the selvages of the granitic sills. Granitic sills can range from 0.5 in. Up to 12 in. thick. Based on the relogging of the AGC holes, there appears to be a granitic body beneath the drill holes in the Main Grid area in the vicinity of holes AGC-H05, I06, and J05, continuing southwest close to drill hole AGC-I04 (Figure 6-3). In many cases, these are associated with increased Cg flake size and increased fracturing of the host rock. However, the granitic sills themselves are rarely cut by Cg veinlets or have Cg flakes in fractures.

In the Main Grid area, foliations generally strike 20˚ to 35˚ to the northeast, dipping at 10˚ to 45˚ to the southeast. The foliations generally flatten with depth. Steeper foliations appear to be related to a northwest directed thrust fault or, more accurately, zone of thrusting. The presence of steeper foliations on and near surface in the trenches and drill holes in the Main Grid, NX, SW Extension, Fixico Mine, HS-North, and HS-South areas also point to a thrust fault. In general, foliations flatten with depth, especially in the finer grained QGS layers.

This thrust fault extends from the SW Extension area through the Main Grid area and continues through the NX area, trends approximately 20˚ northeast from just west of hole AGC-15-L006 on its southwest end up to just west of AGC-15-G20 on the northeast end. This thrust is evidenced by fault/fracture zones in the drill holes near this proposed fault, along with highly contorted foliations and slickensides along the foliations. Much of the core exhibits slickensides along the foliations (which in outcrop often have shallow dips to the southeast), indicating subhorizontal (probably thrust-fault related) movement. These occur in the QGS in roscoelite-rich layers, and in Cg-rich and pyrite-rich layers. These often occur in multiple foliations close together, which indicates that the units slid over each another and over themselves like a deck of cards, with large quantities of small movement in many layers. In spite of the large books of muscovite and biotite, slickensides in the QMBGS unit have not been observed.

Highly contorted foliations furnish further evidence of thrusting. These occur more often in and near layers with slickensides, especially in areas with granitic sills, pegmatites, and quartz veins. The contortion of the foliations would help to take up the strain of thrusting. The siliceous nature of the various intrusives would prevent slipping, forcing them to contort in order to take up the strain of thrusting. Several of the drill pad cuts have highly contorted foliations that appear to indicate west-northwest directed thrusting. This occurs in areas where amounts of remobilized graphite along the contacts of the sills or veins with the country rock are not large.

The granitic sills, pegmatites, and the early generation of quartz veins extend parallel with and along the foliations and generally do not cut the foliations, except possibly at low angles. If the foliations are contorted, so are the quartz veins, pegmatites, and granitic sills. These indicate that the granitic sills, pegmatites, and early generation quartz veins were emplaced before the deformation and contortions of the foliations occurred. If the contorted foliations are related to thrust faulting, that means that the early quartz veins, pegmatites, and granitic sills were emplaced before thrust faulting occurred. Due to their brittle nature, only the quartz veins are shattered where they are highly contorted.

Pegmatites in the southeast part of the Main Grid area and in the Fixico Mine area are often of a different nature than those that occur to the north and west. This may partly be due to these occurring in the upper plate of the thrust fault, which may have encountered a different intrusive environment before thrusting occurred. These pegmatites are often larger/thicker, coarser grained, and often have clasts of the country rock (usually QGS) within them. They are also generally argillically altered and cut across the foliations of the QGS at shallow to moderately steep angles. These all indicate a more dynamic emplacement environment, possibly closer to an igneous source. Similar to the granitic sills, there is no visible evidence to thermal alteration along the contacts of the pegmatites with the country rock, indicating that they were in thermal equilibrium when the pegmatites were emplaced.

In the geologic literature, the graphite in the lithologic units at Coosa is believed to be stratabound and stratiform (Greenan, 2022). Near and within areas of thrust faulting at Coosa, the Cg appears to cut across the strata, but this may be due to the offsetting and stacking of the layers by thrusting.

