RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD - Annual Report: 2019 (Form 10-K)

As used in this Annual Report on Form 10-K (“Annual Report”), references to “Rare Element,” the “Company,” “we,” “our,” or “us” mean Rare Element Resources Ltd., our predecessors and consolidated subsidiaries, or any one or more of them, as the context requires.  Rare Element is focused on advancing its Bear Lodge rare earth elements project (the “Bear Lodge REE Project”) as well as piloting its proprietary rare earth elements recovery and separation technology, while postponing the further exploration of its Sundance gold project (the “Sundance Gold Project”, together with the Bear Lodge REE Project, the “Projects”). Both Projects are located primarily on the Bear Lodge property, near the town of Sundance in the state of Wyoming (the “Bear Lodge Property”). See “Part I, Item 1. Business.”

Financial information is presented in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) in the United States (U.S.).

In this Annual Report, unless otherwise specified, all dollar amounts are expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars (“$” or “US$”).  

This Annual Report contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), and “forward-looking information” within the meaning of Canadian securities laws (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to business prospects, predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, intentions, projections, objectives, strategies, assumptions, future events, performance or exploration and development efforts using words or phrases (including negative and grammatical variations) such as, but not limited to, “expects,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “estimates,” “intends,” “forecasts,” “likely,” “projects,” “believes,” “seeks,” or stating that certain actions, events or results “may,” “could,” “would,” “should,” “might” or “will” be taken, occur or be achieved, are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.  Although we believe that our plans, intentions and expectations reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, we cannot be certain that these plans, intentions and expectations will be achieved.  Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report.  Forward-looking statements in this Annual Report include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the following:

the confirmation and piloting of our rare earth element recovery and separation technology and the ability to use it with respect to the Bear Lodge REE Project or otherwise; 

the cost and timing of the further piloting of our rare earth element recovery and separation; 

our ability to permit, construct and operate a demonstration scale recovery and separation plant, or the cost or outcomes of its construction and operation; 

anticipated losses in the operation of our business until development of the Projects is completed and the production stage has commenced; 

our ability to fund anticipated losses in the operation of our business until the development and operation, which may not occur in the foreseeable future or at all, of the Projects is completed; 

the narrowed focus or suspension of the Company’s near-term operational and permitting activities;  

the pursuit of potential financing and strategic alternatives; 

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expectations regarding the ability to raise capital or secure additional strategic or joint venture partners in order to advance the Projects;  

expectations regarding the support or hindrance of our objectives as a result of government policies and actions; 

the estimated operating and capital costs, including sustaining capital, associated with the separation and recovery of marketable rare earth elements using our novel technology or other processes; 

Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, risks associated with:

our ability to obtain additional financial resources on acceptable terms or at all, in order to (i) develop and maintain our assets, (ii) conduct our Projects’ activities and (iii) maintain our general and administrative expenditures at appropriate levels;  

the potential liquidation or sale of part or all of the Company’s assets and the possible loss by investors of part or all of their investment; 

the fact that certain activities, including equity and debt financing activities, which may be undertaken by the Company will require the prior approval of Synchron (as herein defined) and the other shareholders of the Company;  

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the specific product(s) from the Bear Lodge REE Project potentially having a limited number of customers, which could reduce our bargaining power, product pricing, and profitability; 

our proprietary, patent-pending, rare earth processing technology encountering infringement, unforeseen problems, or unexpected costs in development, deployment or scaling up to commercial application; 

our ability to maintain our proprietary interest in our patent-pending intellectual property and related technical information licensed to third parties;   

intellectual property or related data being subject to damage or theft; 

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This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect our forward-looking statements. Some of the important risks and uncertainties that could affect forward-looking statements are described further under the section headings “Item 1. Business,” “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of this Annual Report. Although we have attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary, possibly materially, from those anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. We caution readers not to place undue reliance on any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. Except as required by law, we disclaim any obligation to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of such statements or to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events. We qualify all of the forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report by the foregoing cautionary statements.

All units in this Annual Report are stated in metric measurements unless otherwise noted. For ease of reference, the following conversion factors are provided:

bastnasite – a mixed lanthanide fluoro-carbonate mineral (LaCO₃F) that currently provides the bulk of the world’s supply of the LREEs. Bastnasite and monazite are the two most common sources of cerium and other REEs. Bastnasite is found in carbonatites, carbonate rocks of igneous derivation.

beneficiation – operations that concentrate and separate mineral values in ore from waste material, and typically include, but are not limited to, crushing, grinding, washing, filtration, and leaching.

cerium (“Ce”) – a soft, silvery, ductile metallic element that easily oxidizes in air. Ce is the most abundant of the REEs and is found in a number of minerals, including monazite and bastnasite. Ce has two relatively stable oxidation states (Ce3+ and Ce4+), enabling both the storage of oxygen and its widespread use in catalytic converters. Ce is also widely used in glass polishing.

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concentrate – a mineral beneficiation product that generally describes the material that is produced after crushing and grinding ore, effecting significant separation of gangue (waste) minerals from the desired metal and/or metallic minerals, and discarding the waste minerals. The resulting “concentrate” of minerals typically has an order of magnitude higher content of minerals than does the beginning ore material.

CREE – critical rare earth elements – Nd, Eu, Dy, Tb and Y were identified by the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) as “critical” in its 2011 Critical Materials Strategy Report. CREEs are those projected by the DOE to have the greatest economic importance for clean energy development and the highest risk of supply disruption. The Company includes Pr as a CREE because of its use in conjunction with Nd in didymium as a raw material for high-intensity permanent magnets.

didymium – a mixture of the elements Pr and Nd. Didymium Is used as a raw material for the manufacture of high-intensity permanent magnets. It is used in safety glasses for glassblowing and blacksmithing, especially when a gas (propane) powered forge is used, where it provides a filter which selectively blocks the yellowish light at 589 nm emitted by the hot sodium in the glass, without having a detrimental effect on general vision, unlike dark welder’s glasses.

Dy - dysprosium (a soft metallic element of the lanthanide series, mainly used in high-performance, permanent magnets).  Dy has a high melting point and absorbs neutrons well.  It is therefore also used in nuclear control rods to help control nuclear reactions.  Dy is also used in laser materials.

Eu – europium (a very rare metallic element that is the softest member of the lanthanide series).  It is used in making color television tubes and lasers and as a neutron absorber in nuclear research.  It is desirable due to its photon emission.  Excitation of the Eu atom, by absorption of electrons or by UV radiation, results in changes in energy levels that create a visible emission.  Almost all practical uses of Eu utilize this luminescent behavior.

fault – a surface or zone of rock fracture along which there has been displacement.

Feasibility Study (“FS”) – a comprehensive study of a mineral deposit in which all geological, engineering, legal, operating, economic, social, environmental and other relevant factors are considered in sufficient detail that it could reasonably serve as the basis for a final decision to develop the deposit for mineral production.

FMR – mineralization that includes iron oxide, manganese oxide and REE.

Gd - gadolinium (a malleable, ductile metallic element of the lanthanide series that has seven natural isotopes and 11 artificial isotopes).  Two of the natural isotopes, Gd 155 and Gd 157, are the best-known neutron absorbers.  Gd is used to improve the heat and corrosion resistance of iron, chromium, and various alloys in medicine as a contrast medium for magnetic resonance imaging and as a radioisotope in bone mineral analysis.

geochemical – related to the distribution and amounts of the chemical elements in minerals, ores, rocks, solids, water and the atmosphere.

geophysical – related to the mechanical, electrical, gravitational and magnetic properties of the earth’s crust.

grade – quantity of metal per unit weight of host rock.

host rock – the rock in which a mineral or an ore body is contained

HREEs – heavy rare earth elements – defined as the elements Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm, Yb, Lu and Y.

La - lanthanum (the first metallic element of the lanthanide series).  La is a strategically important rare earth element due to its use in fluid cracking catalysts (“FCC”), which are used in the production of transportation and aircraft fuel.  La is also used in fuel cells and batteries.

Lanthanides – a series of 15 metallics chemical elements with atomic numbers 57 through 71, from La through lutetium.  These 15 lanthanide elements, along with the chemically similar elements scandium and yttrium, are often collectively known as the REE.

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life-of-mine – a term commonly used to refer to the likely term of a mining operation and normally determined by dividing the tonnes of mineral reserve by the annual rate of mining and processing.

LREEs - light rare earth elements, defined as the elements La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Pm, Sm, Eu and Gd.

mineral – a naturally occurring, inorganic crystalline material having a definite chemical composition.

mineralization – a natural accumulation or concentration of one or more potentially economic minerals in rocks or soil. Also, the process by which minerals are introduced or concentrated in rocks or soil.

monazite – a reddish-brown rare earth phosphate mineral.  Monazite-group minerals are typically accompanied by elevated concentrations of uranium and thorium.  This has historically limited the processing of monazite.  However, this mineral is becoming more attractive because it typically has elevated concentrations of HREEs.

Nd - neodymium (a metallic element of the lanthanide series, occurring principally in REE fluorocarbonate and monazite minerals).  Nd is a key constituent of Neodymium-Iron-Boron (“NdFeB”) permanent magnets and an additive to capacitor dielectrics.  NdFeB magnets maximize the power/weight ratio and are found in a large variety of motors, generators, sensors, and hard disk drives.  Capacitors containing Nd are found in cellular telephones, computers and nearly all other electronic devices.  A minor application of Nd is for lasers.

NdFeB – Neodymium-Iron-Boron compound used to manufacture permanent rare earth magnets.

NI 43-101 – National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, as prescribed by the Canadian Securities Administrators.

NiMH – Nickel Metal Hydride compound used in the production of batteries.

open pit – surface mining in which the ore is extracted from a pit or quarry. The geometry of the pit will vary with the characteristics of the ore body.

ore – mineral-bearing rock that can be mined and treated profitably under current, or immediately foreseeable, economic conditions.

ore body – a mostly solid and fairly continuous mass of mineralization estimated to be economically mineable.

ore grade – the average weight of the valuable metal or mineral contained in a specific weight of ore (i.e., 1.5% rare earth oxide/tonne).

PFS - preliminary feasibility study or pre-feasibility study.  Each mean a comprehensive study of the viability of a mineral project that has advanced to a stage where the mining method, in the case of underground mining, or the pit configuration, in the case of an open pit, has been established and an effective method of mineral beneficiation and processing has been determined.  It includes a financial analysis based on reasonable assumptions of technical, engineering, legal, operating, economic, social, and environmental factors and the evaluation of other relevant factors that are sufficient for a Qualified Person, acting reasonably, to determine if all or part of the Mineral Resource may be classified as a mineral reserve under NI 43-101 standards.

Pr - praseodymium (a metallic element that constitutes about 4% of the lanthanide content of bastnasite and has a few specific applications, based mainly on its optical properties).  It is a common coloring pigment, and is used in photographic filters, airport signal lenses, and welder’s glasses.  Because it chemically and magnetically is so similar to its periodic chart neighbors Nd and La, Pr is typically found in small amounts in applications where Nd and La are important, such as NdFeB magnets and catalysts.  These latter applications are actually the largest uses for Pr because the magnet and catalyst markets are so large.  Thus, Pr plays an important role in extending the availability of the more popular Nd and La.

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RC (reverse circulation) drilling – a rotary drilling method using either a hammer or a tri-cone bit to produce rock cuttings that are forced upward from the bottom of the drill hole to the surface through an outer tube, using liquid and/or air pressure moving downward through an inner tube.

recovery – the percentage of contained metal actually extracted from ore in the course of beneficiating/processing such ore.

REEs - rare earth elements.  a group of metallic elements with unique chemical, catalytic, magnetic, metallurgical and phosphorescent properties.

REO –  rare earth oxide, the oxide form of REE.

Sm – samarium (a metallic element of the lanthanide series predominantly used to produce Sm cobalt magnets). Although these magnets are slightly less powerful than NdFeB magnets at room temperature, Sm cobalt magnets can be used over a wider range of temperatures and are less susceptible to corrosion

stockwork – complex system of structurally controlled or randomly oriented veins that can be standalone ore bodies or occur on the periphery of larger veins.  They are also referred to as “stringer zones.”

strike – the direction or trend that a structural surface (e.g., a bedding or fault plane) takes as it intersects the horizontal.

sulfide – a mineral combining sulfur and base metals, such as iron and less commonly copper, lead, zinc and/or molybdenum; metallic sulfur bearing mineral associated with primary REE mineralization.

Tb – Terbium is a rare earth metal used in solid state devices as well as magnets in loudspeakers.

Technical Report – the Company’s historical technical report for the Bear Lodge REE Project dated October 9, 2014 titled “Rare Element Resources Inc. Bear Lodge Project Canadian National Instrument 43-101: Pre-Feasibility Study Report on the Mineral Reserves and Resources and Development of the Bull Hill Deposit” which is available under our profile at www.sedar.com.

vein – a sheet like body of mineralized rock.  On many properties, veins may consist largely of quartz gangue.  However, on the Bear Lodge Property, veins can contain a variable assemblage that includes, but is not limited to, gangue minerals like iron and manganese oxides, quartz, calcite, clay, apatite and/or potassium feldspar with or without ore minerals.

Y – Yttrium is primarily recovered from monazite resources and is used with iron in the manufacture of microwave communication equipment.

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CORPORATE BACKGROUND

Originally organized as a “capital pool” company whose activities were focused on the identification and completion of a qualifying transaction as required by the rules of the TSX-V, we transitioned to a “venture company” on July 25, 2003, coincident with (1) the completion of a reverse takeover acquisition of Rare Element Holdings Ltd. (the qualifying transaction), (2) a name change of “Spartacus Capital Inc.” to “Rare Element Resources Ltd.,” and (3) the completion of a private placement.  Rare Element Holdings Ltd.’s main assets include its proprietary rare earth processing and separation technology and  its 100% interest in a group of unpatented mining claims and repurchase rights to adjacent private property, together known as the Bear Lodge Property, owned through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rare Element Resources, Inc., a Wyoming corporation,

SUBSIDIARIES

We have one direct wholly owned subsidiary, incorporated under the laws of British Columbia, Canada in 1996 under the name “Rare Element Holdings Ltd.” That subsidiary has one direct wholly owned subsidiary, Rare Element Resources, Inc., incorporated in 1997 in the state of Wyoming, USA, formerly known as Paso Rico (USA), Inc. (“Paso Rico”).

We are focused on advancing the Bear Lodge REE Project located near the town of Sundance in northeast Wyoming. The Bear Lodge REE Project consists of several large, disseminated REE deposits and a hydrometallurgical plant proposed to be located near Upton, Wyoming.  The Bear Lodge REE Project is one of the highest-grade REE deposits identified in North America and one of the highest-grade Eu deposits in the world.  In addition, the Bear Lodge REE Project has a favorable distribution of the remaining CREE.  

In its development efforts for the Bear Lodge REE Project, the Company has done extensive laboratory bench-scale and pilot plant testing on metallurgical processes to recover saleable rare earth products and has filed six patents on its metallurgical processing innovations. Among them, the Company has pilot tested and filed for patent protection on a rare earth separation technique that modifies conventional solvent extraction methods used for rare earth separation to be more cost efficient and environmentally sound, involving minimal waste effluents discharged from the process.  

