Draft Environmental Impact Statement Now Anticipated in the Second
Half of 2015 with Project Commissioning Still Expected as Early as
Mid-2017
Company Website:
http://www.rareelementresources.com
LAKEWOOD, Colo. -- (Business Wire)
Rare Element Resources Ltd. (NYSE MKT: REE and TSX: RES), a
mineral resources company advancing development of the Bear Lodge
Critical Rare Earth Project located in northeast Wyoming, reported today
a net loss for the year ended December 31, 2014 of $14.0 million, or
$0.29 per share, compared with a net loss of $22.2 million, or $0.48 per
share, in the same period of 2013. The net loss for the quarter ended
December 31, 2014 was $2.9 million, or $0.06 per share, compared with
$5.7 million, or $0.12 per share, for the same period in 2013. At
December 31, 2014, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $10.1
million, compared with $12.9 million at September 30, 2014 and $23.9
million at December 31, 2013. The Company has filed its Form 10-K for
the twelve-month period ended December 31, 2014 on www.sec.gov
and www.sedar.com.
During the first quarter of 2015, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the
lead agency on the environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Project,
completed the alternatives selection process and began the impact
analysis. Using certain of the identified alternatives to modify its
plan of operation, the Company now expects to make its application for
some of the other required state and federal permits and licenses in the
next quarter. It also anticipates that the final record of decision
(ROD), the decision document from the USFS, will be available in the
first half of 2016, which would allow commissioning of the Project as
early as mid-2017, subject to timely receipt of the necessary permits
and licenses and financing.
“We made great progress in advancing our Bear Lodge Project in 2014 and
are undertaking a number of programs in 2015 with the goal of
maintaining our momentum,” stated Randall J. Scott, President and Chief
Executive Officer. “We will look to expand on the positive results we
have had to date on elemental separation test work and will continue the
additional technical work necessary for a feasibility study. We intend
to do this while we continue to support efforts by the U.S. Forest
Service to complete the EIS with the expectation that the draft will be
available early in the second half of this year. Now that the
alternatives identification process has been completed, we intend to
apply for other necessary permits over the next few months. With its
ideal location, large long-lived resource, heavy concentration of the
more valuable, critical rare earth elements and solid project economics,
we believe the Bear Lodge Project is in an excellent position to help
rebuild America’s rare earth supply chain, greatly reducing the Nation’s
dependence on foreign sources.”
Quarter-End December 31, 2014 Unaudited
Financial Results (Please note that financial results
published by the Company are all stated in U.S. Dollars)
The Company does not have production-related revenue at this time. The
net loss for the quarter ended December 31, 2014, totaled $2.9 million,
or $0.06 per share, compared to a net loss of $5.7 million, or $0.12 per
share, for the same period in 2013. The $2.8 million decrease in
consolidated net loss was primarily the result of:
-
A $2.4 million decrease in exploration and evaluation expense,
primarily due to a reduction in drilling and metallurgical test work,
as the Company continues to move the Bear Lodge Project toward
development;
-
A $0.3 million decrease in corporate administrative costs,
predominately related to stock-based compensation; and
-
A $0.1 million positive variance in the loss on currency translation.
Year-End December 31, 2014 Financial Results
The net loss for the year ended December 31, 2014 totaled $14.0 million,
or $0.29 per share, compared with a net loss of $22.2 million, or $0.48
per share, in the same period of 2013. The $8.2 million decrease in the
consolidated net loss was primarily the result of:
-
A $5.5 million decrease in exploration and evaluation expense;
-
A $1.7 million decrease in corporate administrative costs,
approximately half of which was related to stock-based compensation;
and
-
A $1.0 million positive variance in the loss on currency translation.
Year-End Cash Balance
At December 31, 2014, the Company has cash and cash equivalents of $10.1
million, compared with $12.9 million at September 30, 2014 and $23.9
million at December 31, 2013. Cash and cash equivalents used during the
year were $13.8 million, compared with $23.6 million in 2013.
Activities funded during 2014 included: engineering and trade-off
studies necessary to complete a preliminary feasibility study and
technical report, filed in October, on the Bear Lodge Project; test work
on both the Company’s proprietary recovery process and initial work on
elemental separation, which included the filing of additional patents;
completion of an exploration trenching program that gathered valuable
structural and geologic data as well as a near-surface, high-grade
1,000-ton bulk sample; baseline environmental data collection and other
efforts to support the EIS underway and advance the permit application
process for the Project; and general and corporate activities.
Activities to be funded in 2015 include: supporting advancement of the
Project’s EIS, making the appropriate federal and state license and
permit applications, continuing the evaluation of elemental separation
and other evaluation, development and construction efforts as deemed
necessary and as supported by the Company’s financial position.
Updated EIS Timeline
The USFS completed the alternatives selection process of the EIS in
February and began the impact analysis. This process is likely to be
approximately six months behind the original schedule supplied to the
public by the USFS as part of scoping meetings conducted in April 2014.
While the Company is awaiting an updated timeline from the USFS, it now
anticipates that the draft EIS will not be available until the second
half of 2015. As a result, the Company expects the final ROD to be
delivered in the first half of 2016, which, pending receipt of all other
permits and securing of financing, would allow the Company to begin
commissioning the Bear Lodge Project as early as mid-2017.
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 elements. 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 and
forward-looking information within the respective meanings 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 expected
timing and completion of permitting, technology test work and results,
ability to attract offtake partners and the ability to finance planned
activities.
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 progression plans for the Bear Lodge
Project, the progress and results of the feasibility study, 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; changes in U.S. and Canadian securities markets; and our
ability to raise additional financing necessary to conduct our business.
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 United States Securities and Exchange Commission, and the
Canadian securities regulators, including without limitation, the
Company’s most recent reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. We do not
undertake to update any statements or 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.
Contacts:
Rare Element Resources Ltd.
Robbin Lee, 720-278-2462
rlee@rareelementresources.com
www.rareelementresources.com
Source: Rare Element Resources Ltd.
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