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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): October 5, 2021

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

British Columbia, Canada

001-34852

Not Applicable

(State or other jurisdiction of
incorporation or organization)

(Commission File Number)

(IRS Employer
Identification No.)

P.O. Box 271049
Littleton, Colorado

80127

(Address of principal executive offices)

(Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code:  

(720) 278-2460

Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act: None

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:

Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§ 230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§ 240.12b-2 of this chapter).

Emerging growth company

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.

On October 5, 2021, Rare Element Resources Ltd. (the “Company”) issued a press release regarding the finalization of negotiations for the previously announced financial award of $21.9 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (“DoE”) for the engineering, construction and operation of a rare earth separation and processing demonstration plant.  A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

The information set forth in this Item 7.01 (including the information set forth in Exhibit 99.1) is being furnished and shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), nor shall it be deemed incorporated by reference in any filing under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Exchange Act, except as shall be expressly set forth by specific reference in such a filing.

Item 8.01Other Events.

Also on October 5, 2021, the Company issued a press release announcing its intent to launch a rights offering of common shares of the Company.  A copy of the press release is attached as Exhibit 99.2 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference.

Item 9.01Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d)Exhibits.

Exhibit
No.

Description

99.1

Press release, dated as of October 5, 2021

99.2

Press release, dated as of October 5, 2021

104

Cover Page Interactive Data File (formatted in Inline XBRL and contained in Exhibit 101

SIGNATURE

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

Date:  October 5, 2021

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

By:

/s/ Randall J. Scott

Name:

Randall J. Scott

Title:

President and Chief Executive Officer

Exhibit 99.1

5, 2021

: 03-2021

      GRAPHIC

NEWS RELEASE

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

OTCQB: REEMF

October 5, 2021

Ref: 03-2021

Rare Element Resources announces finalization of the

Department of Energy $21.9M financial award

Funding Supports Rare Earth Processing and Separation Demonstration Plant

October 5, 2021 – Littleton, Colorado – Rare Element Resources Ltd. (the “Company” or “RER”) (OTCQB: REEMF) is pleased to announce the finalization of negotiations with the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (“DoE/EERE”) for an Assistance Agreement providing approximately US$21.9 million of government funds for the engineering, construction and operation of a rare earth separation and processing demonstration plant to be located in Wyoming. The DoE/EERE has notified General Atomics, an affiliate of Synchron, the Company’s largest shareholder, of the finalization of the award. The Company is a subrecipient to General Atomics in the demonstration project, which will incorporate the Company’s proprietary technology.  

As previously reported, RER, along with team members General Atomics, and its affiliates, and LNV, an Ardurra Group, Inc. company, as engineering and construction subcontractor, received notice on January 20, 2021 that it had been selected as a potential award recipient, subject to finalization of pre-award negotiations. Those negotiations have been successfully completed and the award has been finalized, resulting in an approximately US$21.9 million contribution by the DoE/EERE toward the total cost of the demonstration project. The award represents approximately one-half of the total estimated costs for the project, with the remainder of the funding to be secured by the Company. The Company, along with the other team members, is expected to finalize within the next several weeks contractual arrangements with General Atomics to perform work on the project.

Randall Scott, President and CEO of the Company, stated, “We are extremely pleased to have finalized the DoE/EERE financial award. We appreciate the incredible contribution of the General Atomics-led consortium in confirming the DoE/EERE financial support. The funding exemplifies the commitment of the U.S. to secure domestic critical materials production capabilities, and we are appreciative of the diligent work by the DoE/EERE in completing the pre-award process. The planned demonstration plant will produce commercial-grade neodymium/praseodymium (“Nd/Pr”) rare earth high-purity oxide in use in producing high-strength permanent magnets utilizing our proprietary processing and separation technology. These high-strength permanent magnets are a key component in the manufacture of electric


vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines, among other technology uses.  We believe our rare earth demonstration project is timely to meet the growing demand of these products.”

The Company anticipates that the demonstration plant design, permitting and licensing, and construction will be finalized within a period of 18–26 months. Operations to process and separate rare earth elements from the previously stockpiled Bear Lodge Project ore are expected to follow for an additional 12–14-month period. The total timeline for the demonstration project is 40 months.  The plant will be in Upton, Wyoming, near the Company’s Bear Lodge Project.

Synchron and General Atomics are privately held companies engaged in the development and production of advanced technology products and systems for the energy and defense sectors.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded, strategic materials company focused on delivering rare earth products for technology, energy and defense applications by advancing the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project in northeast Wyoming. Bear Lodge is a significant mineralized district containing many of the less common, more valuable, critical rare earths that are essential for high-strength permanent magnets, electronics, fiber optics, laser systems for health and defense, as well as many technologies like electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.  