During the first quarter of 2016, we placed the Bear Lodge REE Project under care-and-maintenance, and all permitting activities were suspended. Based on current permitting timetables and other factors, we anticipate that we could receive all permits and licenses for the Bear Lodge REE Project approximately 18 to 30 months after resuming permitting efforts.  Once the decision to resume development activities is made, our plan is to advance engineering in preparation for the Feasibility Study, including an evaluation of a potential modular approach to development beginning with a smaller initial production facility which would then be scaled up. Our ability to begin construction activities on the Bear Lodge REE Project will be subject to various factors including: (i) the availability of adequate capital, (ii) a positive Feasibility Study, (iii) securing off-take customers at adequate prices, (iv) obtaining necessary permits and licenses, and (v) approval from the Company’s board of directors (the “Board of Directors” or the “Board”). The Bear Lodge REE Project deposit is located near excellent mining infrastructure, including good road access and power lines within two kilometers of the property.  The Bear Lodge REE Project site is 100 kilometers east of Gillette, Wyoming, a major infrastructure, support and logistics center for coal mines in the Powder River Basin that should provide for ready access to the required production supplies and materials as well as skilled labor.  Additionally, the deposit is situated only 64 kilometers from the nearest railhead at Upton, Wyoming,

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where the proposed hydrometallurgical plant is planned to be sited, allowing access to major distribution channels via the adjacent railhead.

Additional information regarding the Bear Lodge REE Project and the Bear Lodge Property is included under the section heading “Item 2. Properties” in this Annual Report.

TRENDS AND DESCRIPTION OF THE REE MARKET  

Trends Affecting REE Supply, Demand and Prices

In the rest of the world, specifically in the USA and in Australia certain competitors formed the second and third largest producing companies respectively, with production of 21.1kt REO and 14.0kt REO in mineral concentrates during 2019. 

The growth in demand for certain REE, including Nd and Pr used in permanent magnets, is expected to continue. Increased focus on clean energy is pushing the demand for electric vehicles, which in turn will drive the demand for rare earth magnets in electric motor and generator applications.  Magnet demand now accounts for over 30% of total rare earth demand and 75-80% of REE market value.

Growing demand for renewable energy has also increased the demand for rare earth containing magnets, as they give improved performance compared with other magnets. A typical wind turbine requires approximately 200

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kilograms of rare earths for motors and generators per one megawatt of capacity. The Global Wind Energy Council forecasts installed capacity will increase at a rate of 9.3% annually to 2022.

Prices for Nd and Pr declined modestly during 2019. The research and advisory firm, Roskill Information Services Ltd., has estimated that the value of global annual rare earth oxides for use in permanent magnets reached $1.8 billion in 2019.  The firm anticipates overall demand for magnet-oriented rare earth oxides to grow to 54,900 tonnes by 2024, representing a compound annual growth rate of 6.0%.  

Supply and demand factors for REE products that could positively impact future REE prices include the following, among other factors:

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The feasibility of the Bear Lodge REE Project and our ability to raise additional funds to develop the Bear Lodge REE Project may be impacted by global supply and demand and future prices of REEs.

The industry in which we operate is highly competitive.  We compete with other mining and exploration companies in connection with, and the funding for, the exploration and development of mineral properties.  There is competition for the limited number of opportunities, some involving companies having substantially greater financial resources, staff and facilities than we do.  We also compete with other mining and exploration companies in our efforts to hire and retain experienced professionals.  As a result, we may have difficulty attracting or retaining key personnel or securing outside technical resources.

PATENTS, TRADEMARKS AND LICENSES

We plan to rely on a combination of trade secret protection, nondisclosure agreements, trademarks and patents to establish and protect our proprietary intellectual property rights. We utilize trade secret protection and nondisclosure agreements to protect our proprietary rare earth technology.

As of December 31, 2019, we had filed six U.S. provisional patent applications relating to processing methods, including (1) selective recovery of REEs from mixed chloride leach solutions using oxalic acid, (2) thorium extraction process technology, and (3) separation of cerium and/or thorium from bulk REEs in a solvent extraction (“SX”) process. These provisional applications provided the basis for the current patent portfolio, which includes two pending U.S. patent applications, four pending foreign applications across four separate foreign jurisdictions, and three issued foreign patents across three separate foreign jurisdictions.  If allowed, a U.S. patent granted from the utility patent applications would have a term of 20 years measured from the filing date of the utility patent applications. We licensed our intellectual property relating to our patents-pending and related technical information to Synchron in October 2017, which license became exclusive to Synchron and its affiliates in October 2019. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report. Several of these technologies have potential value for application in other industries, and the Company is evaluating this potential.

Our exploration and planned development and mining activities are subject to extensive and burdensome environmental laws and regulations under various federal, state, county and local laws relating to the protection of the environment, which generally includes air and water quality, hazardous waste management, radionuclide handling and reclamation. Failure to comply with these requirements can result in civil and/or criminal liability for non-compliance, fines and penalties, clean-up costs and other environmental damages. Also, unanticipated developments or changes in the law could require us to make environmental expenditures significantly greater than those we currently expect. Environmental laws historically have evolved in a manner that requires stricter standards and enforcement, increased fines and penalties for non-compliance, more stringent environmental assessments of proposed projects and a heightened degree of responsibility for companies and their officers, directors and employees.  Current and future laws, regulations and permits will impose significant costs, liabilities or obligations or could limit or prevent our ability to continue operations or undertake new operations.  Environmental hazards may exist on the properties in which we hold interests that are unknown to us at present and that have been caused by previous owners of the properties.

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Our Bear Lodge Property in Wyoming is subject to federal and state environmental laws, regulations, and permits.  The federal agency with primary regulatory jurisdiction is the U.S. Forest Service (the “USFS”), Bearlodge Ranger District, Sundance, Wyoming.  The state agency with regulatory jurisdiction is the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. We operate under approvals and permits granted by these two agencies and have established a surety bond to ensure environmental reclamation of areas disturbed. As of December 31, 2019, the Company holds surety bond with the state of Wyoming of $132.  Prior to operating, we will require several other permits and licenses including those issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (the “NRC”), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others.

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that it would develop financial assurance requirements under of the U.S. Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act of 1980 (“CERCLA”) Section 108(b) for the hard rock mining industry.  On January 29, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order requiring that if the EPA intends to prepare such regulations, it must do so by December 1, 2016.  The EPA issued its proposed rule on January 11, 2017.  Under the proposed rule, owners and operators of facilities subject to the rule would be required to (i) notify the EPA that they are subject to the rule; (ii) calculate a level of financial responsibility for their facility using a formula provided in the rule; (iii) obtain a financial responsibility instrument, or qualify to self-insure, for the amount of financial responsibility; (iv) demonstrate that they have obtained such evidence of financial responsibility; and (v) update and maintain financial responsibility until the EPA releases the owner or operator from the CERCLA Section 108(b) regulations.  On February 21, 2018, the EPA issued a “final action” in which it announced its decision to not issue final regulations because the EPA “determined that final regulations are not appropriate.” 83 Fed. Reg. 7556 (Feb. 21, 2018). In May 2018, several environmental advocacy groups challenged this action in the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia. On July 19, 2019 the Court ruled in favor of the EPA, holding that the EPA’s decision to not finalize the proposed hardrock mining financial assurance rule was a reasonable interpretation of its CERCLA authority and CERCLA financial assurance provisions.

MINERALS EXPLORATION REGULATION

Mining operations and exploration and development activities are subject to various national, state, county and local laws and regulations in the U.S. that govern prospecting, exploration, development, mining, production, processing, exports, taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, protection of the environment, mine safety, hazardous substances and other matters. The Company believes that it is in compliance in all material respects with applicable mining, health, safety and environmental statutes and the regulations. There are no current orders or notices of violations relating to the Company under applicable laws and regulations.

Compliance with these laws and regulations may impose substantial costs on the Company and could subject it to significant potential liabilities.  Changes in these laws or regulations could require us to expend significant resources to comply with new laws or regulations, or changes to current requirements, and could have a material adverse effect on our business operations.

Pursuant to Section 1503(a) of the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd–Frank Act”), issuers that are operators, or that have a subsidiary that is an operator, of a coal or other mine in the U.S. are required to disclose in their periodic reports filed with the SEC information regarding specified health and safety violations, orders and citations, related assessments and legal actions, and mining-related fatalities. During the year ended December 31, 2019, our Bear Lodge Property was not subject to regulation by the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.

At December 31, 2019, we had one full-time employee and no part-time employees. Our employee is not covered by any collective bargaining agreements. When required, our one employee calls on the services of third parties under consulting or service agreements.  

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AVAILABLE INFORMATION

Our reports and other information can be inspected on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov. The Company also files reports under Canadian regulatory requirements on the System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (“SEDAR”).  The Company’s reports which are filed on SEDAR can be found on the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

20The following sets forth certain risks and uncertainties that could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and/or results of operations and the trading price of our common shares, which may decline, and investors may lose all or part of their investment.  Additional risks and uncertainties that we do not presently know or that we currently deem immaterial also may impair our business operations.  We cannot assure you that we will successfully address these risks.

We incurred net losses of $1,433 and $1,764 during the fiscal years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.  Our accumulated deficit at December 31, 2019 was $130,881.  In addition, we have limited financial resources.  As of December 31, 2019, we had cash and cash equivalents of $5,664 and working capital of $5,234.

Notwithstanding the transaction with Synchron in October 2019, we do not have sufficient funds to fully complete feasibility studies, permitting, development and construction of the Bear Lodge REE Project. Therefore, the achievement of these activities will be dependent upon future financings, off-take agreements, joint ventures, strategic transactions, or sales of various assets.  There is no assurance, however, that we will be successful in completing such a financing or transaction.  Ultimately, in the event that we cannot obtain additional financial resources or complete a strategic transaction, we may have to liquidate our business interests, and investors may lose all or part of their investment.

Synchron owns approximately 49% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company.  Additionally, Synchron has approval rights for certain corporate actions and three of seven directors to the Company’s Board.

As a result of the foregoing, Synchron has significant influence on our major corporate decisions and matters requiring shareholder approval.  These rights, along with the concentration of ownership and voting power with Synchron, (i) may make it more difficult for any other holder or group of holders of our common shares to be able to significantly influence the way we are managed or the direction of our business and (ii) may make it more difficult for another company to acquire us and for shareholders to receive any related takeover premium unless Synchron approves the acquisition. The interests of Synchron with respect to matters potentially or actually involving or affecting us, such as future acquisitions, financings, and other corporate opportunities, and attempts to acquire us, may conflict with the interests of our other shareholders.  The ability of Synchron to influence certain of our major corporate decisions may affect the market price of our common shares by delaying, deferring, or preventing transactions that are or are perceived to be in the best interest of other shareholders or by discouraging third-party investors.

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On October 2, 2017, we entered into an Intellectual Property Rights Agreement with Synchron pursuant to which Synchron and its affiliates were granted certain perpetual rights to the intellectual property of the Company relating to its rare earths patents-pending and related technical information.  Upon the exercise of its Option on October 16, 2019, Synchron and its affiliates’ intellectual property rights became exclusive, subject to the Company’s retaining use of the intellectual property and any improvements made thereon. As a result of the transactions contemplated by the Intellectual Property Rights Agreement, we may be forced to enforce or defend our intellectual property rights against infringement and unauthorized use, and to protect our trade secrets.  Further, by granting a license to use our intellectual property, we may be limited in our ability to protect our intellectual property rights by legal recourse or otherwise.  In defending our intellectual property rights, we may place our intellectual property at risk of being invalidated, held unenforceable, narrowed in scope or otherwise limited, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition.  Our inability to preserve or maintain an interest in certain intellectual property rights could adversely impact our competitive position or results of operations.

During the first quarter of 2016, we placed the Bear Lodge REE Project under care-and-maintenance, and all permitting activities were suspended, including the environmental impact statement (“EIS”) process, state permitting, and the NRC licensing process. The Company continued the 2016 implemented cost-conservation measures through 2019. Given the completion of the transactions with Synchron on October 2, 2017 and October 16, 2019 (as discussed in Item 7: Management Discussion and Analysis, Financial Liquidity and Capital Resources), the Company is focused on continuing the confirmation and enhancement of our proprietary technology for rare earth processing and separation through pilot plant testing.  The Company will also continue with certain limited exploration-related reclamation activities in 2020 as required and appropriate. However, our ability to obtain further financing or attract a strategic partner to fund the completion of the permitting once resumed is uncertain. If we are unable to timely progress our permitting while the information is still deemed adequate by the applicable regulatory agencies, we may have to restart the permitting process, or take extra steps to reinitiate the process, which would impact the cost and timing of permitting.  

Our current plan of operations for the Bear Lodge REE Project includes a waste rock storage site located on private property adjacent to the planned mine.  This private property consists of 640 acres and was sold to a third party on October 26, 2016.  Although we hold a repurchase option on the property until the fifth anniversary of the land sale, our ability and the timing of our exercise of the repurchase option is uncertain.  If we were unable to repurchase the property, we would have to update our planned operations to identify an alternative stockpile storage area.  Additionally, we hold a land purchase option on private property located in Upton, Wyoming, which is the location for our planned processing operations.  If we are unable to maintain the purchase option, we would have to locate and secure another site as a suitable rare earth processing location.

Due to the relatively high cost of being a public company in the U.S., our Board of Directors may elect to voluntarily deregister our common shares under the Exchange Act and suspend our reporting obligations in the U.S., possibly in combination with an effort to list our common shares on another securities exchange. No Board approval of deregistration has taken place, but in the future, the Board may authorize the Company to file with the SEC a Form 15 to voluntarily deregister our common shares under Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act and suspend our reporting obligations under Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.  If the Board approves such deregistration, we would file a Form 15 and our obligations to file periodic reports, such as annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K, would be suspended immediately upon the filing of the Form 15 with the SEC, and our proxy statement, Section 16 and other Section 12(g) reporting responsibilities would terminate effective 90 days after the filing of the Form 15.  We believe that we are eligible to deregister under the Exchange Act.  If we were to file a Form 15, we expect that our common shares, which currently trade on the OTCQB Venture

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We have no history of producing mineral products from our properties.  

We have no history of mining, recovering or refining any mineral products, and our Bear Lodge REE Project is not in development or producing. There can be no assurance that the Bear Lodge REE Project will be successfully developed and placed into production, produce minerals in commercial quantities or otherwise generate operating earnings.  Advancing properties from the exploration stage into development and commercial production requires significant capital and time and will be subject to further feasibility studies, permitting requirements and construction of the mine, processing plants, roads and related works and infrastructure. We will continue to incur losses until such time, if ever, when our mining activities successfully reach commercial production levels and generate sufficient revenue to fund continuing operations. There is no certainty that we will produce revenue from any source, operate profitably, or provide a return on investment in the future. If we are unable to generate revenues or profits, our shareholders might not be able to realize returns on their investment in our common shares.

Mine development projects typically require a number of years and significant expenditures during the exploration and development phases before production is possible. The economic feasibility of exploration and development projects is based on many factors, such as the following:

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Joint ventures and other partnerships may expose us to risks.

We will require additional capital through investment, joint ventures and/or other partnership arrangements with current investors or other parties for the development of our Projects.  Although such arrangements may lessen our financial burden in exploring and developing the Projects, they will likely also dilute our interest therein or affect our ability to control development of either of the Projects.  Our ability to attract additional capital may be impeded by our significant shareholder Synchron, as it holds certain minority voting rights and its approval may be required. Further, any failure of a joint venture partner or other partner to meet its obligations to us or to third parties, or any disputes with respect to the parties’ respective rights and obligations, could have a material adverse effect on the joint venture or other partnership arrangement and, in turn, on our business performance and on our ability to develop the Projects.

