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the availability and cost of appropriate processing and/or refining arrangements, if required;
compliance with environmental and other governmental approval and permit requirements;
the availability of funds to finance exploration, development and construction activities, as warranted;
future prices for rare earth minerals;
potential opposition from non-governmental organizations, environmental groups or local groups or
inhabitants that may delay or prevent development activities;
potential increases in exploration, construction and operating costs due to changes in the cost of fuel,
power, materials or supplies;
potential shortages of mineral processing, construction or other facilities-related equipment or supplies;
and
the ability to attract and retain talent for development and operation of the Bear Lodge REE Project.
It is common in exploration programs and in development, construction and mine start-up to experience unexpected
problems and delays. Accordingly, our activities may not result in profitable mining operations, and we may not
succeed in establishing mining operations or profitably producing REE products at our Bear Lodge REE Project at
all or in the anticipated timeframe.
Joint ventures and other partnerships may expose us to risks.
Historically, we have entered into joint venture arrangements to help fund the exploration and potential development
of our properties. In the future, we may enter into joint ventures or other partnership arrangements, or engage in
strategic acquisitions, with other parties in relation to the development of our properties. Such arrangements may
dilute our interest in our properties or affect our ability to control development of our projects. Further, any failure
of such joint venture or other partners to meet their obligations to us or to third parties, or any disputes with respect
to the parties' respective rights and obligations, could have a material adverse effect on the joint venture and
therefore could have a material adverse effect on our business performance and on our ability to develop our
properties.
We expect to commence a FS on our Bear Lodge REE Project, and the results of this FS are uncertain.
We completed a PFS for our Bear Lodge REE Project in October 2014 that updated our Mineral Resource estimate
and refined our process technology at that time. We expect to commence work on the FS in 2015. The results of this
study are uncertain and may indicate project economics that are more or less favorable than previously reported. As
our project optimization efforts continue, we cannot ensure that the FS will be based upon all of the same inputs
used in the PFS. As a result, we may need to update our processing
technology and/or project development plans to
enhance economics or further study aspects of the Bear Lodge REE Project. This could result in significant
additional delays and expense or could make financing efforts with respect to such efforts more difficult or not
possible.
Our growth depends on the permitting, development and operation of our Bear Lodge REE Project, which is our
only rare earth project.
Our only rare earth exploration project at this time is our Bear Lodge REE Project. Our continued viability is based
on successfully implementing our strategy, including completion of a FS, permitting and construction of a mine and
processing facilities in an expected timeframe. If we are unable to implement our strategy or in the event of the
imposition of significant additional regulatory burdens or delays or a significant deterioration of the market for rare
earth products, our ability to develop a sustainable or profitable business would be materially adversely affected.
Increased costs could affect our ability to bring the Bear Lodge REE Project into production and, once in
production, to be profitable.
We have estimated the initial capital costs required to bring the Bear Lodge REE Project into commercial production
in our PFS, dated October 9, 2014, at approximately $290 million. Our FS may suggest that our actual costs may be
higher than we presently anticipate, which could make it more difficult to finance the project or to successfully
establish mining operations at the Bear Lodge REE Project.
