Westwater Announces 25% Additional Increase in Phase I Production to 12,500 MT Annually While Maintaining Existing Budget

Westwater Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: WWR), an energy technology and battery-grade natural graphite development company (“Westwater” or the “Company”), is announcing an additional increase in Phase I production to 12,500 mt per year of battery-grade natural graphite anode material. In November 2023, Westwater previously announced a capacity increase from 7,500 mt to 10,000 mt per year.

During the fourth quarter of 2023 and early 2024, Westwater worked with its third-party engineering firm and equipment manufacturers to increase design capacity of coated spherical purified graphite (“CSPG”) production for Phase I of the Kellyton Graphite Processing Plant (“Kellyton Plant”). As a result, Westwater now expects to produce 12,500 MT of CSPG annually – an increase of 25 percent – while remaining within the Phase I cost estimate of $271 million. “Westwater is making great progress commercially with the signing of our first multi-year offtake agreement, and now technically by adding additional Phase I production,” said Frank Bakker, Westwater’s President and CEO. “We believe the market interest in our CSPG is due in part to the recent Foreign Entity of Concern guidance requiring EV tax credit vehicles use of IRA-compliant graphite by 2025, and by new Chinese export restrictions on graphite that have reduced security of supply.”

“Customer engagement and market demand for domestic CSPG remains strong following our February 5th announcement of our first multi-year offtake agreement with volumes ramping up to 10,000 mt per year,” said Terence J. Cryan, Westwater’s Executive Chairman. “By increasing the production of Phase I at the Kellyton Plant to 12,500 mt per year, Westwater is responding to the customer demand signals for ‘Made in the USA’ battery anode material. This 25% increase in Phase 1 plant capacity simultaneously improves the projected Kellyton Plant economics, and importantly, the inherent estimated profitability of our company. It will also aid us in securing the debt financing planned for the completion of Phase 1.”

Recent Government Regulation of Graphite Products

Chinese exporters are now required to apply for permits to ship two types of graphite material, including high-purity, high-hardness and high-intensity synthetic graphite material and natural flake graphite and its products. Nearly 100% of the battery-grade natural graphite materials produced in 2023 involve some amount of processing in China. Westwater believes these export restrictions continue to highlight the supply-chain risk for the U.S. and other countries related to natural graphite products.