CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Westwater Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: WWR), an energy technology and battery-grade natural graphite company (“Westwater” or the “Company”), announced today that it is experiencing increased demand for its natural graphite anode material that will be produced from its Kellyton Graphite Plant after the implementation of global tariffs.

Worldwide, the vast majority of natural graphite anode material is currently imported from Chinese producers. While subject to continuing uncertainty, currently the import tariff on natural graphite anode material from China is 170%. Although some types of natural graphite used in other industries is exempt from some of the recent tariff increases, natural graphite anode material for applications in electric vehicle batteries – commonly referred to as coasted spherical processed graphite (CSPG) – is not exempt and is subject to the full tariffs.

In addition, tariffs are also now in place on CSPG shipped from other countries including Indonesia, South Korea and Japan. These broad tariffs effectively plug loopholes in the Inflation Reduction Act that the federal government has been trying to address via a series of interpretations and executive orders over the past couple of years.

Jon Jacobs, Westwater’s Chief Commercial Officer, commented, “The recent import tariffs on CSPG are a game-changer for Westwater. Although individual country tariff amounts may continue to fluctuate going forward, import tariffs on battery natural graphite produced anywhere outside the U.S. are likely to persist. Therefore, one of the best hedges for U.S. auto companies and their battery partners to avoid such tariffs completely is to buy their CSPG from U.S. producers like Westwater. In that regard, we are experiencing a notable increase in customer interest in new off-take contracts for the CSPG product to be produced from our Kellyton Graphite Plant.”

About Westwater Resources, Inc.

Westwater Resources is an energy technology company that is focused on developing battery-grade natural graphite. Westwater Resources’ primary project is the Kellyton Graphite Processing Plant that is under construction in east-central Alabama. In addition, Westwater Resources’ Coosa Graphite Deposit is the largest and most advanced natural flake graphite deposit in the contiguous United States — and is located across 41,965 acres (~17,000 hectares) in Coosa County, Alabama. For more information, visit westwaterresources.net.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions and are identified by words and phrases such as “increased,” “will be produced,” “vast majority,” “uncertainty,” “broad,” “effectively,” “trying to address,” “fluctuate,” “likely to persist,” “experiencing,” and other similar words or phrases. Forward looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning: the importance of critical minerals including battery-grade graphite; establishing a graphite industry in the U.S.; tariffs associated with the importation of natural graphite into the U.S. including the percentage of those tariffs and the countries for which tariffs will apply; the Company’s business plans for its Kellyton Graphite Processing Plant; and efforts to manage existing off-take agreements or to put new supply agreements into place for the products from that Plant. The Company cautions that there are factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information that has been provided. The reader is cautioned not to put undue reliance on this forward-looking information, which is not a guarantee of future performance and is subject to a number of uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company; accordingly, there can be no assurance that such suggested results will be realized. Those uncertainties and other factors are discussed in Westwater’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2024, and subsequent securities filings, and they could cause actual results to differ materially from management expectations.
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