Environmental Impact Statement Commenced on Rare Element Resources’ Bear Lodge Project
Feb 06, 2014
February 6, 2014 – Lakewood, Colorado – Rare Element Resources Ltd. (NYSE MKT: REE and TSX: RES), a mineral resources company advancing development of the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project, announced that members of the US Forest Service, Tetra Tech, the prime contractor, and the Company met last week and officially commenced preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on the Bear Lodge Project under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The meeting was led by Jeanette Timm, the Forest Service’s Project Manager for the EIS, and included an introduction of the Forest Service’s inter-disciplinary resource team, Tetra Tech’s resource and technical specialists, and the lead contacts for Rare Element Resources.
The first step in the NEPA process will be the publication in the Federal Register of a Notice of Intent to prepare the EIS and the announcement of public scoping meetings. Scoping is the mechanism by which the public becomes involved with the EIS at the onset of the NEPA process. The purpose of scoping is to identify the significant environmental issues that are then used to develop the alternatives to be analyzed in the EIS.
“The team the Forest Service has assembled for the preparation of the Bear Lodge EIS includes an impressive collection of technical experts covering many disciplines that will ensure the completion of a document that carefully and sufficiently considers and addresses the impacts of our proposed operations,” stated Jaye T. Pickarts, Rare Element’s Chief Operating Officer. “We believe the Bear Lodge Project is an important component of America’s expressed desire to re-establish a secure, domestic source of critical rare earths, and we are committed to developing a project that meets the highest standards of environmental stewardship. We look forward to working with the Forest Service and Tetra Tech to advance the EIS process as efficiently and timely as possible while ensuring completion of a thorough assessment.”
Critical rare earth elements were identified by the US Department of Energy in a report published in late 2011 entitled “Critical Material Strategy” and include Neodymium, Europium, Terbium, Dysprosium and Yttrium – all elements present at the Bear Lodge Project. The study evaluated the role of these rare earths in the green energy economy and identified them as “critical” due to the supply risk associated with their lack of availability outside of China.
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 is currently underway.
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" or by discussions of strategy or intentions. Such forward looking statements include statements regarding the permitting process and progress, the processing test work and expected results, 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 our Bear Lodge Project, fluctuations in demand for, and price of, rare earth products; success of process technology under testing; timing of and unexpected events at the Bear Lodge property; delay or failure to receive government approvals and permits; 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 set out in our filings made from time to time with the SEC and Canadian regulators, including but without limitation, our reports on Form 10-K and Form 10Q. 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 press release represent management's estimate as of any date other than the date of this press release.