Subject to further financing, we may commence a FS on our Bear Lodge REE Project, and the results of this FS are uncertain.

In October 2014, we completed a PFS for our Bear Lodge REE Project that updated our Mineral Resource estimate and refined plans for our process technology. Subject to further financing and the results of the UIT pilot plant test work, we may resume work on a FS. The results of this study are uncertain and may indicate project economics that are more or less favorable than those previously reported. As our project optimization efforts continue, we cannot ensure that the FS will be based upon all of the same inputs used in the PFS. As a result, we may need to update our beneficiation technology, processing technology and/or project development plans to enhance economics or further study aspects of the Bear Lodge REE Project. This could result in significant additional delays and expenses or could make financing efforts with respect to such efforts more difficult or not possible.

Our only rare earth exploration project at this time is our Bear Lodge REE Project. Our continued viability is based on successfully implementing our strategy, including completion of a FS, permitting and construction of a mine and beneficiation and processing facilities in a reasonable timeframe. If we are unable to secure additional capital or enter into a strategic transaction and implement our strategy, or in the event of the imposition of significant additional regulatory burdens or delays or a significant deterioration of the market for rare earth products, our ability to develop a sustainable or profitable business would be materially adversely affected.

We estimated the initial capital costs required to bring the Bear Lodge REE Project into commercial production in our PFS, dated October 9, 2014, at approximately $290,000.  Our FS, once completed, may suggest that our actual costs may be higher than those that we presently anticipate, which could make it more difficult to finance the Bear Lodge REE Project or to successfully establish mining operations.

We anticipate that our future operating costs at the Bear Lodge REE Project will vary from year to year due to a number of factors, such as changing ore grade, metallurgy and revisions to mine plans in response to the physical shape and location of the ore body. In addition, costs are affected by the price of commodities such as oil, gas, reagents/chemicals, steel, rubber and electricity. Such commodities are at times subject to volatile price movements, including increases that could make production less profitable or not profitable at all. A material increase in costs could also impact our ability to commence or maintain future development or mining operations.

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Operating in the volatile and cyclical natural resource industry subjects us to numerous market factors outside of our control that could have significant and sometimes adverse impacts on our business.  Such factors could include significant price declines for key rare earth materials, inflationary impacts on capital and operating costs, public opposition, poor financial and operating performance of other companies in the same industry sector, environmental incidents from resource projects, major technological advances that reduce demand for key rare earth products, and unforeseen regulation or geopolitical factors that broadly impact the industry.  To the extent that such factors affect attitudes toward investments in the natural resource sector generally or the rare earths industry specifically, they could affect our ability to raise the additional capital needed to continue to advance our Projects and business plan.

Possible adverse effects of the coronavirus outbreak on our business.

During January 2020, it was reported that there had been an outbreak of a new coronavirus in China. In an effort to halt the outbreak, the Chinese government has, among other things, closed businesses for several weeks. These disruptions could impact the rare earth market, particularly China’s supply chain, which in turn could impact our business or business prospects. In addition, any further spread or escalation of the outbreak outside of China could also have an increased impact on markets in other parts of the world, and could generally result in a global economic slowdown, which in turn could adversely impact our ability to raise capital, construct or operate a mine or production facility.

Because our primary focus currently is the advancement and development of the Bear Lodge REE Project, changes in demand for, and the market price of, REE products could significantly affect our ability to develop or finance the Bear Lodge REE Project and eventually attain commercial production or profitability. REE product prices may fluctuate and are affected by numerous factors beyond our control such as interest rates, exchange rates, inflation or deflation, fluctuation in the relative value of the U.S. dollar against foreign currencies on the world market, global and regional supply and demand for REE products, and the political and economic conditions of countries that produce and use REEs.

As a result of the global economic crisis, REE prices declined by approximately 50% between 2008 and the end of the third quarter of 2009.  REE prices then increased significantly during 2010 and most of 2011 only to again decline from 2012 through 2016. During the first three quarter of 2017 REE prices increased significantly from the 2016 lows. This was led by a doubling of Nd and Pr prices. During the fourth quarter of 2017 prices retreated but remained well above 2016 prices. During 2018 and 2019 rare earth prices declined modestly. Protracted periods of low prices for REE products could significantly reduce our ability to develop the Bear Lodge REE Project and, if we attain commercial production, to maintain profitable operations.

Demand for REE products is impacted by demand for downstream products incorporating rare earths, including hybrid and electric vehicles, wind power equipment and other clean technology products, as well as demand in the general automotive and electronics industries. Lack of growth in these markets could adversely affect the demand for REE products, which would have a material adverse effect on our Bear Lodge REE Project and our business. In contrast, periods of high REE prices are generally beneficial to us; however, strong REE prices, as well as real or perceived disruptions in the supply of REE, also create economic pressure to identify or create non-REE alternate technologies that ultimately could reduce future long-term demand for REE products, and at the same time may incentivize development of otherwise marginal mining properties. For example, automobile manufacturers have previously announced plans to develop motors for electric and hybrid cars that do not require REE products due to concerns about the available supply of REEs. If the automobile industry or other industries reduce their reliance on rare earth products, the resulting change in demand could have a material adverse effect on our business. In particular, if prices or demand for REEs were to decline, our share price would likely decline, and this could also impair our ability to obtain capital needed for our Bear Lodge REE Project and our ability to find purchasers for our products at prices acceptable to us or at all.

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An increase in the global supply of rare earth products, dumping and/or predatory pricing by our competitors may materially adversely affect our ability to raise capital, develop our Bear Lodge REE Project or operate profitably.

The success of our business may depend, in part, on the establishment of new uses and markets for rare earth products.

We expect to rely on our proprietary technology and processes to further our Bear Lodge REE Project.

We utilize trade secret protection and nondisclosure agreements to protect our proprietary rare earth technology. As of December 31, 2019, we had filed six U.S. provisional patent applications relating to processing methods, including (1) selective recovery of REEs from mixed chloride leach solutions using oxalic acid, (2) thorium extraction process technology, and (3) separation of cerium and/or thorium from bulk REEs in an SX process. These provisional applications provided the basis for the current patent portfolio, which includes two pending U.S. patent applications, four pending foreign applications across four separate foreign jurisdictions, and three issued foreign patents across three separate foreign jurisdictions.  If allowed, a U.S. patent granted from the utility patent applications would have a term of 20 years measured from the filing date of the utility patent applications. We licensed our intellectual property relating to our patents-pending and related technical information to Synchron in October 2017, which license became exclusive to Synchron and its affiliates in October 2019. See Item 7. Management Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Financial Position, Liquidity and Capital Resources- Transaction with Synchron.

The success of our business depends, in part, on our ability to utilize our proprietary process technologies, and we could encounter unforeseen problems or costs, or both, in scaling up our technologies to commercial applications.

Our mineral resources have not been updated and as such should not be relied upon as they may be updated prior to further feasibility work. Accordingly, previous mineralization estimates for the Bear Lodge REE Project will require confirmation or adjustments. The Sundance Gold Project is in the exploration stage and it is too early to estimate resources or the gold production potential of the property.

Our current and future activities will be governed by laws and regulations, including the following, among others:

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We believe that we hold, or are in the process of obtaining, all licenses and permits necessary to carry on the activities that we currently are conducting or propose to conduct in the near term under applicable laws and regulations.  Such licenses and permits are subject to changes in regulations and changes in various operating circumstances.  There can be no guarantee that we will be able to obtain all necessary licenses and permits that may be required to maintain the current or planned exploration, development and mining activities, including constructing mines and/or beneficiation and processing facilities, and commencing operations at the Bear Lodge REE Project.  In addition, if we proceed to production on the Bear Lodge REE Project, we must obtain and comply with permits and licenses that may contain specific operating or other conditions.  There can be no assurance that we will be able to obtain such permits and licenses or that we will be able to comply with any such conditions.  Our Sundance Gold Project, previously in the active Exploration Stage, but on hold since 2014, does not currently have any of the permits or licenses that would be necessary to carry on further activities on the project.  Costs related to applying for and obtaining permits and licenses may be prohibitive and could delay planned exploration and development activities. Failure to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permitting requirements may result in enforcement actions, including orders issued by regulatory or judicial authorities causing operations to cease or be curtailed, and may include corrective measures requiring capital expenditures, installation of additional equipment or remedial actions.

Parties engaged in mining operations may be required to compensate those suffering loss or damage relating to mining activities and may be subject to civil or criminal liability, fines or penalties imposed for violations of applicable laws or regulations. Amendments to current laws, regulations and permits governing operations and activities of mining companies, or more stringent implementation thereof, could have a material adverse impact on our operations, cause increases in capital expenditures or production costs, or require abandonment or delays in the exploration or the development of either of the Projects.

Our business is subject to environmental regulation in the jurisdictions in which we operate. Environmental legislation at the local, state and federal level could evolve in a manner that may impose stricter standards and enforcement, increased fines and penalties for non-compliance, more stringent environmental assessments of proposed projects, and a heightened degree of responsibility for companies and their officers, directors and employees. These laws address emissions into the air, discharges into water, management of waste and hazardous substances, protection of natural resources, antiquities, and endangered species and reclamation of lands disturbed by mining operations. Compliance with environmental laws and regulations at the local, state and federal level and future changes in these laws and regulations may require significant capital outlays and may cause material changes or delays in our current and planned operations and future activities. It is possible that future changes in these laws or regulations could have a significant adverse impact on our Projects or some portion of our business, causing us to reevaluate those activities at that time.

Examples of some of the current U.S. federal laws that may affect our business and planned operations include, but are not limited to, the following:

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However, we have since placed the Bear Lodge REE Project under care-and-maintenance, and all permitting activities have been suspended, including the EIS process. The NEPA process can cause delays in issuance of required permits or result in changes to a project to mitigate potential environmental impacts, which in turn can impact the economic feasibility of a proposed project, including the ability to construct or operate the Bear Lodge REE Project or other projects entirely.

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implemented thereunder also prohibit discharges of dredged and fill material in wetlands and other waters of the U.S. unless authorized by a permit issued by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

A number of governments or governmental bodies have adopted or are contemplating regulatory changes in response to the potential impact of climate change. For example, the EPA has issued a notice of finding and determination that emissions of carbon dioxide, methane, and other GHGs present an endangerment to human health and the environment, which has allowed the EPA to begin regulating emissions of GHGs under existing provisions of the CAA. Legislation and increased regulation regarding climate change could impose significant costs on us and/or our suppliers, including costs related to increased energy requirements, capital equipment, environmental monitoring and reporting and/or other costs to comply with such regulations. Any adopted future climate change regulations could also negatively impact our ability to compete with companies situated in areas not subject to such regulations. Alternatively, climate change legislation potentially could benefit our business by driving demand for products utilizing rare earth containing products. We cannot predict how legislation and regulation will affect our financial condition, operating performance or ability to compete.

Even without such regulation, increased awareness or any adverse publicity in the global marketplace about the rare earth industry’s potential impacts on climate change could harm our reputation.

The potential physical impacts of climate change on our operations are highly uncertain and would be particular to the geographic circumstances in areas in which we operate. These may include changes in precipitation, storm patterns and intensities, water shortages and changing temperatures. These factors may have an adverse impact on the cost, production or financial performance of our operations.

Our success is currently largely dependent on the performance, retention and abilities of our directors, President and Chief Executive Officer (“CEO”) and certain consultants.  The loss of the services of these persons could have a material adverse effect on our business and prospects. There is no assurance that we can maintain the services of our directors, CEO, or other qualified personnel and consultants required to operate our business.  Failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on us and our prospects.  We do not maintain life insurance policies on our employee, directors or consultants.  

We depend on various supplies and equipment to carry out our exploration and, if warranted, future development and mining operations. A shortage of such supplies, equipment or parts could have a material adverse effect on our ability to carry out our planned activities or increase our operating costs and expenses.

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Mineral exploration and development and mining are potentially hazardous and subject to conditions or events beyond our control, which could have a material adverse effect on our business or plans.

Mineral exploration, development and mining involve various types of risks and hazards, including, but not limited to the following:

These risks could result in damage to, or destruction of, mineral properties, production equipment, facilities or other properties, personal injury, environmental damage, delays in mining, increased production costs, monetary losses or possible legal liability. We may not be able to obtain insurance to cover these risks at economically feasible premiums or at all. Insurance against certain environmental risks, including potential liability for pollution or other hazards resulting from the disposal of waste products from production, may be prohibitively expensive or not available. Any losses we incur related to any significant events that are not covered by insurance policies may have a material adverse effect on our business.

Our long-term success depends on our ability to develop mineral deposits on existing properties that can be developed into commercially viable mining operations. Resource exploration is a highly speculative business, characterized by a number of significant risks, including, among other things, unprofitable efforts resulting not only from the failure to discover mineral deposits but from finding mineral deposits which, though present, are insufficient in quantity and quality to return a profit from production. Substantial expenditures are required to establish proven and probable mineral reserves through drilling and analysis, to develop metallurgical processes to extract metal, and to develop the mining, beneficiation and processing facilities and infrastructure at any site chosen for mining. The marketability of minerals discovered by us may be affected by numerous factors that are beyond our control and cannot be accurately predicted, such as market pricing fluctuations, the proximity and capacity of milling facilities, mineral markets demand, available supply and processing equipment, and other factors such as government regulations, including regulations relating to royalties, allowable production, importing and exporting of minerals, and environmental protection.  Any one or a combination of these factors may result in a failure to receive an adequate return on our investment capital.  The decision to abandon a project may have a material adverse effect on the market value of our common shares or our ability to complete future financings.

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There are risks that title to our Bear Lodge Property may be challenged or impugned. Our Bear Lodge Property is located in the state of Wyoming and may be subject to prior unrecorded agreements, transfers or native land claims, and title may be affected by undetected defects. There may be valid challenges to the title of our Bear Lodge Property which, if successful, could impair or result in the cessation of development and/or operations.

The vast majority of the mineral rights to our Bear Lodge Property consist of “unpatented” mining claims created and maintained in accordance with the U.S. General Mining Act of 1872 (“U.S. General Mining Law”). Unpatented mining claims are unique property interests and are generally considered to be subject to greater title risk than are other real property interests because the validity of unpatented mining claims can be uncertain. This uncertainty arises, in part, out of the complex federal and state laws and regulations an owner of an unpatented mining claim must comply with to locate and maintain a valid claim.  Also, unpatented mining claims are always subject to possible challenges by third parties or validity contests by the federal government. The validity of an unpatented mining claim, in terms of both its location and its maintenance, is dependent on strict compliance with not only a complex body of U.S. federal and state statutory law, but also administrative and judicial decisions interpreting those statutes and case law. In addition, there may be limitations as to the completeness of public records that determine prior claimants that could impact the validity or ownership of unpatented mining claims. The Company’s right to continue activities on the Bear Lodge Property is dependent upon our ability to pay annual claim maintenance fees.

The exploration of our Bear Lodge Property entails certain risks including unexpected or unusual operating conditions, such as rock slides, cave-ins, flooding, fire and earthquakes.  It is not always possible to insure against these risks. Should events such as these arise, they could reduce or eliminate our assets and shareholder equity as well as result in increased costs and/or a decline in the value of our assets or common shares. We expect to maintain general liability, director and officer insurance, and some insurance against our assets but not with the expectation of full replacement value. We may decide to update or amend our insurance portfolio in the future if coverage is available at economically viable rates.