Cg grades in the QGS are generally higher than in the INT, which usually has higher Cg grades than QMBGS, with almost no Cg in the QBGS, due to much higher temperatures driving off the graphite. Cg grades also appear to be higher in the NX, SW Extension, Fixico Mine, and HS areas than in the Main Grid area. These higher Cg grades correlate well with higher V-rich muscovite content but are not always related to each other. Note that most of the Main Grid area appears to be in the lower plate, underneath the thrust fault.

Grain size/coarseness of the QGS unit is usually larger in the upper plate of the thrust fault. V-rich mica grains/clots are also larger in the upper plate of the thrust. This may be related to the original protolith being coarser grained, and/or related to the depositional environment, wherein the upper plate portion of the QGS was deposited in an area with more vanadium in solution. Deformation within the QGS is also much more pronounced in the upper plate of the thrust fault, indicating that above the main thrust plane there is a zone of thrusting, with multiple layers stacked over each other. In the eastern portion of the Man Grid area and in the NX, SW Extension, Fixico, and HS areas, a generally larger graphite flake size is coincident with the larger grain size.

In addition to graphite, vanadium may be able to be recovered from the schists at the Project. Vanadium occurs in a V-rich mica called roscoelite. This is somewhat of a “field term” at Coosa, where the “roscoelite” does not necessarily have a sufficiently high concentration of vanadium to be “true” roscoelite. Roscoelite occurs in the QGS, INT, and QMBGS units, with lower to much lower amounts in the QMBGS unit. There is an approximately 50% correlation between the V and Cg grades, but higher Cg does not necessarily mean higher V, and vice versa. This may be due to vanadium being carried in solution under oxidizing conditions and deposited in anoxic environments where the graphite and graphite precursors would occur. Breaking out the different lithologies and oxidized versus reduced might show a higher V:Cg correlation in the reduced portions. The oxidized portions might be more problematic due to mobility of vanadium in oxidized environments, with the amount of remobilization/leaching of vanadium possibly dependent on the amount/strength of oxidation, the size of the V-rich muscovite flakes, and the type of (iron) oxides involved.

Although there does not appear to be a correlation between iron oxides and graphite grades, there does appear to be an inverse relationship between the amount of the various iron oxides and the amount of roscoelite. Areas with higher amounts of jarosite, goethite, and/or hematite often have lower amounts of roscoelite and/or the roscoelite has leached edges. This could be due to vanadium being very mobile in an oxidizing environment, with oxidation of pyrite ± pyrrhotite causing acidic groundwater that caused the vanadium to go into solution. This leaching of vanadium from oxidized schists at Coosa may partly be responsible for the V: Cg correlation being not higher than approximately 50%.

In the QMBGS, the roscoelite is often metamorphosed and remobilized into light to medium green glassy clots/layers (in the AGC logs, this was noted as “possible nephrite”). Westwater indicates that Harold Stowell of the University of Alabama and his students are working on thin sections that include this type of material to provide a definite identification of its mineralogy.

Some of the white clays that occur in the upper portions of the drill holes in zones with high Cg may be weathered and/or altered roscoelite. These white clays often have Cg in or on their margins. None of the other clays have this type of association. Harold Stowell and his students are examining thin section samples of some of this material to provide a more definitive identification.

There is a large amphibolite body in the northeast part of the NX area, near drill holes AGC-007, AGC-008, and AGC-009 and underlying proposed drill holes CD-3, CD-4, and NX-17. In general, this amphibolite appears to mimic the resistivity high on the airborne geophysical map. It should be noted that core recovery from some of these holes is not good and the few pieces of core in the boxes appear to be weathered, oxidized amphibolite, and some pieces are weakly magnetic. Figure 6-4 and Figure 6-5, below, show the conductivity low associated with the amphibolite and the outline of the amphibolite based on core photos, core, and reconnaissance surface mapping, respectively. Another amphibolite, possibly part of the same one mentioned above, occurs to the east, on the north side of the HS area, and forms outcrops along the county road.

