Management

• Ken Mushinski - President, CEO and Director

  Mr. Mushinski brings over 30 years of leadership experience in corporate development and project management, both domestically and internationally. He served on Rare Element Resource’s board from November 2017 until March 2022. As the former Vice President, Corporate Planning and Acquisitions for General Atomics Technologies Corporation and President of uranium companies Quasar Resource and Cotter Corporation, all subsidiaries of General Atomics, Mr. Mushinski has extensive production-related operational experience, from permitting to decommissioning, in the resource industry. His career experience includes mergers and acquisitions, operational and financial planning for uranium production operations, regulatory affairs, and governmental interactions. Throughout his career, he has been responsible for developing strategic partnerships and garnering investments from within the defense industry for projects under his direction and played a key role as a management committee member for the Honeywell/General Atomics ConverDyn partnership. Mr. Mushinski holds a Master of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering, Summa Cum Laude, from San Diego State University.
  

• Kelli Kast - VP, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer

  Ms. Kast has nearly 30 years of in-house legal experience, including as top legal officer in the precious metals industry for seven years and 12 years in the rare earth industry. She served as a consultant of Rare Element Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, from June 2015 through June 2024, when she resumed her prior executive position of Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer, a position she held from July 2012 to May 2015. Ms. Kast additionally served as the Corporate Secretary of the Company from July 2012 through August 2022. She served as Coeur d’Alene Mine Corporation’s Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary from May 2005 to March 2009 and as its Chief Administrative Officer from March 2009 to December 2011. From 2004 to 2005, Ms. Kast served as Corporate Counsel for HealtheTech Inc. From 1997 to 2003, she served as the Assistant General Counsel and Corporate Secretary for Global Water Technologies Inc. and Psychrometric Systems, Inc. From January 1996 through December 1997, she served as corporate counsel for Boise Cascade Corporation. Ms. Kast earned her Juris Doctor from the University of South Dakota School of Law and her Bachelor’s degree from the University of Idaho.
  

   

• Wayne Rich - Chief Financial Officer

  

  Mr. Rich is a financial executive with more than 20 years of experience in the resource industry, including with mining and metals companies. His experience includes serving as Chief Financial Officer of Star Mountain Resources, Inc., Chief Financial Officer and Vice President of Finance for Prospect Global Resources, Inc., and Treasurer and Director of Corporate Finance of Thompson Creek Metals, Inc.  Mr. Rich has extensive experience in public accounting and reporting, internal controls, and financial modeling. Mr. Rich holds a Master’s in Business Administration from Illinois State University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Accountancy from Eastern Illinois University. Mr. Rich joined the Company in March 2022. 

• Paul Bonifas - Director of Business Development

  

  Paul Bonifas is a Wyoming-based energy expert who specializes in mining, governmental policy, business development, and economic evaluations. He first joined the Company as a consultant (May 2023) and was appointed the Director of Business Development in July 2024. He has worked with the Company on governmental affairs, strategic planning, and project management. He has extensive experience in energy development, renewable and petroleum operations, and permitting greenfield projects. Paul is the principal of Bonifas Consulting and has over seven years of providing services ranging from project management, model creations, sensitivity analyses, operation directing, client advocacy, stakeholder/investor relations, public presentations, technical reports, business development, grants writing, permitting, economic analysis, regulatory agency navigation, and modeling. Mr. Bonifas has previously provided services to 9H Energy and Goolsby, Finley and Associates, providing engineering support to clients’ exploration and development projects. He has an M.S. in Petroleum Engineering from the University of Wyoming College of Engineering and Physical Sciences and an M.B.A. from the University of Wyoming College of Business.

• Jaye Pickarts, P.E. - Consultant, Mining, Processing & Environmental

  Jaye Pickarts is a senior process engineer with more than 31 years of leadership in project management for development, acquisitions, engineering design, permitting and reclamation, mine closure, water management and process operations. He has extensive experience with projects in North and South America, Australia, Africa and Kazakhstan. His mine operations experience includes supervisory, maintenance and engineering positions working with precious metals, base metals and industrial mineral companies, including test programs, capital and operating cost estimates, and start-up and operations assistance. In his role as Senior Vice President for Knight Piesold and Company, he was responsible for successfully coordinating the completion of numerous feasibility studies and environmental permitting programs both in the US and internationally. Mr. Pickarts has a BS in mineral processing engineering from the Montana College of Mineral Science and Technology and completed the Business Administration Graduate Program at the University of Nevada, Reno.