The mining industry is intensely competitive and we must compete with other individuals and companies, many of which have greater financial resources, operational experience and technical capabilities than we have. This competition from other mining companies could adversely impact our efforts to hire experienced mining professionals. Competition for resources at all levels can be very intense, particularly affecting the availability of manpower, drill rigs, mining equipment and production equipment. Increased competition could adversely affect our ability to attract necessary capital funding or attract or retain key personnel or outside technical resources.

Although land reclamation requirements vary depending on the location and governing authority, such requirements generally are imposed on mineral exploration companies as well as companies with mining operations to minimize long-term effects of land disturbance.

Reclamation requirements may include the following, among other things:

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Legislation and regulations have been proposed that would significantly affect the mining industry and our business.

The U.S. Congress from time to time has considered proposed revisions to the U.S. General Mining Law.  If these proposed revisions are enacted, such legislation could change the cost of holding unpatented mining claims or significantly impact our ability to develop mineralized resource on unpatented mining claims. Such bills have proposed, among other things, to (i) impose a federal royalty on production from unpatented mining claims, (ii) impose a fee on the amount of material displaced at a mine, (iii) impose time limits on the effectiveness of plans of operation that may not coincide with mine life, (iv) impose more stringent environmental compliance and reclamation requirements on activities on unpatented mining claims, (v) establish a mechanism that would allow states, localities and Native American tribes to petition for the withdrawal of identified tracts of federal land from the operation of the U.S. General Mining Law, (vi) replace the location of mining claims with federal leases for locatable minerals, and (vii) allow for administrative determinations that mining would not be allowed in situations where undue degradation of the federal lands in question could not be prevented. Although we cannot predict what legislated royalties might be, the enactment of a federal royalty or other provisions contained in these proposed bills could adversely affect the potential for development of our unpatented mining claims, and our ability to operate or our financial performance. The effect of any proposed revision of the U.S. General Mining Law on operations cannot be determined until enactment.  However, it is possible that revisions would materially increase the carrying and operating costs of mineral properties located on federal unpatented mining claims.

In 2009, the EPA announced that it would develop financial assurance requirements under CERCLA Section 108(b) for the hard rock mining industry.  On January 29, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia issued an order requiring that if the EPA intends to prepare such regulations, it must do so by December 1, 2016.  The EPA issued its proposed rule on January 11, 2017.  Under the proposed rule, owners and operators of facilities subject to the rule would be required to (i) notify the EPA that they are subject to the rule; (ii) calculate a level of financial responsibility for their facility using a formula provided in the rule; (iii) obtain a financial responsibility instrument, or qualify to self-assure, for the amount of financial responsibility; (iv) demonstrate that they have obtained such evidence of financial responsibility; and (v) update and maintain financial responsibility until the EPA releases them from the CERCLA Section 108(b) regulations. On February 21, 2018, the EPA issued a “final action” in which it announced its decision to not to issue final regulations because the EPA “determined that final regulations are not appropriate.” 83 Fed. Reg. 7556 (Feb. 21, 2018). In May 2018, several environmental advocacy groups challenged this action in the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia.  On July 19, 2019 the Court ruled in favor of the EPA, holding that the EPA’s decision to not finalize the proposed hardrock mining financial assurance rule was a reasonable interpretation of its CERCLA authority and CERCLA financial assurance provisions.

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Our directors, officers and consultants may be engaged in other businesses.  Potential conflicts of interest or other obligations of directors, officers and consultants could interfere with corporate operations.

Some of our directors, officers and consultants may be engaged in additional businesses, or situations may arise where our directors, officers and consultants could be in direct competition with us.  Conflicts, if any, will be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of applicable policies, regulations and legislation.  Some of our directors and officers are or may become directors or officers of other entities engaged in other business ventures. As a result of their other business endeavors, our directors, officers and consultants may not be able to devote sufficient time to our business affairs, which may negatively affect our ability to conduct ongoing operations or to generate revenues.

We are subject to litigation arising in the normal course of business and may be involved in disputes that may result in litigation. Although we are not aware of any material pending or threatened litigation or of any legal proceedings known to be contemplated which are, or would be, likely to have a material adverse effect upon us or our operations, taken as a whole, the causes of potential future litigation cannot be known and may arise from, among other things, business activities, environmental and health and safety concerns, share price volatility or failure to comply with disclosure obligations. The results of litigation cannot be predicted with certainty but could include costly damage awards or settlements, fines, and the loss of licenses, concessions or rights, among other things. If we are unable to resolve a dispute favorably, either by judicial determination or settlement, it may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition, cash flows or results of operations.

We depend upon information technology systems in the conduct of our operations. Our information technology systems are subject to disruption, damage or failure from a variety of sources, including, without limitation, computer viruses, security breaches, cyber-attacks, natural disasters and defects in design. Cybersecurity incidents, in particular, are evolving and include, but are not limited to, malicious software, attempts to gain unauthorized access to data and other electronic security breaches that could lead to disruptions in systems, unauthorized release of confidential or otherwise protected information or the corruption of data. Various measures have been implemented to manage our risks related to information technology systems and network disruptions. However, given the unpredictability of the timing, nature and scope of information technology disruptions, we could potentially be subject to downtimes, operational delays, the compromising of confidential or otherwise protected information, destruction or corruption of data, security breaches, other manipulation or improper use of our systems and networks or financial losses from remedial actions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our cash flows, competitive position, financial condition or results of operations.

We do not currently intend to pay cash dividends.

We have not declared any dividends since our incorporation and do not anticipate that we will do so in the foreseeable future. Our present policy is to retain all available funds for use in our business development and operations.  Payment of future cash dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors and will depend on our financial condition, results of operations, contractual restrictions, capital requirements, business

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prospects and other factors that the Board of Directors considers relevant. In the absence of dividends, investors will only see a return on their investment if the value of our common shares appreciates.

Because our success is highly dependent upon our employee, consultants and directors, we have granted to some or all of our key employee, directors and consultants’ options to purchase common shares as non-cash incentives.  To the extent that significant numbers of such options may be granted and exercised, the interests of the other shareholders may be diluted.  As of December 31, 2019, there were 3,450,000 stock options outstanding to employees, former employees, consultants and directors, which, if exercised, would result in an additional 3,450,000 common shares being issued and outstanding, which equals approximately 3.3% of our common shares outstanding as of December 31, 2019.

It is possible that we will sell common shares, or securities exercisable or convertible into common shares, in order to finance our planned development activities. Future sales of substantial amounts of our securities in the public or private markets would dilute our existing shareholders and potentially adversely affect the trading prices of our common shares or could impair our ability to raise capital through future offerings of securities.  Alternatively, we may rely on debt financing and assume debt obligations that require us to make substantial interest and principal payments that could adversely affect our business or future growth potential.

In recent years and months, the securities markets in the U.S. and Canada have experienced high levels of price and volume volatility, and the market prices of securities of many companies have experienced wide fluctuations that have not necessarily been related to the operating performance, underlying asset values or prospects of such companies.  There can be no assurance that continual fluctuations in the market price of our common shares will not occur.  It may be anticipated that any quoted market for the common shares will be subject to market trends and conditions generally, notwithstanding any potential success we have in creating revenues, cash flows or earnings.  The price of our common shares has been subject to price and volume volatility in the past and will likely continue to be subject to such volatility in the future.

We are subject to the so-called “penny stock” rules. The SEC has adopted regulations that define a “penny stock” to be any equity security that has a market price per share of less than $5.00, subject to certain exceptions, such as any securities listed on a national securities exchange. For any transaction involving a “penny stock,” unless exempt, the rules impose additional sales practice requirements on broker-dealers, subject to certain exceptions. A broker-dealer may find it more difficult to trade, and an investor may find it more difficult to acquire or dispose of, our common shares on the OTCQB Venture Marketplace. These factors could significantly negatively affect the market price of our common shares and our ability to raise capital.

An investor in our common shares that is a U.S. taxpayer (referred to as a U.S. shareholder) should be aware that we believe that we were a PFIC for the year ended December 31, 2019. We also expect that we will be a PFIC for the year ended December 31, 2020 but our PFIC status for such year may not be free from doubt. We may or may not be a PFIC in subsequent years. The tests for determining PFIC status depend upon a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control and can be subject to uncertainties. Accordingly, we cannot provide certainty that we were or were not a PFIC for the year ended December 31, 2019, or that we will or will not be a PFIC for the year ending December 31, 2020, or for any future year.  We will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide information regarding our status as a PFIC and the PFIC status of any subsidiary in which the Company owns more than 50% of such subsidiary’s total aggregate voting power to U.S. shareholders who make a written request for such

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ITEM 1B.  UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

Not applicable.

The Bear Lodge Property contains two projects, the Bear Lodge REE Project and the Sundance Gold Project.  The Bear Lodge REE Project consists of the Bull Hill deposit, inclusive of the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge deposits and the exploration targets of East Taylor and Carbon, all of which are located near Sundance, Wyoming.  The Bear Lodge REE Project also includes the proposed hydrometallurgical plant site to be located on private property in Upton, Wyoming that we currently have an option to purchase. Additional details on each of these areas are set forth below under the heading “Bear Lodge REE Project”. We hold our interest in the Bear Lodge Property through our indirect wholly owned subsidiary, Rare Element Resources, Inc., a Wyoming corporation.

The Bear Lodge Property is located in central Crook County, northeast Wyoming, and is approximately 19 kilometers northwest of Sundance, Wyoming.  The Bear Lodge Property is accessible by paved and well-maintained gravel roads. The Bear Lodge Property lies within the Black Hills National Forest along the crest of the northern part of the Bear Lodge Mountains, a narrow northwest-trending range. Physiographically, it is the northwest extension of the Black Hills in western South Dakota and is characterized by rolling grass and pine-covered mountains that reach elevations of 1,950 meters within the Bear Lodge Property. The mountains have moderate slopes covered by western yellow pine forest interspersed with dense thickets of brush. Narrow grassy meadows cover the upper reaches of seasonal drainages. The lowest point within the Bear Lodge Property is about 1,768 meters in elevation. The climate during the summer is warm and relatively dry, followed by cold winters with variable amounts of snow.

We control 100% of the mineral rights at the Bear Lodge Property, consisting of unpatented mining claims and a right of repurchase on adjacent private land. We hold 499 unpatented mining claims located on land administered by the USFS. The Bear Lodge Property is located within parts of Sections 5, 7 through 9, Sections 14 through 23 and Sections 26 through 35 in Township 52 North and Range 63 West, Sixth Principal Meridian, Crook County, Wyoming. All of the public property mining claims are unpatented, such that the paramount title to the land is held by the U.S. All of our Mineral Resources are located on mining claims that we hold.

On October 20, 2016, the Company and Whitelaw Creek LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company (“Whitelaw Creek”), executed an asset purchase agreement (the “Asset Purchase Agreement”).  On October 26, 2016, the Company and Whitelaw Creek closed the transactions contemplated by the Asset Purchase Agreement, pursuant to which the Company sold to Whitelaw Creek for approximately $600,000 in cash approximately 640 acres of non-core real property located in Crook County, Wyoming, that is under consideration for a stockpile facility for the Bear Lodge REE Project (the “Land Sale”).  We have the right to repurchase the land for $1,000,000 after the third anniversary following the Land Sale but on or before the fifth anniversary of the Land Sale, in each case subject to certain adjustments (the “Repurchase Price”).  Payment of the Repurchase Price may be made, at Whitelaw Creek’s option, in the form of cash, common shares of the Company, or a combination of cash and common shares of the Company.  

Our 100% interest in the 499 unpatented mining claims was, in part, acquired from Phelps Dodge Exploration Company (now a subsidiary of Freeport-McMoRan Copper and Gold Inc. (“Freeport”)) by way of a Mineral Lease and Option for Deed in 2000, and 404 claims were transferred from Newmont Mining Corporation (“Newmont”) to us in May 2010.

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Some of our mining claims and a portion of a defined area of influence surrounding the claims were previously subject to a production royalty of 2% of NSR royalty payable to Freeport, but the Company purchased the NSR royalty in March 2009.   We hold an unencumbered REE project, including all 499 unpatented mining claims, free of third-party royalties for REE production.  

Exploration has been carried out on the Bear Lodge Property since 1949.  In addition to Freeport, several mining companies have conducted exploration and drilling programs at or near the Bear Lodge Property since the discovery of mineralization. No mining or operations were conducted at the Bear Lodge Property by any of the prior owners.

Necessary infrastructure, such as housing, food and fuel is available in communities in close proximity to the Bear Lodge Property. Supplies can be delivered on both U.S. Interstate Highway 90 and rail lines. A Burlington Northern rail transport line also runs through Moorcroft, 55 kilometers west of Sundance, and through Upton, the site of the proposed hydrometallurgical plant, 64 kilometers south of Sundance. The Gillette, Wyoming area, located approximately 89 kilometers to the west, has two coal-fired power plants and is currently a major logistics center for Powder River Basin coal mining activity and will serve as such for any development at the Bear Lodge Property. The current size of the Bear Lodge Property is sufficiently large to support a mining operation, with no foreseeable obstacles regarding expansion, subject to a favorable outcome regarding permitting.

We are not aware of any outstanding environmental liabilities associated with the Bear Lodge Property, except for required reclamation work associated with our exploration and drilling activities. Previous exploration activities were approved by both the USFS and the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality. We have an approved reclamation plan and a posted surety bond to cover the required reclamation.

Additional local, state and federal permits will be required for exploration, mining, beneficiation and processing operations, if we decide to proceed with further exploration or mine development and operations.

Geological Setting

The Bear Lodge Mountains of northeast Wyoming are composed primarily of the upper levels of a mineralized tertiary alkaline‐igneous complex that is a component of the Black Hills Uplift of western South Dakota and northeast Wyoming. Tertiary alkaline intrusive bodies in the northern Black Hills occur along a N70-80W trending belt that extends from Bear Butte in South Dakota, through the Bear Lodge Mountains, to Devil’s Tower and Missouri Buttes in northeast Wyoming. The Bear Lodge mining district is in the Bear Lodge Mountains, near the western end of the northern Black Hills intrusive belt. The Bear Lodge Mountains expose and are underlain by multiple alkaline plugs, sills, and dikes and intruded into Precambrian basement and Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rocks approximately 38–52 million years ago. REE and gold mineralization are found in separate areas of the central crest and northern part of the Bear Lodge Mountains.

The Bear Lodge alkaline-igneous complex is a northwest-trending alkaline intrusive dome with dimensions of approximately 10 kilometers NW-SE by 6 kilometers NE-SW. The complex consists predominantly of multiple intrusions of phonolite, trachyte, and other alkaline igneous rocks, and a variety of associated breccias and diatremes.

Exploration and Drilling

The Bear Lodge Mountains were initially prospected for gold during the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.  Rare earth mineralization was first discovered in approximately 1949. Various companies conducted sporadic exploration of the area from the 1970s through the 1990s, both for rare earths and for gold.  Commencing in 2004, we initiated REE exploration activities and from 2004 through 2013, a total of more than 160,000 feet of drilling was completed in over 200 core holes.  Our exploration activities between 2013 through 2015 were limited as our focus turned to development drilling at the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge deposits. These exploration activities included geochemical, geophysical, geological and mineralogical modeling of the district and individual deposits.