The upper portion of hole AGC-15-K20 appears to be weathered amphibolite, often intruding into the QBGS, grading downward into highly contorted QBGS, often with gneissic textures. Hole AGC-009 begins in what appears to be weathered amphibolite, with an inverted stratigraphy below it, going from QBGS downward into mixed QMBGS-QGS (INT) and then into QGS. This inverted stratigraphy, coupled with the approximately 45° dips of the foliations on the surface caused by the thrust fault, may be the reasons that Alabama Graphite interpreted high angle tight isoclinal folds with repetition of beds in the geology of this area. A more plausible explanation of the geology is that the amphibolite in the area outlined on Figure 6-6 was originally much thicker and occurs as a sill or cap over the metamorphic package. This served as a heat engine to metamorphose the sediments, causing higher metamorphic grades near the contact, including kyanite and sillimanite, with decreasing in metamorphic grade away from the amphibolite. Note that this only applies to the metasediments underneath the amphibolite, as those on and near the lateral margins do not show a high degree of metamorphism. This may be due to the near vertical contact, which would have allowed heat to quickly escape and prevented higher grade metamorphism of the country rock.

The increasing metamorphic grade with depth may be an indication of a larger amphibolite or other intrusive body (possibly gneissic) at depth. The amphibolite exposed on the surface may be a plug or apophysis off of this intrusive. Mapping of the road cuts of the areas surrounding the amphibolite, working outward from the margins, to see if the metamorphic grade of the metasediments decreases away from the amphibolite, may help confirm this suggestion.

The intrusion of the amphibolite appears to have occurred after thrusting, as the QGS on the surface has quartz veins at or near the contact and is often clay altered on the margins of the amphibolite. Further away from the margins of the amphibolite, weak to strong acid leaching of the QGS occurs, with sometimes mostly silica and Cg remaining in the QGS (as seen in hole AGC-15-J11). This may have been caused by the oxidation of pyrite in reduced QGS, coupled with the high iron content of the amphibolite, forming sulfuric acid and leaching the QGS. This acid leaching is very subtle in outcrop and float and would require detailed surface mapping to try to define it on the surface.

In general, the amphibolite appears to have intruded into the QGS unit parallel with the foliations, following zones of weakness, and very rarely appearing to cut the foliations. In many cases, the amphibolite sills occur adjacent to/in contact with granitic sills and/or pegmatites. Larger bodies of amphibolite often have quartz veins within them and/or on their edges. Sills of the amphibolite within the QGS, as exposed in the cut for the pad for hole NX-17, do not appear to have been offset or deformed by thrusting, also indicating that the amphibolite was intruded after thrusting occurred.

There is very little to no thermal metamorphism in the QGS along the contacts with the amphibolite sills, granitic sills, or pegmatite sills. This indicates that these were all in thermal equilibrium when they intruded the metasediments. While this may sound contradictory compared to the proposed contact metamorphism related to the amphibolite mentioned above, the lack of alteration may be due to the relatively quick emplacement of the sills.

Besides the change in metamorphic grade from the QGS to QMBGS to QBGS, the most common evidence of metamorphism is conversion of roscoelite to kyanite or sillimanite. This can occur in the QGS, INT, and QMBGS units. In some places, the roscoelite appears to have been remobilized into thicker layers up to one to three inches thick with a somewhat porcelaneous to glassy texture. In some places, the change from mica to kyanite or sillimanite occurs in highly contorted foliations in or near proposed thrust planes, indicating that this change may be more related to local pressure and temperature changes than regional metamorphism. Increased sillimanite and/or kyanite are also associated with lower Cg grades.

Figure 6-3: Main Grid Area Showing Postulated Granitic Body

Figure 6-4: Main Grid Area with Conductivity Overlay

Figure 6-5: Main Grid Area with Conductivity Overlay and Amphibolite Outline

Figure 6-6: Conceptual Amphibolite Cross Section

Graphite flakes occur as part of the rock forming minerals in the schists. They are often associated with disseminated pyrrhotite and minor pyrite. In places, the green vanadium bearing muscovite, roscoelite, also occurs. Minor late stage, straight-sided veinlets of cubic pyrite up to 10 mm wide with smectite clay cross cut the schistosity and pegmatites.

Graphite ores mined historically were almost entirely from the weathered zone (60 ft to 100 ft), partly because weathering is deep in this area and partly because the weathered rock could be gently crushed without blasting, liberating the graphite without significantly reducing the size of the larger flakes.

