Oct. 20, 2009 (PR Newswire) -- TSX-V: RES
VANCOUVER, Oct. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ - Rare Element Resources Ltd. (TSX-V: RES) ("Rare Element" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has engaged the services of some of the top technical professionals in their fields of expertise with Ore Reserves Engineering (resource estimation), John T. Boyd Company (mining engineering), Knight Piesold (geotechnical engineering), Mountain States R&D International (metallurgy), and Enviroscientists (environmental and permitting). This group of technical professionals will conduct a preliminary economic assessment (Scoping Study) of the rare-earth-element (REE) development potential of the Company's Bull Hill Southwest rare-earths deposit, Wyoming, USA.
Following completion of the current drilling program, Alan C. Noble, P.E. and an Independent Qualified Person, of Ore Reserves Engineering (ORE) will update the previous estimate of REE resources in the Bull Hill Southwest deposit (see news releases of March 23 and April 15, 2009). The resource estimate will be based on a combination of historical drilling data and the Company's drilling results from 2004 through 2009. ORE is anticipating completion of this effort with release of a NI 43-101 Technical Report late in the first quarter of 2010. ORE will also identify specific areas for follow-up definition drilling with an objective to complete an NI 43-101-compliant reserve estimate following a 2010 drilling and evaluation program.
The Scoping Study will follow resource estimation and will be coordinated by Michael P. Richardson, P.E. and an Independent Qualified Person, of John T. Boyd Company with completion of a NI 43-101 preliminary assessment report scheduled for mid-year 2010. This study will include more detailed metallurgy, specifics on environmental studies, permitting requirements, and preliminary mine, plant, and geotechnical engineering. In addition it will model potential development scenarios for the deposit in order to determine preliminary estimates of operating costs and capital cost requirements to construct mine and processing facilities at the site.
Of the distribution of rare-earth elements within the Bull Hill Southwest deposit, more than 50% are those that have the widest use and the greatest projected growth potential. These include lanthanum, neodymium, praseodymium, and samarium. Lanthanum has a growing market in nickel-metal-hydride batteries, and neodymium and praseodymium are in demand because of their use in high-intensity permanent magnets, which are critical components in the electric motors and generators for hybrid cars and wind turbines. Initial work on the Scoping Study is currently underway.
2009 Fall Drilling Program
The decision to proceed with a new resource estimate and a Scoping Study evaluation of the project follows completion of a NI 43-101-compliant resource estimated this past spring and the initiation of a major drilling program in August to expand and upgrade the oxide resources of the Bull Hill Southwest deposit. All studies completed to date confirm the exceptional REE potential of the deposit because of its high grade, large size, and amenability to processing the oxide portion of the resource. Geological work this fall includes: 1) systematic sampling of unsplit portions of twelve core holes from past exploration programs, 2) REE analyses of approximately 2500 ten-foot core samples, 3) selected geophysical surveys, and 4) detailed mineralogical studies to confirm the identity and distribution of the REE-bearing mineral phases.