The 2013 drilling program involved infill drilling at the Whitetail Ridge deposit including 14 core holes for a total of 3,556 meters (11,697 feet). The second phase consisted of 21 core holes totaling 3,247 meters (10,650 feet) and six reverse circulation (“RC”) twin holes totaling 832 meters (2,730 feet). The RC twin holes were drilled using a center return hammer with the objective of minimizing hole erosion and obtaining assay data directly correlative to that from the adjacent core holes.

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The 2014 program consisted of the excavation of a test trench along the southwestern flank of Bull Hill in August.  The main mineralized zone (Bull Hill Main) was exposed and exploited for the collection of geological information including dike dimension and structural continuity, grade variation, ore and gangue mineralogy, pit slope stability engineering and confirmation of parameters utilized in ore resource calculations. The program netted 907 tonnes (1,000 tons) of material the bulk of which is stored for current and future metallurgical work.

The 2015 condemnation program consisted of six rotary holes, and a total of 3,000 feet was drilled in September of 2015 to complete a program that was halted by the USFS in 2012 due to an archeological discovery. The program evaluated the subsurface for carbonatite-hosted REE mineralization and followed up on gold mineralization discovered in 2010 within and adjacent to the proposed physical upgrade (“PUG”) site. Based on results from the 2015 condemnation program, the PUG area is considered void of economic mineralization.

No drilling was performed from 2017 through 2019.

Bear Lodge REE Project

The Bear Lodge REE Project comprises several REE resource areas within the Bear Lodge Property. REE mineralization at the Bear Lodge Property occurs in the central lobe of the Bear Lodge Property alkaline-igneous complex. Most of the important identified REE deposits and occurrences within the Bear Lodge Property alkaline complex are contained within the Company’s block of unpatented lode mining claims. The REE deposits are located primarily in the vicinity of the Bull Hill deposit.

REE mineralized bodies occur as dikes, veins, and stockworks within the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge deposit areas of the Bear Lodge Property.  The mineralization includes a well-defined, near-surface, oxidized FMR zone; a near-surface, oxidized, but incompletely leached, carbonatite zone (oxide-carbonate zone); a transitional or mixed zone (oxide + sulfide); and a deeper sulfide-bearing carbonatite (a high-carbonate igneous rock) zone. The oxide-carbonate and transitional zones were referred to collectively as a “transitional zone” in some prior news releases and technical reports. The mineralized zones were subsequently sub-classified, based on key characteristics of those zones. The FMR dikes and veins contain no matrix carbonates or sulfides. The sulfides are completely oxidized to hydrous iron oxides, and the non-REE bearing carbonate minerals (calcite and strontianite) show near-complete leaching from the zone, which ranges from the surface to depths of about 90–150 meters. The oxide-carbonate zone generally occurs beneath the oxide zone but approaches the surface locally in select dikes. It is characterized by the near absence of sulfides, with the residual iron oxides formed during almost complete oxidation of the former sulfide minerals, and by variable amounts of relict matrix carbonates (calcite ± strontianite) and the REE mineral, ancylite (a hydrous Strontanite-REE carbonate).

Bull Hill Deposit

The Bull Hill deposit mineralized bodies occur as steeply dipping, FMR-carbonatite dike swarms and associated stockwork. Geological interpretation of results from the 2010–2014 drill and trench programs indicates that the Bull Hill resource area is dominated by northwest-striking mineralized bodies in the southern two-thirds of the resource area, while the northern part of the resource area exhibits a transitional change in strike from dominantly northwesterly to almost due north. The dike swarm primarily intrudes heterolithic intrusive breccia of the Bull Hill diatreme and adjacent trachytic and phonolitic intrusive rocks. Carbonatite dikes at depth are interpreted to transition toward the surface into oxide-carbonate and FMR bodies. The mineralized structures range in size from veinlets to large dikes more than 30 meters in width. The Bull Hill deposit consists of one dominant dike set and several subsidiary dike sets in a swarm that has dimensions of more than 457 meters along strike and less than 100 meters in width. The dikes appear to pinch and swell in both strike and dip directions, and they can be traced in drill holes more than 305 meters down dip.

The Whitetail Ridge mineralization occurs about 700 meters northwest of the Bull Hill deposit. The REE mineralization consists of northwest- and north-striking FMR dikes, and an FMR stockwork zone that is also elongated northeasterly, with dimensions of roughly 380 meters by 290 meters. The enveloping gravity and radiometric geophysical anomalies and coincident soil geochemical anomalies are larger and may indicate a broader distribution of REE mineralization beneath the extensive soil and colluvial cover. Drilling conducted in 2011 through 2013 indicates that much of the mineralization is confined within the volume of the Whitetail Ridge diatreme. 

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Pre-feasibility Study

In 2013 and 2014, we worked on optimizing the Bull Hill deposit plan, the mineral process methods and the Bear Lodge REE Project economics.  In 2014, a Technical Report meeting the requirements of Canadian National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects was completed and included a PFS containing an estimate of the mineralization at the Bear Lodge REE Project as well as preliminary estimates of initial and life-of mine capital costs for the potential development of the project.  These estimates have not been updated since the date of that report and the assumptions contained therein may need to be updated to be accurate in today’s environment.

Permitting Progress

The USFS is the lead agency in the NEPA process to prepare an EIS on the Bear Lodge REE Project.  This process is essential to securing the permits and approvals necessary to move into production.  In early 2012, we submitted the plan of operations for the Bear Lodge REE Project, which the USFS accepted as complete in May 2013.  The USFS selected a project manager and prime contractor for preparation of the EIS, published notice in the Federal Register and completed necessary scoping work.  The USFS issued a draft EIS on January 15, 2016, outlining plan alternatives and proffering a preferred alternative.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the appropriate state and local government agencies are involved in the EIS process as cooperating agencies.  On January 22, 2016, our Board of Directors decided to continue to conserve cash due to the then difficult market conditions and suspend all permitting and licensing efforts, including the EIS process. We notified the USFS and cooperating agencies, the NRC and the state of Wyoming of our decision to suspend permitting and licensing efforts, and the parties acknowledged receipt of the notice. Assuming permitting efforts resume within a reasonable time, the final EIS and draft Record of Decision, the decision document that establishes the acceptable operating conditions, would be expected within 18 to 30 months of the resumption of such permitting efforts. During 2018 the Company undertook to update the baseline environmental data for the Bear Lodge REE Project.

A planned PUG plant, located within the Bear Lodge REE Project area, was designed to maximize concentration of the rare earth minerals and produce a mineral concentrate using a crushing, screening, and gravity separation process depending on the material type. The PUG process was designed to concentrate the rare earth-bearing fines and reduce the physical mass. There are areas of the historical mineable pit that contain variable amounts of weathered oxide material or oxide-carbonate Mineralized Material, and that contain variable grades of stockwork mineralization adjacent to the higher-grade material. Each of these material types was projected to have a different upgrade percentage and mass reduction in the PUG circuit. The historical mining plan anticipated exploitation of a distinct high-grade zone early in the Bear Lodge REE Project that was planned to allow for preferential mining in the initial years of the mine. Low and mid-grade material were to also be mined and stockpiled for future PUG processing.

Reclamation of mining-related facilities was planned to occur during mine operations, where applicable, and upon completion of mining and stockpiling of materials.  Other facilities, including the PUG plant, would be reclaimed as soon as the stockpiled materials are depleted.

The Company has formerly conducted metallurgical test work primarily at SGS Lakefield Research Limited of Lakefield, Ontario, Canada, which is independent from the Company. That test work is now being validated and enhanced by UIT as described in Note 8 to the Company’s Consolidated Financial Statements for the year ended December 31, 2019.

Discovery of high-grade REE mineralization at the East Taylor Target Area and the Carbon Target Area expanded the area of known REE mineralization outside of the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge deposits.  The data indicate that the Bear Lodge REE Project area covers a crudely elliptical area that extends approximately 1,750 meters northwest-southeast by 1,300 meters northeast-southwest.  The Carbon exploration target area is located northwest of the Bull Hill deposit, and the East Taylor Target Area is located west of the Bull Hill deposit.  Drill assay data from the East Taylor Target Area and the Carbon Target Area identify these areas as zones of HREE-enrichment relative to the

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Bull Hill deposit.  These two exploration target areas, along with the Whitetail Ridge deposit, are peripheral to the Bull Hill deposit. The discovery of these target areas indicates good potential for additional deposits of high-grade REE in the western half of the Bear Lodge REE Project, and those deposits appear to be particularly enriched in HREE.

Sundance Gold Project

The Sundance Gold Project is the second project located on our Bear Lodge Property.  The Sundance Gold Project consists of 288 unpatented lode mining claims adjacent to the Bull Hill Rare Earth Project in Crook County, Wyoming. In 2011, we published a Technical Report that contains dated estimates of inferred mineral resources on the Sundance Gold Project. As a result of the Company’s current focus on the Bear Lodge REE Project and in light of ongoing volatile economic conditions for gold, no drilling or exploration on the Sundance Gold Project has been conducted since the end of 2011. We have not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and we are not treating the estimate as current mineral resources or mineral reserves.

ITEM 4.  MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

We consider health, safety and environmental stewardship to be a core value for the Company.

Pursuant to Section 1503(a) of the Dodd-Frank Act, issuers that are operators, or that have a subsidiary that is an operator, of a coal or other mine in the U.S. are required to disclose in their periodic reports filed with the SEC information regarding specified health and safety violations, orders and citations, related assessments and legal actions, and mining-related fatalities under the regulation of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Administration of 1977 under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company was not subject to any regulation by the Mine Safety and Health Administration under the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.  

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Our common shares currently trade on the OTCQB Venture Marketplace under the ticker symbol “REEMF.”  As of March 9, 2020, we had 103,966,880 common shares issued and outstanding, held by approximately 43 shareholders of record.  

We do not anticipate that we will declare any dividends in the foreseeable future.  Payment of any future dividends, if any, will be at the discretion of the Board of Directors after taking into account many factors, including operating results, financial conditions and anticipated cash needs.

During the quarter ended December 31, 2019, neither the Company nor any affiliate of the Company repurchased any common shares of the Company registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act.

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

As of December 31, 2019, we had one equity compensation plan under which our common shares have been authorized for issuance to our officers, directors, employees and non-employee consultants: our 10% Rolling Stock Option Plan (the “RSOP”) which was adopted by our shareholders on December 2, 2011.  

The following table sets out those securities of the Company which have been authorized for issuance under our equity compensation plan, as at December 31, 2019:

Equity Compensation Plan Information

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The following discussion is a general summary of the material U.S. federal income tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of our common shares by a holder of our common shares that is a U.S. Holder (as defined below).  This summary is general in nature and does not address the effects of any state or local taxes, U.S. federal estate, gift, or generation-skipping taxes, or the tax consequences in jurisdictions other than the U.S.  In addition, this discussion does not discuss all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be material to investors subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax law. For example, this discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax aspects that may be material to U.S. Holders who own or have owned, directly or by the application of certain constructive ownership rules, 10% or more of the outstanding shares of the Company by either vote or by value, U.S. expatriates, insurance companies, tax-exempt entities, financial institutions, persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, or the base erosion and anti-abuse tax, regulated investment companies, securities broker-dealers or dealers, traders in securities who elect to apply a mark-to-market method of accounting, partnerships or other pass-through entities and investors in such an entity, persons holding our securities as part of a larger integrated transaction, persons who acquire our securities as compensation, persons who may be subject to the tax on global intangible low-taxed income, persons who may be eligible for a deduction for a portion of foreign-derived intangible income or global intangible low-tax income, and persons whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar).  This summary is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), the regulations promulgated thereunder, court decisions and published rulings of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”), as in effect on the date hereof, and the Convention between the U.S. and Canada with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital signed on September 26, 1980, as amended and currently in force (the “Treaty”), and does not take into account the possible effect of future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions.  We will not request any rulings from the IRS or obtain any opinions from counsel on the tax consequences described below, or on any other issues.  The IRS or a court might reach a contrary conclusion with respect to the issues addressed herein if the matter were to be contested.  Future legislative or administrative changes or court decisions may significantly change the conclusions expressed herein, and any such changes or decisions may have a retroactive effect with respect to the matters discussed herein.  

As used herein, the term “U.S. Holder” means a beneficial owner of our securities that is (a) an individual citizen or resident of the U.S. for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (b) a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the U.S. or any state thereof or the District of Columbia; (c) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or (d) a trust, if (i) a court within the U.S. can exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust and one or more U.S. persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust or (ii) a valid election is in effect under applicable Treasury Regulations to treat such trust as a U.S. person.

We will be classified as a passive foreign investment company (a “PFIC”) in any taxable year in which, after taking into account the income and assets of certain subsidiaries, either (i) at least 75% of our gross income is passive income, or (ii) at least 50% of the average value of our assets is attributable to assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income. Whether we will be classified as a PFIC in any taxable year is a factual determination and will depend upon our assets, the market value of our common shares, and our activities in each year and is therefore subject to change.

We believe that we were a PFIC for the year ended December 31, 2019. We expect that we will be a PFIC for the year ending December 31, 2020, and we may also be a PFIC for subsequent years. The tests for determining PFIC status depend upon a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control and can be subject to uncertainties. Accordingly, we cannot provide certainty that we were or were not a PFIC for the year ended December 31, 2019, or that we will or will not be a PFIC for the year ending December 31, 2020, or for any future year.  We will use commercially reasonable efforts to provide information as to our status as a PFIC and the PFIC status of any

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subsidiary in which the Company owns more than 50% of such subsidiary’s total aggregate voting power to U.S. Holders who make a written request for such information.

If we are classified as a PFIC for any taxable year, the so-called “excess distribution” regime will apply to any U.S. Holder of common shares that does not make a QEF election or mark-to-market election, as described below. Under the excess distribution regime, (i) any gain the U.S. Holder realizes on the sale or other disposition of the common shares (possibly including a gift, exchange in a corporate reorganization, or grant as security for a loan) and any “excess distribution” that we make to such U.S. Holder (generally, any distributions to such holder in respect of the common shares during a single taxable year that are greater than 125% of the average annual distributions received by such U.S. Holder in the three preceding years or, if shorter, such holder’s holding period for the common shares), will be treated as ordinary income that was earned ratably over each day in such U.S. Holder’s holding period for the common shares; (ii) the portion of any excess distributions allocated to the current year or prior years before the first day of the first taxable year beginning after December 31, 1986, in which we became a PFIC would be includible by the U.S. Holder as ordinary income in the current year; (iii) the portion of such gain or distribution that is allocable to prior taxable years during which we were a PFIC will be subject to tax at the highest rate applicable to ordinary income for the relevant taxable years, regardless of the tax rate otherwise applicable to such U.S. Holder and without reduction for deductions or loss carryforwards; and (iv) the interest charge generally applicable to underpayments of tax will be imposed with respect of the tax attributable to each such year. The interest charge discussed above generally will be non-deductible interest expense for individual U.S. Holders.

Certain elections may be available with respect to our common shares (the so-called “QEF,” “mark-to-market,” and “deemed sale” elections) if we are a PFIC, but these elections may accelerate the recognition of taxable income and may result in the recognition of ordinary income.