The oxide and transition zones were logged in core and modelled for resource estimation. The oxide zone is defined as the zone of total oxidation of sulfides to give an orange-red-brown color to core, and a much softer rock. The base of the oxide zone is often sharp and occurs over an interval of less than one foot. The transition zone is defined as the zone of partial oxidation of sulfides and the rock is significantly crumblier than the underlying reduced or sulfide zone. The top of the transition zone is marked by the first appearance of sulfides downhole, and the base is marked by the disappearance of iron oxides, and a marked increase in hardness. Generally, there is more oxidation on fractures and veins in this zone.

The main schist compositions and logging units defined by Westwater geologists (Figure 6-2) in drill core are as follows:

Quartz-graphite schist (QGS): This schist is both finer grained and better laminated than the QMBGS unit. The color varies from dark gray to black. Contorted foliation and pegmatites are less common. Pyrite and pyrrhotite are both finer grained and more abundant than in the QMBGS unit and form laminae parallel to foliation. Graphite is more abundant in this unit, with grades higher than 1% Cg.

Mixed QMBGS/QGS (INT): The QMBGS and QGS are commonly interbedded at a centimeter scale forming a mixed unit with graphite grades higher than 1% Cg.

Quartz-muscovite-biotite-graphite schist (QMBGS): This schist is medium to coarse grained in texture and is characterized by large porphyroblasts of muscovite. The color varies from medium gray to dark gray-green. It is moderately foliated and commonly contorted, with lenticular pegmatites parallel to foliation. Pyrite and pyrrhotite are common accessory minerals and occur as large, disseminated grains. Sillimanite fibers have been observed. Graphite flakes are generally coarse in this unit, although the average carbon content is generally less than 1% Cg.

Quartz-biotite-garnet schist (QBGS): This unit is subordinate to both the QMBGS and QGS units. It is medium grained and medium to dark gray-green in color. The garnets are usually fine grained with a diameter of about one millimeter, but in places are up to 5 mm to 10 mm. The garnets are light pink in color, suggesting a high manganese (spessartine) content. Foliation is irregular with abundant pegmatites. Pyrite is sparse. Graphite is sparse and grades are less than 1% Cg.

Graphite deposits occur in three forms: flake graphite, vein graphite, and amorphous graphite. These are described by Mitchell (1993):

Landis (1971) tentatively concluded that graphite formation is primarily dependent on metamorphic temperature and forms above 750°F (400°C), with pressure and variation in starting material constituting secondary controls.

The Coosa graphite deposits are flake graphite deposits in high grade metamorphic rocks. They are associated with anomalous vanadium, including the vanadium-mica roscoellite, and nickel, as well as other elements.

Prior to Westwater acquiring the property in 2018, Alabama Graphite, then a subsidiary of AGC, conducted several surface exploration campaigns between 2012 to 2015. Due to the lack of outcrop and dense vegetation, the exploration techniques used were rock sampling in channels mainly along road cuttings, trenching, geophysics, and drilling. Westwater has conducted additional in-fill/delineation diamond drilling (DD) in the Project area during 2021 and 2022. The Company has also conducted a geochemical sampling program using available core and trench material to determine the presence and intensity of vanadium mineralization at the Project.

Channel sampling was carried out initially by AGC close to the Coosa target and later over a large area around it. A total of 1,025 channel samples were reported taken at 328 locations in 2012 to 2014, as shown in Figure 7-1. This comprised 115 samples in 2012 (a further 113 samples had unreliable analyses and the results were discarded), 268 samples in 2013, and 642 samples in 2014. One to sixteen samples would be taken at each sample locality, with an average of 3.125 samples per locality. The distribution of sample locations was not systematic due to the lack of rock outcrop and dense vegetation. Samples were typically collected along road cuts where bed rock was exposed. Small trenches were excavated by hand with a pickaxe and shovel, and ranged from two to three inches in depth and 5 ft to 35 ft in length. The trenches were typically cut perpendicular to the bedrock foliation to provide a representative sample of the outcrop and expose structural features such as foliation.

