are Element Resources Ltd. (the “Company”)(NYSE MKT: REE and TSX: RES), a mineral resource company advancing development of the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project (the “Project”) located in northeast Wyoming, announced today that it has filed on SEDAR a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report (TR) summarizing the results of its recently completed pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the Project.
October 10, 2014 – Lakewood, Colorado - Rare Element Resources Ltd. (the “Company”)(NYSE MKT: REE and TSX: RES), a mineral resource company advancing development of the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project (the “Project”) located in northeast Wyoming, announced today that it has filed on SEDAR a National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report (TR) summarizing the results of its recently completed pre-feasibility study (PFS) on the Project. The TR provides the detail surrounding the positive PFS results reported in the Company’s press release dated August 26, 2014, entitled, Rare Element Resources Announces 2014 Pre-Feasibility Study on the Bear Lodge Project. The full TR can be accessed from the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com or from the Company’s website at www.rareelementresources.com.
As previously reported, key highlights from the Company’s PFS include:
- Low initial capital cost of $290 million.
- Mining of high-grade zone in Years 1 – 9 boosts initial cash flows and results in a 2.9-year payback from the start of production.
- After-tax net present value (NPV) of $330 million at a 10% discount rate, and after-tax internal rate of return (IRR) of 29%.
- 45-year Project life based on the expanded Measured and Indicated (M&I) mineral resource.
- A proprietary recovery process that consistently produces a 97+% pure, near thorium-free, total rare earth oxide (TREO) concentrate.
- Average annual production of 7,510 tons (6,813 tonnes) of TREO concentrate.
- Significant upside potential in resource growth, both through the inferred resource within the pit and additional exploration activities; in cost savings associated with refinement of the Company’s proprietary recovery process; in the recovery of valuable by-products to create additional revenue streams; and in moving up the value chain by undertaking downstream separation.
“Bear Lodge continues to prove to be an exceptional project with low anticipated capital costs, a long Project life, strong economics and excellent opportunity for upside,” said Randall J. Scott, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We believe the PFS reflects the success of our programs over the last two years but not necessarily all the strengths of the Project. We are fortunate to have discovered not just a single deposit but a rare earth district, rich in the critical rare earths, with multiple exploration targets still to be evaluated. Our Project design allows us to supply meaningful amounts of rare earths with only $290 million of initial capital, but still gives us flexibility to respond to increased market demand. We have a proprietary recovery process that enhances conventional technology to produce a 97+% pure total rare earth concentrate, and we continue to evaluate options to optimize this process. Most importantly, we continue to advance permitting on the Project supporting our goal of being the next global producer, as we strive to help provide a secure supply of critical rare earths to manufacturers and high-tech companies around the world.”
A copy of the TR can be found on the Company’s website at www.rareelementresources.com under Bear Lodge Project/Project-related Studies & Reports. For a copy of the August 26, 2014 news release mentioned above, please go to the Company’s website under Investor Information/News Releases.
Roche Engineering, Inc. is the principal author of, and is an independent engineering company that prepared, the TR on behalf of the Company. Pete Dahlberg, P.E., is the independent Qualified Person from Roche Engineering, Inc. who reviewed and approved this news release.
Rare Element Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded mineral resource company focused on exploration and development of rare-earth element deposits, specifically those with significant distribution of critical rare earths. The Company is advancing development of the Bear Lodge Project, located in northeast Wyoming. Bear Lodge is a significant mineralized district containing many of the less common, more valuable critical rare earths that are essential for electronics, fiber optics, laser systems for health and defense, as well as many evolving green technologies, like hybrid cars, solar panels and wind turbines. Permitting and feasibility work on the Project continue to advance. The Company is a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute, a combined government and private sector organization committed to eliminating supply chain issues for rare earths and other critical minerals and materials. Please see CMI’s website at https://cmi.ameslab.gov/ for additional details on its mission and members.
For additional information, please visit the Company’s website at www.rareelementresources.com or contact Robbin Lee at 720-278-2462 or rlee@rareelementresources.com.
Forward Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation in the United States and Canada. Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are usually identified by our use of certain terminology, including "will", "believes", "may", "expects", "should", "seeks", "anticipates", "plans", "has potential to", or "intends" (including negative or grammatical variations thereof) or by discussions of strategy or intentions. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding: the estimated Project economics and parameters, including capital costs, NPV, IRR, after tax returns, mine and Project life, mining plan including grades of ore expected to be processed during various periods of mining, payback period, anticipated production rates and costs, recovery rates and the impact of the Company’s proprietary technology on production, matters regarding the rare earths industry; mineral resource and reserve estimates; the potential for upside of the Project; permitting process and progress; the expected commissioning of the Project and Project development plans for the future. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results or achievements to be materially different from any future results or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the progress of the Project; fluctuations in demand for, and price of, rare earth products; success of process technology under testing or development; results from geological evaluations and programs; timing of and unexpected events at the Bear Lodge property; delay or failure to receive government approvals and permits; our ability to obtain financing for the Project on acceptable terms or at all; changes in U.S. and Canadian securities markets; and general economic conditions. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of these and other factors in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2013. We expect that the above estimates as to development plans, technology and other processes, time frames and financial needs will change as new information is received and that actual results will vary from these estimates, possibly by material amounts. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event. Investors and others should not assume that any forecasts in this news release represent management's estimate as of any date other than the date of this news release.
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors
Cautionary Note to US Investors Concerning Estimates of Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources. This news release uses the terms "Measured mineral resources" and "Indicated mineral resources". The Company advises US investors that while these terms are recognized and required by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, the US Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") does not recognize them. Also, disclosure of contained tonnage is permitted under Canadian regulations; however the SEC generally requires mineral resource information to be reported as in-place tonnage and grade. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral deposits in these categories will ever be converted into mineral reserves.
Additionally, this news release uses the term "Inferred mineral resources". The Company advises US investors that while this term is recognized and required by National Instrument 43-101, the SEC does not recognize it. "Inferred mineral resources" have a great amount of uncertainty as to their existence, and great uncertainty as to their economic and legal feasibility. It cannot be assumed that all or any part of Inferred mineral resources will ever be upgraded to a higher category. In accordance with Canadian rules, estimates of Inferred mineral resources cannot form the basis of feasibility or other economic studies. US investors are cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the Inferred mineral resource exists, or is economically or legally mineable. - US investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K which may be obtained from us, or from the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov.