Rare Element Resources Logo

OTCQB: REEMF    |     

Management

  • Kelli Kast - Interim President and Chief Executive Officer, Consultant, Legal & Administrative

    Ms. Kast has over 25 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 has served as a consultant of Rare Element Resources, Inc., a subsidiary of the Company, since June 2015. From July 2012 to May 2015, Ms. Kast served as the Vice President, General Counsel, Chief Administrative Officer and Corporate Secretary of the Company.  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. 

  • 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. 
     
  • George Byers - Advisor, Community and Governmental Affairs

    George Byers is a 35-year mining and energy industry veteran with extensive executive experience in federal, state and local government relations. He has worked in a variety of settings, including public policy issues involved with mineral exploration, project siting and development, land use and public affairs issues in the Western United States. He has been a consultant to the precious metals, rare earths, copper, and uranium industries on a variety of public and government issues. Mr. Byers has held senior level positions with Cameco, Rio Algom, Newmont and Santa Fe Pacific. While with Cameco, he was detailed as vice president of New Mexico site development and government relations to Louisiana Energy Services. He successfully built the case for a European/U.S. consortium to site the first commercial gas centrifuge uranium enrichment facility in the western hemisphere. This critical facility is now in commercial operation and is the first major US nuclear fuel cycle facility to be licensed by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission in over 30 years. Mr. Byers holds a BA in Geology and a Masters of Urban & Regional Planning, both from the University of Mississippi.
     
  • Paul Bonifas - Consultant, Special Projects, Business Dev and Community & Government Affairs

    P Bonifas 2 1 24 small

    Paul Bonifas is a Wyoming-based energy expert who specializes in mining, governmental policy, business development, and economic evaluations. 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. He 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 provided services to 9H Energy and Goolsby, Finley and Associates, providing engineering support to clients’ exploration and development projects. He recently coauthored a paper with University of Wyoming’s Professor of Economics, Timothy Considine, entitled “Anyalzying the EV Rule.” 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.