Before the sample was collected, a global positioning system (GPS) was used to record the location of the start of the trench and all measurements were recorded in a field notebook and later tabulated into a Microsoft (MS) Excel database. Material collected from the trench was placed in a sample bag and labeled.

Figure 7-1: AGC 2012-2013 Channel Sample Location

A program of mechanical trenching was carried by Alabama Graphite in the winter of 2014 using an excavator. A total of 30 trenches were dug with a total length of 10,790 ft. Of these, nine trenches with a total length of 3,600 ft were dug in the Coosa resource estimate area and used in the database for the resource estimate, and another 21 trenches with a total length of 7,190 ft were dug on exploration targets.

The objective was to cut long trenches across the strike of the graphite mineralization in the grid area to infill between DD holes and demonstrate continuity of near surface mineralization. Trenches were also dug on geophysical exploration targets away from the drill grid. The average depth of the trenches was 4 ft to 5 ft with a maximum depth of 8 ft. The trenches were backfilled and revegetated as soon as they had been sampled.

The trenches were treated as low angle drill holes for surveying, sampling, logging, and the database. The starting point (collar) of the trench was surveyed by GPS, and measurements of azimuth and inclination were taken by compass and tape at 25 ft. These were treated as downhole directional surveys to plot the trench. Samples were surveyed by compass and tape to give length, azimuth, and inclination. Samples were taken continuously in 5 ft lengths from the base of the wall of the trench using a geological hammer and a plastic core box as a receptacle. A 20 lb to 25 lb bulk composite sample was also collected on 25 ft lengths for metallurgical test work.

Alabama Graphite carried out two trial ground geophysical surveys. A GEM2 ground frequency domain EM survey was carried out using a GEM2 instrument along roads and had a depth of penetration of 50 ft. In addition, a ground time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) survey was tested but not found to be useful due to the high contrast in the EM response between the oxide and reduced (unweathered) zones.

A helicopter borne magnetic, radiometric, and TDEM survey was carried out by the contractor Prospectair (Québec) in March 2014 over exploration areas surrounding the Coosa resource estimate area (Figure 7-2). Data processing and interpretation were completed by Dubé & Desaulniers Geoscience (Québec) and are described in a report by Dubé (2014).

The survey covered two areas named Coosa North, centered on the Coosa Main Grid area, and Coosa South, over the Bama project in Chilton County, which is not described further in this TRS. A total of 554 line miles were flown on Coosa North on lines oriented 126° with a 328 ft line spacing, and perpendicular control lines spaced at 3,280 ft. The average height above the ground of the helicopter was 291 ft. Graphite targets were defined based on high conductivity from the TDEM survey (graphite and/or sulfides) combined with magnetic lows (no pyrrhotite), as shown in Figure 7-2. A number of these targets were followed up by channel sampling, trenching and, in some cases, drilling.

Note: High = Pink and Orange, Low=Blue and White

Figure 7-2: TDEM Contour Map Showing Conductive Highs

In early 2018, Westwater’s technical staff carried out a review of historical data and geologic information derived from previous graphite exploration drilling and surface trenching programs at the Project to determine the potential for the presence of substantial vanadium mineralization. This work identified significant potential for the discovery of vanadium mineralization in the Project area.

In late 2018, Company personnel carried out an extensive geochemical sampling program, collecting nearly 2,000 samples from many previously completed drill holes and trenches, to determine the presence and intensity of vanadium mineralization at the Project. The laboratory analytical results of this sampling program outlined widespread and strong vanadium mineralization in very close association with flake graphite mineralization at numerous localities within the Project area.

The vanadium mineralization at the Project occurs principally as the mineral roscoelite, a medium to dark green mica mineral that has been a global source for vanadium for more than one hundred years. In addition to the presence of widespread vanadium mineralization in drill hole and trench samples, impressive zones of vanadium mineralization have been outlined in surface exposures at several locations within the Project area.

In late 2018, Company personnel carried out an extensive geochemical sampling program, collecting nearly 2,000 samples from many previously completed drill holes and trenches, to determine the presence and intensity of vanadium mineralization at the Project. The laboratory analytical results of this sampling program outlined widespread and strong vanadium mineralization in very close association with flake graphite mineralization at numerous localities within the Project area.

Due to the limited number of assays collected and wide-spaced drilling between holes sampled for vanadium, all the vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) is considered to be exploration potential. Vanadium potential tonnage and grade are currently estimated to range from 21.0 Mst to 67.0 Mst and 0.19% V₂O₅ to 0.13% V₂O₅, respectively. SLR notes that the potential quantity and grade are conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a Mineral Resource, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a Mineral Resource.

Core DD on the property is the principal method of exploration and delineation of graphite mineralization after initial targeting using rock sampling and geophysical surveys. Drilling can generally be conducted year-round on the Project.

As of the effective date of this TRS, Westwater and its predecessor companies have completed 45,715 ft of drilling in 236 holes (181 DD = 33,117 ft, 24 Sonic = 1,303 ft, 31 Trenches = 11,295 ft) over the Project, as summarized in Table 7-1 and illustrated in Figure 7-3.

Table 7-1: Summary of Drilling Parameters 2012-2022

Westwater Resources – Coosa Graphite Project

Figure 7-3: Drilling Location Map

Six drilling campaigns have been carried out by Westwater and its predecessor AGC at the Project from 2012 to 2022. Drilling focused in the NX and Main Grid areas, however, exploration drilling has also been completed on the remaining three areas. Between 2012 and 2015, 171 drill holes totaling 40,164 ft were completed by Alabama Graphite. From 2021 to March 15, 2022, Westwater completed 65 DD holes totalling 5,551 ft.

In 2021, all drill core, including core previously collected by Alabama Graphite, was transported from drill sites and from Alabama Graphite’s prior office in Sylacauga to the Westwater core facility located in Kellyton, Alabama, via pick-up. Core was logged, photographed, sampled, and stored in core racks at the core logging facility.

Of the 236, 205 holes totaling 39,434 ft were drilled in the Coosa target area and are used in the database for the Mineral Resource estimate. The remaining 31 holes totaling 6,281 ft are exploration holes drilled in the HS-North area (13) or are isolated single holes (18) outside the Coosa block model boundaries were excluded from the resource estimation.

Alabama Graphite conducted four drilling programs at the Project between 2012 and 2015 comprising 171 drill holes totaling 40,164 ft.

The first program of diamond drilling was carried out between September 27, 2012, and October 23, 2012, and consisted of two northwesterly trending fences of six holes each for a total of 6,003 ft (holes AGC-001 through AGC-012). All fence holes were drilled at an inclination of -50° perpendicular to the stratified graphite horizons to gain information regarding the stratigraphy and graphite distribution. The two fences were approximately 3,000 ft to 3,800 ft apart, with hole spacing averaging 500 ft. The fence holes were core holes of HQ (2.5 in.) diameter and were drilled to a nominal depth of 500 ft.

The second drilling program was carried out between October 23, 2012, and December 21, 2012, and consisted of 57 vertical holes drilled on a 200 ft x 200 ft grid in the Main Grid area for a total of 14,415 ft. The holes were numbered by the grid location and included holes AGC-A04 to AGC-J09. The grid drilling was a combination of sonic core and HQ core. Diamond drilling gave low core recovery (<50%) in the upper weathered zone so a sonic drill was used to drill core through the weathered zone and set casing for the HQ diamond core drill. This method proved to be very effective due to the approximately 100% core recovery from the sonic drill, however, in some holes there is a gap of up to 10 ft in sampling between the end of the sonic core and the start of the diamond core.

Twenty-four sonic holes were drilled in summer 2014 for a total of 1,303 ft numbered AGC-10S, AGC-12S, AGC-14-K03S, and AGC-14-01S to AGC-14-21S. The core diameter was HQ.

Eleven of these holes were located in the Coosa resource area and are included in the database for the Mineral Resource estimate. Of these eleven, holes AGC-14-010S and AGC-14-012S were re-drilled in the upper parts of diamond drill holes AGC-010 and AGC-012, but are treated as separate drill holes as they were not pre-collars; three holes (AGC-14-13S, AGC-14-18S, and AGC-14-20S) were deepened by diamond drilling in 2015 (respectively holes AGC-15-H14, AGC-15-I19, and ACG-15-I21); and one hole was not deepened and is only a sonic hole (AGC-14-K03S).