If a U.S. Holder makes for any tax year a timely election to treat the Company as a “qualifying electing fund” or “QEF” (a “QEF election”) with respect to such U.S. Holder’s interest therein, the above-described rules regarding excess distributions generally will not apply. Instead, the electing U.S. Holder would include annually in its gross income its pro rata share of our ordinary earnings and any net capital gain regardless of whether such income or gain was actually distributed. Special rules apply to U.S. Holders who own their interests in a PFIC through intermediate entities or persons.

A U.S. Holder may make a QEF election only if the U.S. Holder receives certain information (known as a “PFIC annual information statement”) from us annually. We will use commercially reasonable efforts to make available to U.S. Holders, upon written request, an accurate PFIC annual information statement for each year in which the Company is a PFIC. A QEF election is generally timely filed only if it is made on a timely filed federal income tax return for the first year in the U.S. Holder’s holding period for our common shares in which we were a PFIC. A U.S. Holder for whom a QEF election would otherwise be untimely may be able to make a special “deemed sale” election pursuant to which the U.S. Holder recognizes any gain inherent in the U.S. Holder’s common shares and restarts the U.S. Holder’s holding period in our common shares for purposes of making a QEF election. A deemed sale election generally can be made only if the U.S. Holder owns common shares on the first day of our taxable year in which the election is to be effective.

Alternatively, a U.S. Holder of common shares may elect to recognize any gain or loss on its common shares on a mark-to-market basis at the end of each taxable year, so long as the common shares are regularly traded on a qualified exchange. The OTCQB Venture Marketplace, on which our common shares currently trade, may not be a qualified exchange for this purpose.  Therefore, we cannot provide assurance that our common shares are regularly traded on a qualified exchange for PFIC purposes, and we provide no assurance that our common shares will be regularly traded on a qualified exchange for this or any subsequent year in which we may be a PFIC.

If a mark-to-market election is made, the excess distribution regime will not apply to amounts received with respect to our common shares from and after the effective time of the election, and any mark-to-market gains or gains on disposition will be treated as ordinary income. Mark-to-market losses and losses on disposition will be treated as ordinary losses to the extent of the U.S. Holder’s unrecovered prior net mark-to-market gains. Losses in excess of prior net mark-to-market gains will generally not be recognized. The mark-to-market election must be made by the due date (as may be extended) for filing the U.S. Holder’s federal income tax return for the first year in which the election is to take effect. A mark-to-market election applies to all future years of an electing U.S. Holder during which the stock is regularly traded on a qualifying exchange, unless revoked with the IRS’s consent.

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The QEF election and mark-to-market election rules are complex. U.S. Holders should consult their tax advisor regarding the availability and procedure for making these elections.

Special adverse rules apply to U.S. Holders of our common shares for any year in which we are a PFIC and own or dispose of shares in another corporation that is also a PFIC (a “lower-tier PFIC”), as might be the case with our wholly owned subsidiary, Rare Element Holdings, Ltd. A U.S. Holder who owned our common shares while we were a PFIC will be taxable under the excess distribution rules described above with respect to any gain that we recognize from a disposition of shares in a lower-tier PFIC, or if the U.S. Holder disposes of all or part of its common shares.  Moreover, a QEF election or mark-to-market election that is made for our common shares would not apply to a lower-tier PFIC. While a separate QEF election may be made for a lower-tier PFIC, we do not undertake to provide the financial information to U.S. Holders that would allow them to make a QEF election for any lower-tier PFIC. A mark-to-market election generally may not be made with respect to a lower-tier PFIC.

A U.S. Holder who makes a QEF election for our common shares but not for shares of a lower-tier PFIC will be taxable under the excess distribution regime on gain that we recognize on the sale of shares of the lower-tier PFIC. Any U.S. Holder who makes a mark-to-market or deemed sale election for our common shares could be subject to the PFIC rules with respect to income of the lower-tier PFIC, even though the value of the lower-tier PFIC already was subject to tax via mark-to-market or deemed sale adjustments.

The IRS has issued proposed regulations that, subject to certain exceptions, would treat as taxable certain transfers of PFIC stock by a U.S. Holder that has not made a timely QEF election or mark-to-market election that are generally not otherwise taxed, such as gifts, exchanges pursuant to corporate reorganizations, and transfers at death. Generally, in such cases, the basis of our common shares in the hands of the transferee and the basis of any property received in the exchange for those shares would be increased by the amount of gain recognized. The specific tax effect to the U.S. Holder and the transferee may vary based on the manner in which the common shares are transferred. Each U.S. Holder should consult a tax advisor with respect to how the PFIC rules affect their tax situation prior to transferring PFIC shares.

Special adverse rules that impact certain estate planning goals could apply to our common shares if we are a PFIC. Special rules apply with respect to the calculation of the amount of the foreign tax credit with respect to excess distributions by a PFIC. Special rules determine when the unearned income Medicare contribution tax applies to distribution or income with respect to PFICs.

Each U.S. Holder that has a direct or indirect interest in our common shares for a year for which we were a PFIC, generally would be required to file an IRS Form 8621 (“Form 8621”), if, during such year, the U.S. Holder received distributions or recognized gain with respect to our common shares, or was deemed to receive an indirect distribution from a lower-tier PFIC or to recognize gain on an indirect disposition of lower-tier PFIC stock.  Form 8621 also is used to make certain elections with respect to PFICs, including a QEF election and a mark-to-market election.  Each U.S. Holder should consult its tax advisor regarding these and any other relevant information or other reporting requirements.

If we are a PFIC in the taxable year in which we pay a dividend or the immediately preceding taxable year, dividends on our common shares will not be “qualified dividend income,” and such dividends received by individual U.S. Holders generally will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates, subject to the tax rules that apply to excess distributions from PFICs, as discussed above.

The tax treatment of a sale or other disposition of our common shares by a U.S. Holder will differ based upon whether the PFIC rules apply and whether the U.S. Holder has made any of the elections described above.

If the excess distribution regime discussed above applies to the sale or disposition of our common shares, the rules regarding the taxation of excess distributions will generally apply upon a sale or other disposition of the common shares.

If the excess distribution regime discussed above does not apply to the sale or disposition of our common shares, the difference between the amount received and the adjusted tax basis of the common shares will be a gain or loss. If, as usually is the case, the common shares are a capital asset in the hands of the U.S. Holder, such gain or loss will be

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a capital gain. If the U.S. Holder has made a QEF election with respect to the shares, the adjusted basis will be increased by the U.S. Holder’s proportionate share of income and capital gains taken into account each year as a result of the QEF election. If the U.S. Holder has made a mark-to-market election with respect to the shares, the adjusted basis will be increased by the net income recognized on the common shares as a result of the mark-to-market election. Capital gain or loss with respect to common shares generally will be long-term capital gain or loss if the holding period for the shares giving rise to such gain or loss exceeds one year. Under current law, long-term capital gains realized by individual U.S. Holders are taxed at reduced rates. Short-term capital gains are taxed at ordinary income rates. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to significant limitations.

We do not expect to pay dividends in the foreseeable future.  However, subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a U.S. Holder must include in gross income as dividend income the gross amount of any distribution (including the amount of any Canadian withholding tax thereon) paid by the Company out of its current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined for U.S. federal income tax purposes) with respect to our common shares. A distribution on our common shares in excess of current or accumulated earnings and profits will be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of the U.S. Holder’s adjusted basis in such common shares (thus reducing, but not below zero, the adjusted tax basis of such common shares), and thereafter as gain from the sale or exchange of common shares. See “Sale or Other Disposition of Our Common Shares” above.

If we are a PFIC in the taxable year in which we pay a dividend or the immediately preceding taxable year, dividends received by individual U.S. Holders generally will be taxed at ordinary income tax rates, subject to the rules that apply to excess distributions from PFICs, as discussed above.

If we are not a PFIC in the taxable year in which we pay a dividend or the immediately preceding taxable year, dividends received by individual U.S. Holders will be taxed to such U.S. Holder at the rates applicable to long-term capital gains as “qualified dividend income” if (i) we are eligible for benefits of the Treaty or (ii) our common shares are readily tradable on an established securities market.  We have not determined if we are eligible for such benefits, and our common shares are not currently readily tradable on an established securities market. However, dividend income will not be qualified dividend income (and will be taxed at ordinary income rates) if the U.S. Holder has not held its common shares for at least 61 days during the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the ex-dividend date (or as noted above, if we are a PFIC for the taxable year in which the dividend is paid or in the preceding taxable year).

Dividends paid to a corporate U.S. Holder will be taxed as ordinary income and will not generally be eligible for the dividends received deduction.

A surtax of 3.8% (the “unearned income Medicare contribution tax”) is imposed on the “net investment income” of certain U.S. citizens and resident aliens, and on the undistributed “net investment income” of certain estates and trusts, in each case in excess of a certain amount. Net investment income generally includes dividends and net gain from the disposition of property (other than property held in a “non-passive” trade or business). Net investment income is reduced by deductions that are properly allocable to such income.  Special rules determine when the unearned income Medicare contribution tax applies to distribution or income with respect to PFICs. U.S. Holders should consult with their U.S. tax advisors concerning how these rules would apply to an investment in our common shares.

Generally, amounts received by a U.S. Holder in foreign currency (including dividends paid in foreign currency) will be valued at the rate of exchange on the date of receipt. The subsequent disposition of any foreign currency received (including an exchange for U.S. currency) will generally give rise to ordinary gain or loss should the rate of exchange subsequently change.

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Foreign Tax Credit or Deduction

A U.S. Holder who pays (or has withheld from distributions) Canadian income tax with respect to the ownership of our common shares may be entitled, at the option of the U.S. Holder, to either receive a deduction or a tax credit for U.S. federal income tax purposes with respect to such foreign tax paid or withheld. Significant and complex limitations apply to the foreign tax credit, including the general limitation that the credit cannot exceed the proportionate share of the U.S. Holder’s U.S. income tax liability that the U.S. Holder’s “foreign source” income bears to his or its worldwide taxable income. In applying this limitation, the various items of income and deduction must be classified as either “foreign source” or “U.S. source.” Complex rules govern this classification process.

In lieu of a credit, a U.S. Holder who itemizes deductions may elect to deduct all of such holder’s foreign taxes in the taxable year. A deduction does not reduce U.S. tax on a dollar-for-dollar basis like a tax credit, but the deduction for foreign taxes is not subject to the same limitations applicable to foreign tax credits. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding the availability of foreign tax credits.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Certain U.S. Holders are required to report information relating to an interest in our common shares, subject to certain exceptions, by attaching a completed IRS Form 8938, Statement of Specified Foreign Financial Assets, with their tax return for each year in which they hold an interest in our common shares or warrants. U.S. Holders are urged to consult their own tax advisors regarding information reporting requirements relating to their ownership of our common shares.

Dividend payments made with respect to our common shares and proceeds from the sale or other disposition of our common shares may be subject to information reporting requirements and to U.S. backup withholding.

In general, backup withholding will apply with respect to reportable payments made to a U.S. Holder unless (i) the U.S. Holder is a corporation or other exempt recipient, and if required, demonstrates such exemption, or (ii) the U.S. Holder furnishes the payor with a taxpayer identification number on IRS Form W-9 in the manner required, certifies under penalty of perjury that such U.S. Holder is not currently subject to backup withholding and otherwise complies with the backup withholding requirements.

Backup withholding is not an additional tax. Rather, the amount of any backup withholding imposed on a payment to a holder will be allowed as a refund or a credit against such holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided that the required information is timely furnished to the IRS.

As a smaller reporting company, we are not required to provide this information. See “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.”

You should read the following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations together with our financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report.  This discussion and analysis contains forward-looking statements that involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. See “Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements.”  Our actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of many factors, including, but not limited to, those set forth in “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Annual Report.

The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and accompanying notes included in Item 8 of this Annual Report.  This Management’s Discussion and Analysis (this “MD&A”) has been prepared based on information known to management as of March 17, 2020.  This MD&A is intended to help the reader understand the consolidated audited financial statements of the Company.  

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All currency amounts are expressed in thousands of U.S. dollars, except per share and common share amounts, unless otherwise noted.  

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company focused on (i) continuing the confirmation and enhancement of our proprietary technology for rare earth processing and separation through pilot testing (“piloting”), and (ii) updating and supplementing environmental baseline data in anticipation of the potential resumption of permitting efforts.  As to (i) above, we entered into a formal engagement with Umwelt- und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH Dresden (“UIT”), an affiliate of General Atomic Technologies Corporation and Synchron, to continue our technology review and advancement (see “Contractual Obligations” discussion below). Further, in 2019, the Company monitored the general U.S. political climate and actions taken by the U.S. government to secure a domestic, non-Chinese, rare earth supply chain in the future. The U.S. federal government issued two Presidential Executive Orders in 2017 to encourage and support the establishment of a domestic, non-Chinese, rare earth supply chain and to strengthen the defense industrial base with respect to critical minerals including rare earths. In June 2019, the Department of Commerce released its report entitled “Federal strategy to ensure secure and reliable supplies of critical minerals.”  This was followed by five U.S. Presidential Determinations on July 22, 2019 directed to the Secretary of Defense. One Presidential Determination declared that “the domestic production capability for Rare Earth Metals and Alloys is essential to the national defense.” These initiatives have increased the government’s level of interest in the Company’s potential rare earth products as a segment of the supply chain, particularly considering Chinese dominance in the rare earth market. The Company is continuing to support and explore participating in these initiatives in 2020 as it is critical to the United States’ production of rare earth magnets to support the manufacturing of defense applications, electric vehicles and bicycles, wind turbines, automobiles, consumer electronics, and oil refining.  Additionally, the Company plans to further the piloting to optimize certain process steps, scale-up design criteria for a demonstration plant, and confirm operating and capital cost estimates in 2020.

Year Ended December 31, 2019 Compared to the Year Ended December 31, 2018

Our consolidated net loss for the year ended December 31, 2019 was $1,433, or $0.02 per share, compared to our consolidated net loss of $1,764, or $0.02 per share, for the same period in 2018.  See the discussion below for the primary drivers regarding the change in net loss period-to-period.

Exploration and evaluation costs of $1,146 for the year ended December 31, 2019 approximated $1,268 for the same period in 2018. The Company has been focused on advancing our technology under the UIT technology agreement, supplementing our environmental baseline studies and maintaining our environmental obligations at the Bear Lodge REE Project.

Corporate administration costs decreased to $979 for year ended December 31, 2019, compared to $1,066 for the same period in 2018. The decrease from the prior period was the result of decreased expenses associated with our compliance and regulatory obligations.

Amortization of Intellectual Property Income

During the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we amortized $650 and $257, respectively, of deferred intellectual property income. We incurred deferred intellectual property income due to the intellectual property rights agreement with Synchron (see “Financial Position, Liquidity and Capital Resources – Transaction with Synchron” discussion below).  Because Synchron obtained exclusive rights to the intellectual property upon exercise of the Option (as discussed below), the value of the intellectual property rights agreement was considered deferred income.  Prior to Synchron exercising its Option, we were amortizing the deferred income using the straight-line

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method over a period of four years (the term of the option agreement). Upon exercise of the Option, the Company fully amortized the remaining balance of the deferred intellectual property income.  

Gain on Revaluation of Option Liability

Gain on the revaluation of the option liability was $19 and $285 for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.  This gain is directly related to the valuation of the option agreement with Synchron (see “Financial Position, Liquidity and Capital Resources – Transaction with Synchron” discussion below).  As the option agreement was considered a derivative liability, we revalued the option liability at the end of each reporting period, until the option was exercised.