Contact

Please contact Randy Scott at +1 720-278-2460 or rscott@rareelementresources.com, for additional information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation in the United States and forward-looking information within the meaning of securities legislation in Canada (collectively, “forward-looking statements”). Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are usually identified by our use of certain terminology, including “will,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “should,” “seeks,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “has potential to,” or “intends” (including negative and grammatical variations thereof), or by discussions of strategy or intentions. Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the award for the engineering, construction and operation of the demonstration plant, the estimated costs of the plant, and the plans and timing for the financing, design, construction, and operation of the plant. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to secure additional funding for the demonstration plant, the ability to obtain demonstration plant licensing, successful further permitting activities for the Bear Lodge Project, the availability of sufficient capital for the future development and operations of the Company, and other matters discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and our other periodic and current reports filed with the SEC and available on www.sec.gov and with the Canadian securities commissions available on www.sedar.com. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management. Please refer to the discussion of these and other uncertainties and risk factors set out in our filings made from time to time with the SEC and the Canadian regulators, including, without limitation, our reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this news release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made. While we may elect to update our forward-looking statements at any time, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.


Exhibit 99.2

GRAPHIC

NEWS RELEASE

RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD.

OTCQB: REEMF

October 5, 2021

Ref: 04-2021

Rare Element Resources announces intent to launch

approximately $25 million rights offering of common shares

October 5, 2021 – Littleton, Colorado – Rare Element Resources Ltd. (the “Company” or “RER”) (OTCQB: REEMF) is pleased to announce that it intends to launch a rights offering for gross proceeds of approximately US$25 million if all subscription rights are exercised under the rights offering.  In the rights offering, each holder of the Company’s common shares as of the close of business on the record date of October 19, 2021 will be issued, at no charge, one non-transferable subscription right for each common share owned by that shareholder on the record date.  There is no minimum amount of gross proceeds that is required to be raised under the rights offering.

Each subscription right will entitle the holder thereof to purchase one common share of the Company at US$0.24 per share (the “basic subscription privilege”).  The rights offering will also include an oversubscription privilege, which will entitle shareholders who exercise all of their subscription rights under the basic subscription privilege the right to purchase additional common shares of the Company in the rights offering, subject to availability and pro rata allocation of shares among rights holders exercising such oversubscription privilege.  No fractional common shares will be issued in the rights offering.

The Company will offer a number of its common shares in the rights offering, inclusive of the oversubscription privilege, representing approximately US$25 million of gross proceeds if all subscription rights are exercised.  The Company plans to use the net proceeds from the rights offering for the permitting, licensing, engineering, construction and operation of a rare earth separation and processing demonstration plant near the Company’s Bear Lodge Project and other general corporate purposes. The previously announced US$21.9 million financial award from the U.S. Department of Energy (“DoE”) for the demonstration plant will fund approximately one-half of the expected total cost of the demonstration plant, with the balance of the required funding being provided by the Company.

In the United States, the rights offering will be made pursuant to the shelf registration statement on Form S-3 that was previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and the prospectus meeting the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, which was filed with the SEC as part of the shelf registration statement.  Additional information regarding the rights offering will be set forth in a prospectus supplement


to the prospectus.  In Canada, the rights offering will be made on a basis that is exempt from the prospectus requirements of applicable Canadian securities laws.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any offer, solicitation or sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Rare Element Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded, strategic materials company focused on delivering rare earth products for technology, energy and defense applications by advancing the Bear Lodge Critical Rare Earth Project in northeast Wyoming.  Bear Lodge is a significant mineralized district containing many of the less common, more valuable, critical rare earths that are essential for high-strength permanent magnets, electronics, fiber optics, laser systems for health and defense, as well as many technologies like electric vehicles, solar panels and wind turbines.

Contact

Please contact Randy Scott at +1 720-278-2460 or rscott@rareelementresources.com, for additional information.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation in the United States and forward-looking information within the meaning of securities legislation in Canada (collectively, “forward-looking statements”).  Except for statements of historical fact, certain information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements.  Forward-looking statements are usually identified by our use of certain terminology, including “will,” “believes,” “may,” “expects,” “should,” “seeks,” “anticipates,” “plans,” “has potential to,” or “intends” (including negative and grammatical variations thereof), or by discussions of strategy or intentions.  Such forward-looking statements include statements regarding the rights offering, the terms of, the record date for, and the expected use of proceeds from the rights offering, and the ability of the Company to timely prepare and file a prospectus supplement and other documents for the common shares to be sold in the rights offering.  Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, the ability of the Company to raise sufficient capital in the rights offering to match the funding of the DoE award, the ability to obtain demonstration plant licensing, successful further permitting activities for the Bear Lodge Project, the availability of sufficient capital for the future development and operations of the Company, and other matters discussed under the caption “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2020, and our other periodic and current reports filed with the SEC and available on www.sec.gov and with the Canadian securities commissions available on www.sedar.com.  There can be no assurance that future developments affecting the Company will be those anticipated by management.  Please refer to the discussion of these and other uncertainties and risk factors set out in our filings made from time to time with the SEC and the Canadian regulators, including, without limitation, our reports on Form 10-K and Form 10-Q.  Any forward-looking statement made by us in this news release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of the date on which it is made.  While we may elect to update our forward-looking statements at any time, we undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether written or oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise.