Westwater Resources Files Key Environmental Permit for Coosa Graphite Project

NPDES Application Submitted to ADEM as Part of Mine Development Process

CENTENNIAL, Colo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Westwater Resources, Inc. (NYSE American: WWR), an energy technology and battery-grade natural graphite company (“Westwater” or the “Company”), today announced that it has filed an application for a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) permit with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (“ADEM”) for its Coosa Graphite Project in Coosa County, Alabama.

The NPDES permit is required under the U.S. Clean Water Act and authorizes the regulated discharge of treated stormwater and other permitted water associated with mining and related site activities. The application filing represents an important step in the environmental permitting process for the Coosa Graphite Project.

The submitted application includes site-specific engineering, hydrologic, and environmental analyses to support compliance with applicable federal and state water quality standards. ADEM will review the application in accordance with its established regulatory procedures, which include technical evaluation and a public notice and comment period.

“We continue to advance the Coosa Graphite Project in a disciplined and responsible manner,” said Frank Bakker, Chief Executive Officer of Westwater Resources. “Filing the NPDES permit application reflects the progress of our engineering and environmental work and supports our long-term plan to integrate Coosa as the primary source of natural graphite feedstock for our Kellyton Graphite Plant. Vertical integration remains central to our strategy as we build a domestic supply chain for battery-grade graphite.”

Westwater will continue to work with ADEM and other regulatory authorities as the permitting process moves forward.

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 “development,” “support compliance,” “continue to advance,” “progress,” “integrate,” “primary,” “strategy,” “build” “continue to work,” “moves forward,” and other similar words or phrases. Forward looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning: the importance of critical minerals including battery-grade, natural 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; and the Company’s business plans for its Coosa Graphite Deposit and Kellyton Graphite Processing Plant including the permitting processes and regulatory requirements for both. 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.