Net cash used in operating activities was $1,935 for the year ended December 31, 2019, approximating 1,837 for the same period in 2018.  The increase in cash used from the prior period was primarily due to the results of operations, as discussed above.

Financing Activities

At December 31, 2019, our total current assets were $5,704, as compared to $2,560 at December 31, 2018, which is an increase of $3,144. The increase in total current assets is primarily due to an increase in cash and cash equivalents due to the exercise of the Synchron Option, partially offset by funding our operations. Our working capital as at December 31, 2019 was $5,234, as compared to $2,174 at December 31, 2018.

Due to transactions with Synchron in October 2019 (see “Financial Position, Liquidity and Capital Resources – Transaction with Synchron” discussion below), the Company has adequate funds to meets its obligations for the 12 months following the date of filing this annual report on Form 10-K.  However, we do not have sufficient funds to fully complete feasibility studies, permitting, development and construction of the Bear Lodge REE Project. Therefore, the achievement of these activities will be dependent upon future financings, off-take agreements, joint ventures, strategic transactions, or sales of various assets.  There is no assurance, however, that we will be successful in completing any such financing, agreement or transactions.  Ultimately, in the event that we cannot obtain additional financial resources or complete a strategic transaction in the longer term, we may have to liquidate our business interests, and investors may lose all or part of their investment.  

Transaction with Synchron

On October 2, 2017, the Company and Synchron, an affiliate of General Atomic Technologies Corporation (“Synchron”), completed a transaction in accordance with the following terms.  Pursuant to an investment agreement (the “Investment Agreement”), the Company (i) issued to Synchron 26,650,000 common shares of the Company, which constituted approximately 33.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company; (ii) received gross proceeds of $4,752 in cash, less a $500 preliminary payment received in August 2017; and (iii) granted Synchron an option (the “Option”) to purchase approximately an additional 15.5% of the Company’s fully diluted common shares for an aggregate exercise price of an additional $5,040. Synchron’s ownership percentage, immediately after giving effect to such exercise, is limited to 49% of the Company’s common shares issued and outstanding.  Pursuant to an option agreement (the “Option Agreement”), the Option term was for a period of up to four years from the initial investment.  Additionally, the parties executed an intellectual property rights agreement (the “IP Rights Agreement”), whereby Synchron received rights to use and improve the Company’s intellectual property relating to the Company’s patents-pending and related technical information.  The Company retains the right to use any such improvements.  

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In October 2019, Synchron exercised the Option to purchase 24,175,000 common shares for a purchase price of $5,040 pursuant to the Option Agreement. As a result, (i) Synchron’s ownership of outstanding common shares of the Company increased to approximately 49%, and Synchron (i) oibtained the right to nominate an additional board member and (iii) the intellectual property rights granted to pursuant to the IP Rights Agreement became exclusive for a perpetual term, free from a licensing fee. The Company retains the right to use the intellectual property and any improvements made by Synchron,

We have no off-balance sheet arrangements required to be disclosed in this Annual Report.

On February 14, 2019, the Company and UIT executed a second technology test work agreement to further validate the Company’s rare earth processing technology at pilot plant scale. The Board of Directors of Rare Element approved the UIT pilot plant engagement on February 7, 2019. Consistent with the Board action in 2018 approving the first engagement of UIT, the two directors of Rare Element appointed by Synchron abstained because Synchron is a significant shareholder of the Company and is an affiliate of UIT. The UIT pilot plant agreement was for an amount not to exceed $700.  Additionally, on September 9, 2019, the Company entered into an agreement to amend the scope terms and conditions related to the February 2019 agreement which resulted in additional estimated costs of $70.

CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Due to the variability in the number of common shares that could have issued upon exercise of the Option Agreement (discussed above), the Option Agreement was considered a derivative liability, as a result the Company revalued the option liability at the end of each reporting period, until the Option was exercised in October 2019.The fair value of the option liability is calculated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model. The incremental difference between the estimated value of an exclusive and non-exclusive IP Rights Agreement was added to the value from the Black-Scholes model to arrive at the total value of the Option.  Any gains or losses from the revaluation were recorded to the income statement. Upon exercise of the Option, the liability was reclassified to common shares on the Consolidated Balance Sheet.

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Stock-based Compensation

We account for stock-based compensation under the provisions of FASB ASC 718, “Compensation – Stock Compensation.”  Under the fair value recognition provisions, stock-based compensation expense is measured at the grant date for all stock-based awards granted.  

The fair value of all share-based compensation awards is calculated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model, and the amount is recorded as an expense with a corresponding increase in additional paid-in-capital. All stock-based compensation charges are amortized over the vesting period on a straight-line basis.  

Our mining and exploration activities are subject to various laws and regulations, including legal and contractual obligations to reclaim, remediate, or otherwise restore properties at the time the property is removed from service.  Reclamation obligations are recognized when incurred and recorded as liabilities at fair value.  The reclamation obligation is based on when spending for an existing disturbance will occur.  We reclaim the disturbance from our exploration programs on an ongoing basis and, therefore, the portion of our reclamation obligation corresponding to our exploration programs will be settled in the near term and is classified as a current liability.  The remaining reclamation associated with environmental monitoring programs is classified as a long-term liability; however, because we have not declared Proven and Probable Reserves as defined by SEC Industry Guide 7, the timing of these reclamation activities is uncertain as the reclamation areas will be utilized once the project is operating.  For Exploration Stage properties that do not qualify for asset capitalization, the costs associated with the obligation are charged to operations.  For Development and Production Stage properties, the costs are added to the capitalized costs of the property and amortized using the units-of-production method.  We review, on a quarterly basis, unless otherwise deemed necessary, the reclamation obligation in connection with the Bear Lodge Property.

Reclamation obligations are secured by surety bonds held for the benefit of the state of Wyoming in amounts determined by applicable federal and state regulatory agencies.

Not applicable.

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The following Consolidated Financial Statements and Report of Independent Registered Public Accountants are filed as part of this Item 8 and are included in this Annual Report.

To the Shareholders and Board of Directors

Rare Element Resources Ltd.

Littleton, Colorado

Opinion on the Consolidated Financial Statements

We have audited the accompanying consolidated balance sheet of Rare Element Resources Ltd. (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and the related consolidated statements of operations, shareholders' equity, and cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2019 and the related notes (collectively referred to as the “financial statements”). In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the Company as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for each of the years in the two-year period ended December 31, 2019, in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America.

Basis for Opinion

The Company's management is responsible for these financial statements. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s financial statements based on our audits. We are a public accounting firm registered with the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) (“PCAOB”) and are required to be independent with respect to the Company in accordance with the U.S. federal securities laws and the applicable rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the PCAOB.

We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the PCAOB. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement, whether due to error or fraud. The Company is not required to have, nor were we engaged to perform, an audit of its internal control over financial reporting. As part of our audits, we are required to obtain an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion.

Our audits included performing procedures to assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to error or fraud, and performing procedures that respond to those risks. Such procedures included examining, on a test basis, evidence regarding the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. Our audits also included evaluating the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall presentation of the financial statements. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.

We have served as the Company’s auditor since 2012.

Plante & Moran, PLLC

Denver, Colorado

March 17, 2020

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See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

44

See accompanying notes to consolidated financial statements.

45

See accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements.

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RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

1.  NATURE OF OPERATIONS

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (“we,” “us,” “Rare Element” or the “Company”) was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada, on June 3, 1999.

Rare Element has historically been focused on advancing the Bear Lodge REE Project and the Sundance Gold Project, both located near the town of Sundance in northeast Wyoming.  The Bear Lodge REE Project consists of several large disseminated REE deposits and a proposed hydrometallurgical plant to be located near Upton, Wyoming.  The Sundance Gold Project contains a historical inferred mineral resource primarily composed of three gold targets within the area of the Bear Lodge property.

During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company focused on (i) continuing the confirmation and enhancement of our proprietary technology for rare earth processing and separation through piloting, and (ii) updating and supplementing environmental baseline data in anticipation of the potential resumption of permitting efforts.  Further, in 2019, the Company monitored U.S. government actions regarding securing a domestic, non-Chinese, rare earth supply chain and participated in certain discussions with government officials.

As a result of the Company’s current focus on the Bear Lodge REE Project and in light of ongoing volatile economic conditions for gold, no drilling or exploration on the Sundance Gold Project has been conducted since the end of 2011. Further exploration will be required in order to define the extent of the gold occurrences.

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis, which assumes that the Company will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business beyond the next 12 months following the filing date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The Company previously reported substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern in its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2018 and subsequent quarterly financial statements in 2019.  Due to the transaction with Synchron (Note 6), management no longer believes there is substantial doubt as to its ability to continue as a going concern. However, even with the transaction with Synchron, we do not have sufficient funds to fully complete feasibility studies, permitting, licensing, development and construction of the Bear Lodge REE Project.  Therefore, the achievement of these activities will be dependent upon future financings, off-take agreements, joint ventures, strategic transactions, or sales of various assets. There is no assurance, however, that we will be successful in completing any such financing, agreement or transaction.  

These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) and are inclusive of the accounts of Rare Element Resources Ltd. and its directly and indirectly held wholly owned subsidiaries, which consist of its wholly owned subsidiary Rare Element Holdings Ltd. (“Holdings”) and Holdings’ wholly owned subsidiary, Rare Element Resources, Inc.  

During October 2019, we identified an error to the consolidated financial statements for the years 2017 and all quarterly periods through September 30, 2019 related to the valuation of the Synchron option liability (see Note 6 for complete discussion of the transaction). We were utilizing an incorrect estimated number of common shares to be issued upon Synchron’s exercise of its Option. The valuation utilized approximately 14,600,000 common shares estimated to be issued upon exercise of the Option, The Company disclosed in its annual report on Form 10-K for the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, this amount was potentially dilutive to its shareholders. In each of its interim quarterly disclosures on Form 10-Q, the Company disclosed the number of common shares to be issued would be equivalent to approximately an additional 15.49% of the Company’s fully diluted outstanding common shares immediately after the exercise of the Option.  However, the Company issued 24,175,000 common shares upon exercise of the Option which is consistent with certain other public disclosures and the intention of the parties under the Option Agreement. The Company had properly disclosed the potential issuance of 24,175,000 common

48

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

shares in its 2018 proxy statement and the Form 8-K filing announcing the term sheet for the transaction filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on August 21, 2017. Synchron additionally disclosed 24,175,000 beneficial ownership shares in its Schedule 13D filed with the SEC on October 19, 2017. The effect of correcting this error as of January 1, 2019 to consolidated financial statements was to decrease Deferred intellectual property license income by $56, increase Common shares by $313 and increase Accumulated deficit by $257. 

Management evaluated the materiality of the error described above from a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Based on such evaluation, we have concluded that while the accumulation of this error was significant to the year ended December 31, 2017, the correction would not be material to any individual prior period, nor did it have a material effect on the trend of financial results, taking into account the requirements of the SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 108, Considering the Effects of Prior Year Misstatements when Quantifying Misstatements in Current Year Financial Statements. Accordingly, we are correcting this error as of January 1, 2019 and have correctly stated the amounts for the year ended December 31, 2019 Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K. This error and correction was disclosed in the Company’s quarterly financial statements on Form 10-Q for the nine months ended September 30, 2019 as filed with the SEC on November 18, 2019.

3.  SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period.  Actual results could differ from those estimates.  The amounts which involve significant estimates include reclamation obligations, stock-based compensation, valuation of the option liability, valuation of deferred income and impairments.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, cash and cash equivalents consisted of $5,664 and $2,523, respectively, of funds held in bank accounts with financial institutions in both Canada and the United States.

Mineral Properties and Exploration and Evaluation Costs

Mineral property acquisition costs, including indirectly related acquisition costs, are capitalized when incurred.  Acquisition costs include cash consideration and the fair market value of common shares issued as consideration.  Properties acquired under option agreements, whereby payments are made at the sole discretion of the Company, are capitalized as mineral property acquisition costs at such time as the payments are made. Exploration costs are expensed as incurred.  When it is determined that a mining deposit can be economically and legally extracted or produced based on established proven and probable reserves under SEC Industry Guide 7, development costs related to such reserves and incurred after such determination will be considered for capitalization.  The establishment of proven and probable reserves is based on results of feasibility studies.  Upon commencement of commercial production, capitalized costs will be amortized over their estimated useful lives or units of production, whichever is a more reliable measure.  Capitalized amounts relating to a property that is abandoned or otherwise considered uneconomic for the foreseeable future will be written off.

Reclamation Obligations

Our mining and exploration activities are subject to various laws and regulations, including legal and contractual obligations to reclaim, remediate, or otherwise restore properties at the time the property is removed from service. Reclamation obligations are recognized when incurred and recorded as liabilities at fair value.  The reclamation obligation is based on when spending for an existing disturbance will occur.  We reclaim the disturbance from our exploration programs on an ongoing basis; therefore, the portion of our reclamation obligation corresponding to our exploration programs will be settled in the near term and is classified as a current liability.  The remaining

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RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

reclamation associated with environmental monitoring programs is classified as a long-term liability; however, because we have not declared proven and probable reserves as defined by SEC Industry Guide 7, the timing of these reclamation activities is uncertain as the reclamation areas will only be utilized once the Project is operating.  For exploration stage properties that do not qualify for asset capitalization, the costs associated with the obligation are charged to operations. For development and production stage properties, the costs are added to the capitalized costs of the property and amortized using the units-of-production method.  We review, on a quarterly basis, unless otherwise deemed necessary, the reclamation obligation in connection with the Bear Lodge Property.

Reclamation obligations are secured by surety bonds held for the benefit of the state of Wyoming in amounts determined by applicable federal and state regulatory agencies. Our reclamation obligation was $132 as of December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Common Shares

Common shares issued for non-monetary consideration are recorded at fair market value based upon the trading price of our shares on the share issuance date.  Common shares issued for monetary consideration are recorded at the amount received, less issuance costs.

Depreciation

Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method.  We depreciate computer equipment, furniture and fixtures and geological equipment over a period of three years.  We depreciate vehicles over a period of five years.

Option Liability Valuation

Due to the variability in the number of common shares that could have been issued upon exercise of the Option Agreement (Note 6), the Option Agreement was considered a derivative liability. As a result the Company revalued the option liability at the end of each reporting period, until the Option was exercised in October 2019.  The fair value of the option liability was calculated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model. The incremental difference between the estimated value of an exclusive and non-exclusive IP Rights Agreement was added to the value from the Black-Scholes model to arrive at the total value of the Option. Any gains or losses from the revaluation were recorded to the income statement. Upon exercise of the Option, the liability was reclassified to common shares on the Consolidated Balance Sheet. As noted previously, an error for the Synchron option liability was discovered in October 2019 and the appropriate adjustments to correct the error have been made.

Stock-based Compensation

The fair value of stock-based compensation awards is measured at the date of grant and amortized over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period, with a corresponding increase in additional paid-in capital.  The Company uses the Black-Scholes option valuation model to calculate the fair value of awards granted.  

In the case of a share-based compensation award that is either cancelled or forfeited prior to vesting, the amortized expense associated with the unvested awards is reversed.

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases.  Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled.  Under the asset and liability method, the effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.  A valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that the entire or some portion of the deferred tax asset will not be recognized.

