TSX-V: RES & AMEX: REE
VANCOUVER, Oct. 12 /PRNewswire/ - Rare Element Resources
Ltd. (TSX-V: RES and AMEX: REE) is pleased to announce the
completion of a bulk sample collection program at the Company's
100% owned Bear Lodge rare earth element (REE) and gold property,
located in northeastern Wyoming.
The objective of the program was the acquisition of about 8 tons or
more of oxidized, REE-mineralized FMR vein material that will be
used to feed a proposed pilot plant designed to test the commercial
viability of the mineral process flowsheet developed for the REE by
Mountain States Research and Development, International (MSRDI),
the Company's metallurgical testing consultants. A second purpose
for the test is to produce a bulk mixed rare earth concentrate that
can be used for marketing if the Company decides to sell
concentrates initially, possibly as a first step toward eventual
individual rare earth oxide separation and sale. Several
laboratories with pilot plant capabilities are under consideration
for the testing. The pilot plant test will be part of a preliminary
feasibility study planned for completion in late 2011.
The term FMR refers to the major constituents of
the highly oxidized and leached, former carbonatite dikes that
occur in the depth range from the surface to 300-500 feet beneath
the surface- F (FeOx)-M (MnOx)-R (REE
minerals). The original carbonatite dikes contained high abundances
of both REE and sulfides. Oxidation of the sulfides resulted in the
leaching of nearly all matrix carbonates and formed residual FMR,
which generally contains only bastnasite-group rare earth minerals
as the residual carbonates. FMR mineralization is a loose and
friable material with a clay-like consistency that disaggregates
easily.
The bulk testing program consisted of a series
of large-diameter PQ (diameter 85mm) and HQ (diameter 63.5) core
holes that penetrated the oxide zone in the Bull Hill Southwest REE
deposit. The holes were drilled from closely spaced sites in each
of two areas (9-F and 9-A; Figure 1) where the FMR vein material
occurs very close to the surface. Drilling was designed to collect
samples that would be representative of material sent to the mill
during the first five years of potential production. The deepest
holes were drilled to a depth of approximately 190 feet (58 m). The
areas sampled by these methods were located in the northwestern and
southeastern parts of the deposit. Grades are likely to range
between 2% and 15% REO, based on previous exploration holes from
the same sites. Multiple holes were drilled from each site in fans
at a common azimuth and different inclination angles designed to
capture as much FMR as possible. A total of 40 holes were drilled,
with an aggregate footage of 2117 feet (645 m) of REE-mineralized
FMR material. Thirty of the drill holes are PQ-size holes for a
total footage of 1753 feet (534 m) of FMR material, and ten of the
holes are HQ-size, with a total footage of 364 feet (111 m) of FMR
material. The aggregate weight of REE-mineralized material
collected from the drilling program is about 14,000 pounds (6,364
kg).
The drill core will be augmented by bulk FMR
sample material collected from a shallow trench excavated in a
drill site in the northwestern part of the Bull Hill SW deposit,
near site 9-F. There are approximately 3,500 pounds (1,591kg) of
FMR material from the trench collected in several 55 gallon drums.
The Company has stockpiled a total of approximately 8.8 tons (8.0
tonnes) of FMR material at its core storage facility in
Sundance, Wyoming. This material
will be retained there until the testing laboratory is selected and
the pilot plant is built and ready for operation. The program has
acquired sufficient FMR feed material required for the pilot plant
study.
Rare Element Resources Ltd
(TSX-V:RES) 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 light bulbs, 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
are 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.
Figure 1: Location of Bulk Sample Sites 9-A and 9-F
and part of 2010 exploration drill-hole collar sites.
To view Figure 1 please visit:
http://files.newswire.ca/675/Rare_Element_Bear_Lodge.doc
SOURCE Rare Element Resources Ltd.
Copyright . 12 PR Newswire