Rare Element Resources
Bear Lodge Project
Canadian NI 43-101 Technical Report
October 9
th
, 2014
10135-200-46 – Rev. 0
1-20
The Company currently does not have off-take agreements for the sale of the REO
concentrate. Several rare earth separation facilities have been identified as potential
customers.
On January 21, 2014, the Company announced the filing of a utility patent for rare
earth processing technology that produces thorium free, pure rare earth concentrate.
The process was developed and tested successfully in both bench and pilot scale
programs within the last year. These test programs were conducted at the SGS
Laboratories in Lakefield Ontario Canada.
Technology risks include the optimization of these technologies and their associated
economics. Detailed engineering of several of the infrastructure and support facilities
has not been completed. Remaining engineering tasks include the development of a
raw water supply system and water rights at the mine site, establishment of access
road easements along the county road, and the final power line routing to the mine
site. These details will be finalized in the Feasibility Study.
One of the important project risks is with timely completion of the environmental and
permitting process. The procedures for obtaining a mining permit from the Wyoming
Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) are well established.
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process is also well established in the
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), which is the formal process to review the
impact of proposed mining activities on federal public lands. A Plan of Operations
was submitted to the United States Forest Service in 2012 and outlines the proposed
disturbance and impacts associated with the project. This plan was accepted as
complete in May 2013. While the Company is actively continuing to establish the
environmental baseline conditions, there is a risk that the final Record of Decision
(ROD) could be denied, contain conditions that would adversely affect the project
economics, or be challenged. The Company is developing extensive impact studies
and will establish the best available mitigation measures to meet or exceed regulatory
agency requirements.