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RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

Loss per Share

The loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period. To calculate diluted loss per share, the Company uses the treasury stock method and the if-converted method.  Diluted loss per share is not presented, as the effect on the basic loss per share would be anti-dilutive.  At December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had 3,450,000 and 3,385,400 of potentially dilutive securities, respectively related to outstanding stock options.  

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Our financial instruments may at times consist of cash and cash equivalents, short-term investments, accounts receivable, restricted cash, accounts payable and accrued liabilities.  GAAP defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or be paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date (exit price) and establishes a fair-value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value using the following definitions (from highest to lowest priority):

The Company continually monitors its cash positions with, and the credit quality of, the financial institutions with which it invests.  The Company maintains balances in various U.S. financial institutions in excess of U.S. federally insured limits.  

The following table presents information about financial instruments recognized at fair value on a recurring basis as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and indicates the fair value hierarchy:

4.  MINERAL PROPERTIES

Bear Lodge Property, Wyoming, USA

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RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

5.  EQUIPMENT AND LAND

At December 31, 2019 and 2018, equipment consisted of the following:

On October 26, 2016, we sold approximately 640 acres of non-core real property to Whitelaw Creek LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company (“Whitelaw Creek”), for net proceeds of $595 in cash (the “Land Sale”).  We have the right to repurchase the land for $1,000 after the third anniversary following the Land Sale but on or before the fifth anniversary of the Land Sale, in each case subject to certain adjustments (the “Repurchase Price”).  Payment of the Repurchase Price may be made, at Whitelaw Creek’s option, in the form of cash, common shares of the Company, or a combination of cash and common shares of the Company.  Payment of any common shares of the Company is subject to a beneficial ownership limitation for Whitelaw Creek and its affiliates collectively of 9.9% of the then-current total number of outstanding common shares of the Company, and in no event may the portion of the Repurchase Price paid in common shares of the Company exceed 5 million shares.  

For accounting purposes, we are utilizing the profit-sharing method for real estate transactions under U.S. GAAP as it is unlikely we will repurchase the land in the near term.  Under this method, we have classified our value in the land as an asset on our Consolidated Balance Sheet titled “Investment in land” and the value of the Repurchase Price as a liability on our Consolidated Balance Sheet titled “Repurchase option”.

Transaction with Synchron

On October 2, 2017, the Company and Synchron, an affiliate of General Atomic Technologies Corporation (“Synchron”), completed a transaction in accordance with the following terms.  Pursuant to an investment agreement (the “Investment Agreement”), the Company (i) issued to Synchron 26,650,000 common shares of the Company, which constituted approximately 33.5% of the issued and outstanding common shares of the Company; (ii) received gross proceeds of $4,752 in cash, less a $500 preliminary payment received in August 2017; and (iii) granted Synchron an option (the “Option”) to purchase approximately an additional 15.49% of the Company’s fully diluted common shares for an aggregate exercise price of an additional $5,040. Synchron’s ownership percentage, immediately after giving effect to such exercise, is limited to 49.9% of the Company’s common shares issued and outstanding.  Pursuant to an option agreement (the “Option Agreement”), the Option term was for a period of up to four years from the initial investment.  Additionally, the parties executed an intellectual property rights agreement (the “IP Rights Agreement”), whereby Synchron received rights to use and improve the Company’s intellectual property relating to the Company’s patents-pending and related technical information.  The Company retains the right to use any such improvements.

On October 16, 2019, Company issued to Synchron 24,175,000 common shares of the Company for a purchase price of $5,040 in connection with the exercise by Synchron of the Option.  Accordingly, (i) Synchron’s ownership of outstanding common shares of the Company increased from approximately 33.5% to approximately 49%, and

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RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

Synchron (ii) obtained the right to nominate an additional board member and (iii) the intellectual property rights granted to pursuant to the IP Rights Agreement became exclusive for a perpetual term, free from a licensing fee. The Company retains the right to use the intellectual property and any improvements made by Synchron,

Due to the variability in the number of common shares that could have been be issued upon exercise, the Option was considered a derivative liability. As a result, we revalued the option liability at the end of each reporting period, until the Option was exercised.  Any gains or losses from the revaluation are recorded to the Consolidated Statements of Operations.  There was no option liability as of December 31, 2019, as Synchron exercised the Option in October 2019.  The fair value of the option liability as of December 31, 2018 was $331.  The gain on the revaluation of the Option liability was $19 and $285 for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The Option was valued utilizing the Black-Scholes valuation model on December 31, 2018. The significant assumptions are as follows:

The estimated enterprise value is primarily due to the five-year trailing average of the market price of rare earth elements, which is utilized for accounting purposes but not necessarily indicative of current or future trading values of the common shares of the Company. The incremental difference between the estimated value of an exclusive and non-exclusive IP Rights Agreement was added to the value from the Black-Scholes model to arrive at the total value of the Option.  As discussed in Note 2, an error for the Synchron option liability was discovered in October 2019 and the appropriate adjustments to correct the error have been made.

Because Synchron and its affiliates would obtain exclusive rights to the intellectual property upon exercise the Option, the value of the IP Rights Agreement was considered deferred income as the Company retains exclusive title to the intellectual property until Synchron exercises the Option.  We amortized the deferred income using the straight-line method over the term of the Option Agreement as this was the period of the Company’s performance obligation related to the IP Rights Agreement.  During the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, we amortized $650 and $257, respectively, of deferred intellectual property income.  The value of the IP Rights Agreement at the transaction date was determined using a PWERM analysis for six different probability weighted scenarios using the relief from royalty method based on market royalty rates for similar agreements.

Stock-based Compensation

We have options outstanding and exercisable that were issued under the 10% Rolling Stock Option Plan (the “RSOP”).  The terms of the RSOP were approved by our shareholders at the annual meeting of shareholders on December 2, 2011.  The RSOP established the maximum number of common shares which may be issued under the RSOP as a variable amount equal to 10% of the issued and outstanding common shares on a non-diluted basis.  Under the RSOP, our Board of Directors may from time to time grant stock options to individual eligible directors, officers,

53

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

employees or consultants.  The maximum term of any stock option is 10 years.  The exercise price of a stock option is not less than the closing price on the last trading day preceding the grant date.  The Board retains the discretion to impose vesting periods on any options granted.

The fair value of stock option awards granted to directors, officers, employees and/or consultants of the Company are estimated on the grant date using the Black-Scholes option valuation model and the closing price of our common shares on the grant date. There were no options granted during the year ended December 31, 2018. The significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value of 850,000 stock option awards granted during the year ended December 31, 2019 using the Black-Scholes option valuation model are as follows:

The following table summarizes stock option activity for each of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018:

A summary of stock option activity as of December 31, 2019 and changes during the year then ended are presented below.

The stock-based compensation cost recognized in our Consolidated Statements of Operations for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 was $68 and $104, respectively. As of December 31, 2019, there was $18 of unrecognized compensation cost related to 850,000 unvested stock options. This cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average remaining period of approximately one year. At December 31, 2019, the intrinsic value of outstanding and exercisable stock options was $2,647.

7.  INCOME TAX

We recognize future tax assets and liabilities for each tax jurisdiction based on the difference between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities using the enacted tax rates expected to be in effect when the taxes are paid or recovered.  A valuation allowance is provided against net future tax assets for which we do not consider the realization of such assets to meet the required “more likely than not” standard.

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RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

Our future tax assets and liabilities at December 31, 2019 and 2018 include the following components:

The composition of our valuation allowance by tax jurisdiction is summarized as follows:

In December 2017, the United States enacted comprehensive tax reform legislation known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” that, among other things, reduces the U.S. federal corporate income tax rate from 35% or 21% and implements a territorial tax system, but imposes an alternative base erosion and anti-abuse tax (“BEAT”), and an incremental tax on global intangible low tax foreign income (“GILTI”) effective January 1, 2018.  Since, we have selected an accounting policy with respect to both the new BEAT and GILTI rules to compute the related taxes in the period we become subject to these rules.  There were no inclusions of either taxes during the year.

Because we are unable to determine whether it is more likely than not that the net deferred tax assets will be realized, we continue to record a 100% valuation against the net deferred tax assets.

The valuation allowance increased $2,112 from the year ended December 31, 2018 to the year ended December 31, 2019.  There was a decrease in the net deferred tax assets, primarily net operating loss carryforwards (“NOL’s”).  The decrease in net deferred tax assets resulted primarily from amortization of capitalized exploration and research and development costs and decrease in net deferred tax asset for share based compensation resulting from expirations and cancellations.

At December 31, 2019, we had U.S. NOL carryforwards of approximately $76,329, which expire from 2020 to 2037.  As a result of the TCJA, US NOLs generated in years ending after 2017 have an indefinite carryforward rather than the previous 20-year carryforward.  This does not affect losses incurred in years ended in 2017 or earlier.   In addition, we had Canadian non-capital loss carryforwards of approximately C$11,846, which expire from 2020 to 2040.  As of December 31, 2019, there were Canadian capital loss carryforwards of C$59.  A full valuation allowance has been recorded against the tax effected US and Canadian loss carryforwards as we do not consider realization of such assets to meet the required 'more likely than not' standard.

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RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code could apply and limit our ability to utilize a portion of the U.S. NOL carryforwards. No Section 382 study has been completed; therefore, the actual usage of U.S. NOL carryforwards has not been determined.

For financial reporting purposes, income/(loss) from continuing operations before income taxes consists of the following components:

A reconciliation of expected income tax on net income at statutory rates is as follows:

We do not have any unrecognized income tax benefits.  Should we incur interest and penalties relating to tax uncertainties, such amounts would be classified as a component of the interest expense and operating expense, respectively.

Rare Element and its wholly owned subsidiary, Rare Element Holdings Ltd., file income tax returns in the Canadian federal jurisdiction and provincial jurisdictions, and its wholly owned subsidiary, Rare Element Resources, Inc., files in the U.S. federal jurisdiction and various state jurisdictions.  The years still open for audit are generally the current year plus the previous three.  However, because we have NOLs carrying forward, certain items attributable to closed tax years are still subject to adjustment by applicable taxing authorities through an adjustment to tax losses carried forward to open years.

8.  COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Potential Environmental Contingency

Our exploration and development activities are subject to various federal and state laws and regulations governing the protection of the environment.  These laws and regulations are continually changing and generally have become more restrictive.  The Company conducts its operations to protect public health and the environment and believes that its operations are materially in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.  We have made, and expect to make in the future, expenditures to comply with such laws and regulations.  The ultimate amount of reclamation and other future site-restoration costs to be incurred for existing mining interests is uncertain.

Contract Commitment – Related Party

On April 24, 2018, the Company executed an agreement with UIT, an affiliate of General Atomic Technologies Corporation and Synchron, to validate the Company’s rare earth processing technology, as well as, progress the Company’s intellectual property.  Because Synchron is a significant shareholder of the Company, the two directors

56

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

NOTES TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

DECEMBER 31, 2019

(all amounts stated in thousands of U.S. dollars except share and per share amounts)

of Rare Element appointed by Synchron abstained and the remaining members of the Board of Directors of Rare Element approved the UIT engagement on April 17, 2018.  The UIT agreement was for an amount not to exceed $600 and the work was concluded in early 2019.

On February 14, 2019, the Company executed a technology test work agreement with UIT to further validate the Company’s rare earth processing technology at pilot plant scale.  Because Synchron is a significant shareholder of the Company, the two members of the Board of Directors of Rare Element who were appointed by Synchron abstained, and the remaining members of the Board approved the UIT engagement.  The UIT pilot plant agreement was for an amount not to exceed $700.  Additionally, on September 9, 2019, the Company entered into an agreement to amend the scope terms and conditions related to the February 2019 agreement which resulted in additional estimated costs of $70.

The UIT pilot plant test work was completed in December 2019, with test work reports subsequently provided to the Company.  Further piloting is planned for 2020 to include economic optimization of certain process steps, developing scale-up design criteria for a demonstration plant, and confirmation of operating and capital cost estimates.

Since the execution of the UIT agreements, the Company has incurred approximately $1,234 in costs related thereto, $403 of which is included in Accounts payable and accrued liabilities as at December 31, 2019.

See Note 11 for discussion regarding an agreement entered into with UIT during March 2020.

9.  SUPPLEMENTAL DISCLOSURE WITH RESPECT TO CASH FLOWS

The Company did not have any significant non-cash transactions during the years ended December 31, 2019 or 2018.

10.  SEGMENT INFORMATION

The Company operates in a single reportable operating segment, being the exploration of mineral properties.

11.  SUBSEQUENT EVENT

On March 9, 2020, the Board of Directors approved the engagement of UIT for further pilot plant test work in an amount not to exceed $650. Under the 2020 engagement, UIT will optimize certain process steps, develop scale-up design criteria for a demonstration plant, and confirm operating and capital cost estimates. Consistent with the prior Board action engaging UIT, the three directors of Rare Element appointed by Synchron abstained because Synchron is a significant shareholder of the Company and is an affiliate of UIT.

In early March 2020, there was a global outbreak of COVID-19 that has resulted in changes in global supply and demand of certain mineral and energy products. These changes, including a potential economic downturn and any potential resulting direct and indirect negative impact to the Company cannot be determined, but they could have a prospective material impact to the Company’s project development activities, cash flows and liquidity.

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None.

Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures

The principal executive officer and principal financial officer, with the supervision of the Board of Directors and Audit Committee and participation of management, have evaluated the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15(e) under the Exchange Act), as of December 31, 2019.  Based on the evaluation, the principal executive officer and principal financial officer concluded that the disclosure controls and procedures in place are effective to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that the Company files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported within time periods specified in the SEC’s rules and forms.  Disclosure controls and procedures include, without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to our management, including our principal executive and financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate, to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting

Our management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting of the Company.  Internal control over financial reporting is defined in Rule 13a-15(f) promulgated under the Exchange Act as a process designed by, or under the supervision of, our principal executive and principal financial officers, and effected by our Board of Directors, management and other personnel, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP.  Our internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that:

—provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with GAAP, and that our receipts and expenditures are being made only in accordance with authorizations of our management and directors; and 

—provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use or disposition of our assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements. 

Because of their inherent limitations, internal controls over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

Our management assessed the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2019. In making this assessment, our management used the criteria set forth in the Internal Control—Integrated Framework (2013) issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on our management assessment, we have concluded that, as of December 31, 2019, our internal control over financial reporting was effective.

Changes in Internal Control over Financial Reporting

There has been no change in our internal control over financial reporting during the quarter ended December 31, 2019 that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal control over financial reporting.

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ITEM 9B.  OTHER INFORMATION

The information required by this Item will be included under the section entitled “Executive Compensation” in the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A, which information is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

The information required by this Item will be included under the section entitled “Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management” in the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A, which information is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

The information required by this Item will be included under the section entitled “Principal Accountant Fees and Services” in the Proxy Statement to be filed with the SEC pursuant to Regulation 14A, which information is incorporated by reference into this Annual Report.

Documents filed as part of this Annual Report or incorporated by reference:

(1)The consolidated financial statements are presented in “Item 8. Financial Statements and Supplementary Data.” 

(2)Financial Statement Schedules (omitted because they are either not required, not applicable, or the required information is disclosed in the Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements or related notes). 

(3)Reference is made to the Exhibit Index that follows the signature pages on this report. 

ITEM 16.  FORM 10-K SUMMARY

None.

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Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the Registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

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INDEX TO EXHIBITS

+ Filed herewith.

++ Furnished herewith.

* Indicates a management contract or compensatory plan, contract or arrangement.

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