The other 13 sonic holes drilled in 2014 are exploration holes to test geophysical anomalies away from the Coosa resource area and were not used in the database for the Mineral Resource estimate.

The 2015 drilling program was designed to extend the Main Grid and resource to the north and south, with the emphasis on the oxide and transition zones. A different drill contractor was used, Dycus Diamond Drilling LLC (3D Drilling) of Wytheville, Virginia, with two truck mounted Longyear 38 drill rigs. The contractor was chosen for their ability to achieve high core recoveries of almost 100% in the oxide and transition zones by drilling at a slower rate with less weight on the bit. The core diameter was HQ. The three deeper exploration holes were reduced to NQ (1.9 in.) diameter at 150 ft depth.

A total of 37 diamond drill holes for 5,333.5 ft were drilled on the Coosa resource grid in 2015, of which three holes totaling 142.0 ft were pre-collared by sonic drilling in 2014. The holes were numbered by the year and grid location and are AGC-15-E003 to AGC-15-O006.

In addition, nine holes for 1,755 ft were drilled on two exploration targets in 2015, Fixico Mine (holes AGC-15-FIX01 to AGC-15-FIX03) and Holy Schist (holes AGC-15-HS01 to AGC-15-HS06). One of these was pre-collared by sonic drilling in 2014. These holes were not used in the database for the Coosa Mineral Resource estimate.

Downhole surveys of the diamond drill holes were taken by the drilling company with a Reflex Instruments EZ Shot Survey tool (all 2012 holes, 22 of the 2015 holes) or a Multishot tool (24 of the 2015 holes). The instruments were adjusted for the local magnetic declination of 3.5° west and recorded the azimuths relative to grid north. Measurements were made at the end of the hole and, in the deeper holes, at a midway depth. Downhole surveys were not carried out on the sonic drill holes as they were short and vertical, and most were pre-collars for diamond drill holes.

Drill collars are capped by plastic pipe with a cap and cemented in place. Collar locations were surveyed with a high precision 2005 Trimble GeoXM GPS unit with submeter accuracy. The collars of the 2014 sonic holes were surveyed with a handheld Garmin GPS unit with lower accuracy 3 m to 5 m (10 ft to 16 ft). The datum used was NAD83 UTM Zone 16N in meters.

From late May 2021 to mid-March 2022, Westwater completed 5,551 ft of drilling in 65 drill holes. More than 95% of the footage drilled was NQ. The drilling campaign had three main objectives: confirmation of historic drilling results, infill drilling to test the continuity of the Cg mineralization, and collection of drill core for vanadium geochemical assessment.

No downhole surveys were completed due to the shallow depth of drilling, with an average depth of 85 ft.

Information in the following sections contained in this TRS have been derived, and in some instances extracted, from the subsequent drilling programs discussed above and documentation and standard operating procedures (SOP) supplied to SLR by Westwater for review.

AGC initially used Mineral Labs, Inc. (Mineral Labs) of Salyersville, Kentucky (not accredited) and Société Générale de Surveillance (SGS) at Lakefield, Ontario (ISO/IEC 17025:2005 certified) for sample preparation and carbon analyses of channel samples taken in 2012 and for the first drill hole, AGC-001C. Both laboratories are independent of AGC.

The first batch of 113 channel samples was prepared by Mineral Labs at their laboratory in Birmingham, Alabama, and analyzed for carbon by the loss on ignition (LOI) method at their laboratory in Salyersville. These results were subsequently found to be erroneous and too high and were discarded.

The second batch of 115 channel samples was prepared and analyzed for carbon by the LECO method by SGS Lakefield and were shown to be reliable by secondary check analyses at ALS Minerals in Elko, Nevada (ISO/IEC 17025:2005 certified/accredited). The sample pulps were also analyzed at Mineral Labs, and comparison with the other laboratories showed that the Mineral Labs assays were unreliable.

