Rare Element Resources Ltd. a mineral resources company advancing development of the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project located in northeast Wyoming, received notice from the Bearlodge Ranger District office of the US Forest Service (USFS), the lead agency on the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Bear Lodge Project, that it anticipates completion of the draft EIS in late summer 2015. The USFS also announced expected availability of the final record of decision (ROD) in late summer 2016. Adherence to this schedule will allow the Bear Lodge Project to stay on track to begin commissioning as early as mid-2017, pending receipt of federal, state and local permits and financing. This is in line with the updated schedule announced in the Nov. 10, 2014 press release.

“We are pleased that the new timeline from the USFS is consistent with our anticipated timetable and will allow us to begin commissioning as early as mid-2017,” stated Randall J. Scott, President and Chief Executive Officer. “We are grateful to the many leaders in both Washington and the State of Wyoming who have publicly acknowledged the significance of the Bear Lodge Project, both from an economic and a national security perspective, and are committed to helping bring the Project into production in as timely a manner as possible.”

The alternative identification portion of the EIS was completed earlier this year, and the Company anticipates it will submit certain applications in the second quarter, which will include the mine permit application to the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.