TSX-V: RES & AMEX: REE
VANCOUVER, March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Rare Element
Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: RES and AMEX: REE) (the "Company") is
pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Jaye T. Pickarts, P.E.
as Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the Company. His principal
focus will be to lead the technical team in advancing the Company's
Bear Lodge Rare-Earths Project, located in Wyoming, through the development phase and
into production. Mr. Pickarts has provided metallurgical consulting
advice to the Company for the past eight months and has been
instrumental in coordinating the Company's Scoping Study
(Preliminary Economic Assessment), which was completed in
November 2010. The Study provides an
initial engineering development model and a preliminary economic
analysis that will form the basis of a Preliminary Feasibility
Study to be completed by year-end 2011.
The COO's primary responsibilities will be to coordinate all of
the following activities: mine planning, mineral processing and
hydrometallurgical studies, environmental baseline assessment and
permitting studies, other engineering studies, and completion of
the Pre-feasibility Study. Successful completion of these studies
with positive results will allow the project to advance to
Feasibility Study stage and further the project's development.
Mr. Pickarts is a metallurgical engineer with more than 25 years
of project evaluation and operations experience in the metal mining
industry. Prior to his appointment as COO of Rare Element, he was
the Senior Vice President and Director of Knight Piésold and
Company in Denver, Colorado for 12
years, where he was responsible for successfully coordinating the
completion of many feasibility studies and environmental permitting
programs in the western United
States and Internationally. Mr. Pickarts also has extensive
experience in the planning, engineering and managing of diverse
mining operations at major companies including Pegasus Gold
Corporation, Brewer Gold Company, Texasgulf Minerals and Metals,
Freeport McMoran Gold Company, and Kennecott Copper Corporation. He
holds a B.S. in mineral processing engineering from Montana College of Mineral Science and
Technology, and completed the Business Administration Graduate
Program at the University of Nevada,
Reno. He is also a registered Professional Engineer in
Colorado and Nevada and is a Qualified Professional
(QP).
Commenting on today's announcement, Don
Ranta, President and CEO of Rare Element, said, "The
addition of a seasoned executive of Mr. Pickarts' caliber
represents another step in the advancement of our Bear Lodge
project, and represents the Company's commitment to maximizing
shareholder value by striving to become one of the western
hemisphere's only rare-earths producers. Because of the critical
importance of mineral processing and hydrometallurgy to the success
of the Bear Lodge mine, an executive with expertise in these fields
was sought after and chosen. Mr. Pickarts brings a great deal of
experience and leadership to the Company in terms of mine
evaluation, mine management, and project management. We look
forward to having Jaye join Rare Element and assemble our
development team."
The Company is moving forward rapidly to evaluate the potential
economic viability of recovering rare-earth elements ("REE") in
concentrate or in individual rare-earth oxides ("REO") from the
Bear Lodge rare-earth resources. Shortages of REE outside of
China are occurring at the same
time as demand is growing at nearly 10% per year for these elements
in clean energy technology, high technology, and other applications
where the REE are vital to these new technologies developed for
more fuel efficient ("hybrid") automobiles as well as plug-in
electric vehicles. Many hybrid cars use rechargeable
nickel-metal-hydride (Ni-M-H) batteries that contain lanthanum
along with electric motors and generators that require
high-strength permanent magnets containing neodymium, praseodymium,
dysprosium, and terbium. Europium is used in compact fluorescent
and other fluorescent lighting as phosphors. Substantial quantities
of all six of these REE would be produced by a mine at Bear Lodge,
and the six would represent approximately 80% of the potentially
saleable products' value.
Rare Element Resources Ltd (TSX-V: RES & AMEX:
REE) is a publicly traded mineral resource
company focused on exploration and development of rare-earth
elements and gold on the Bear Lodge property.
Rare-earth elements are key components of the green energy
technologies and other high-technology applications. Some of the
major applications include hybrid automobiles, plug-in electric
automobiles, advanced wind turbines, computer hard drives, compact
fluorescent lights, metal alloys, additives in ceramics and glass,
petroleum cracking catalysts, and a number of critical military
applications. China currently
produces more than 95% of the 130,000 metric tonnes of rare-earths
consumed annually worldwide, and China has been reducing its exports of rare
earths each year. The rare-earth market is growing rapidly, and is
projected to accelerate if the green technologies continue to be
implemented on a broad scale.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Donald E. Ranta, PhD, PGeo,
President & CEO
Donald E. Ranta, PhD, PGeo,
serves the Board of Directors of the Company as an internal,
technically Qualified Person. Technical information in this
news release has been reviewed by Dr. Ranta and has been prepared
in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements that are set
out in National Instrument 43-101. This news release was
prepared by Company management, who take full responsibility for
content. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services
Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this release.
SOURCE Rare Element Resources Ltd.