Core from the first drill hole, AGC-001C, was submitted to SGS at their laboratory in Birmingham, Alabama for preparation. The pulps were sent to SGS Lakefield for carbon analysis. The marble blank samples were reported to contain greater than 11% Cg because of inadequate acid removal of carbonate carbon prior to the LECO analysis. In addition, it was found that the sample preparation laboratory in Birmingham had only prepared a few pieces of core from each bag instead of the entire sample. The SGS analyses of hole AGC-001C were not used. After these failed results, the unprepared samples, rejects, and pulps were retrieved from the two SGS laboratories, recombined by AGC, and submitted to ALS Minerals for preparation and analysis.

All further sampling from 2012 through 2015 samples was prepared and analyzed either by ALS Minerals in Elko, Nevada and Vancouver, British Columbia (ISO 9000:2008 registered and ISO 17025 accredited in North America) or by Activation Laboratories Ltd. (Actlabs) in Ancaster, Ontario (ISO 9000:2008 registered and ISO 17025 accredited, as well as accredited to CAN-P-1579, which is specific to mineral analysis laboratories). All three laboratories are independent of AGC and Westwater. ALS Minerals was used as the primary laboratory for the 2012 and 2013 drill programs and Actlabs as the secondary laboratory; this was reversed for the 2014 and 2015 drilling, trenching, and sampling programs.

Samples were prepared by ALS Minerals at their laboratory in Elko, Nevada. The sample preparation procedure was to log the samples into the tracking system and add a bar code label (procedure code LOG-22), weight the samples (code WEI-21), dry them at high temperature of up to 120°C (code DRY-21), fine crush by jaw crusher to greater than 70% passing -2 mm (code CRU-31), split off 1,000 g using a riffle splitter (code SPL-21), and pulverize the 1,000 g split to greater than 85% passing 75 microns (200 mesh) in a ring and puck style grinding mill (code PUL-32). The entire sample preparation method is referred to by ALS Minerals as code PREP-31B.

Samples were prepared by Actlabs at their laboratory in Ancaster, Ontario. The sample preparation procedure was to log the samples into the tracking system and add a bar code label, weight the samples, dry them at 60°C, crush the entire sample by jaw crusher to greater than 90% passing 10 mesh (1.7 mm), split off 250 g using a riffle splitter, and pulverize the split to greater than 95% passing 150 mesh (105 microns) in a mild steel ring and puck style grinding mill. The sample preparation method is referred to by Actlabs as code RX1.

ALS Minerals shipped the sample pulps from Elko, Nevada, to their laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia for analysis. A 1 g subsample of the sample pulp was analyzed for total carbon by sample combustion in a LECO induction furnace at high temperature which generates carbon dioxide. This is quantitatively detected by infrared spectroscopy and reported as percent carbon, with a range of detection of 0.01% to 50% C (code C-IR07). Inorganic carbon (carbonate) was analyzed by carbon dioxide (CO₂) coulometry, with a range of detection of 0.2% to 15% CO₂ (code C-GAS05). The procedure is to acidify the sample with perchloric acid (HClO₄) in a heated reaction vessel to evolve free carbon dioxide. This is subsequently transferred to a CO₂ coulometer using a carbon-free gas, where the CO₂ is quantitatively absorbed and reacts with monoethanolamine in the presence of an indicator that fades in color with increasing CO₂ concentration. The color change is detected by a photo-cell and is used to determine the amount of CO₂ in the sample. Carbon is calculated from carbon dioxide and the results are rounded to two decimal points and one decimal point respectively. Check calculations often show variation of ±0.01% carbon due to rounding.

The sample weight and results for C (C-IR07), C (C-GAS05) and CO₂ (C-GAS05) were reported to AGC on MS Excel spreadsheets and in Certificates of Analysis in secure Adobe Acrobat file format, transmitted by email and available on a secure internet sample tracking site called Webtrieve™.

Graphite carbon was calculated by AGC by subtracting inorganic carbon from total carbon. This assumes that the only other form of carbon present in the samples, other than graphite carbon, is contained within carbonates.

Multi-element analysis was carried out for one entire drill hole (AGC-010) by ALS Minerals at their Reno, Nevada laboratory. The samples were analyzed for 53 elements by aqua regia digestion and ICPMS analysis (method code ME-MS41L).