RARE ELEMENT RESOURCES LTD

Information concerning our mining property in this Annual Report has been prepared in accordance with the SEC requirements of CFR Title 17, Subpart 229, Item 1300-1305 of Regulation S-K, which requires us to disclose our mineral resources and reserves as of the end of our most recently completed fiscal year for our material mining property.

As used in this Annual Report, the terms “mineral resource,” “measured mineral resource,” “indicated mineral resource,” “inferred mineral resource,” “mineral reserve,” “proven mineral reserve” and “probable mineral reserve” are defined and used in accordance with Subpart 229, Item 1300 of Regulation S-K. Under Subpart 1300 of Regulation S-K and NI 43-101, mineral resources may not be classified as “mineral reserves” unless the determination has been made by a qualified person that the indicated and measured mineral resources can be the basis of an economically viable project. We currently have no mineral reserves, and you are specifically cautioned not to assume that any part or all of the mineral resources will ever be converted into mineral reserves, as defined by the SEC. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report.

You are cautioned that, except for that portion of mineral resources classified as mineral reserves, mineral resources do not have demonstrated economic value. Inferred mineral resources are estimates based on limited geological evidence and sampling and have too high of a degree of uncertainty as to their existence to apply relevant technical and economic factors likely to influence the prospects of economic extraction in a manner useful for evaluation of economic viability. It should not be assumed that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource will ever be upgraded to a higher category. A significant amount of exploration must be completed in order to determine whether an inferred mineral resource may be upgraded to a higher category. Therefore, you are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of an inferred mineral resource exists, that it can be considered when assessing the economic viability of a mining project, or that it will ever be upgraded to a higher category. Likewise, you are cautioned not to assume that all or any part of measured or indicated mineral resources will ever be converted to mineral reserves. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” of this Annual Report.

The information that follows relating to the Bear Lodge REE Project is derived from, and in some instances is an extract from, the TRS, dated February 29, 2024, relating to the Bear Lodge REE Project prepared in compliance with CFR Title 17, Subpart 229, Item 601(b)(96) of Regulation S-K. Portions of the following information are based on assumptions,

qualifications and procedures that are not fully described herein. Reference should be made to the full text of the TRS, incorporated herein by reference and made a part of this Annual Report. We recently completed the Technical Report, which is NI 43-101 compliant for the Bear Lodge REE Project, and there are no material differences between the Technical Report and the information set forth below and contained in the TRS.

Qualified Persons

The scientific and technical disclosures about the Bear Lodge REE Project in this Annual Report are derived from the TRS and the Technical Report and have been reviewed and approved by:

Mr. Noble and Ms. Bouza are both independent of the Company and all three are qualified persons as defined by Regulation S-K (Subpart 229, Item 1300) and NI 43-101 (Standard of Disclosure for Mineral Projects). For a description of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to estimate mineral resources included in this Annual Report, as well as data verification procedures and a general discussion of the extent to which the estimates may be affected by any known environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, sociopolitical, marketing or other relevant factors, please review the TRS on the Bear Lodge REE Project (as described below), which is incorporated by reference in this Annual Report, as well as the Technical Report available under the Company’s profile atwww.sedarplus.ca.

Individual Property Disclosure

Bear Lodge Property

The Bear Lodge Property, which is located in Central Crook County, Wyoming, contains two projects, the Bear Lodge REE Project and the Sundance Gold Project. The Bear Lodge REE Project consists of the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge REE deposits and the exploration targets of East Taylor (“Taylor”) and Carbon Hill (“Carbon”), all of which are located near Sundance, Wyoming. The Bear Lodge REE Project also incorporates the proposed processing and separation plant as well as the Demonstration Plant (under construction) in Upton, Wyoming. See the property location map below. 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 wholly-owned subsidiary, Rare Element Resources, Inc., a Wyoming corporation.

Bear Lodge Property – Location Map

We control 100% of the mineral rights at the Bear Lodge Property, consisting of unpatented mining claims and an adjacent property (hereinafter referred to as the “Section 16 property”) owned by the Company. We hold 499 unpatented mining claims located on land administered by the USFS. The Bear Lodge Property is located within parts of Sections 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34 and 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 the mineral resources identified in the TRS are located on mining claims that we hold.

On October 25, 2021, the Company and Whitelaw Creek LLC, a Wyoming limited liability company (“Whitelaw Creek”), entered into an amendment (the “Amendment”) to the asset purchase agreement dated October 20, 2016 between the Company and Whitelaw Creek (the “APA”). The Amendment modified certain provisions of the APA related to the terms and conditions of the Company’s option to repurchase (the “Repurchase Option”) the Section 16 property, consisting of approximately 640 acres (257 hectares) of non-core real property located in Crook County, Wyoming, that was under consideration for a stockpile facility for the Bear Lodge REE Project. Pursuant to the terms of the APA with Whitelaw Creek, as extended, RER exercised its option to repurchase the Section 16 property, and on October 21, 2024, entered into a purchase agreement with Whitelaw Creek to repurchase the Section 16 property (the “Land Repurchase”). The Land Repurchase closed on October 25, 2024 (the “Closing Date”). As consideration for the Land Repurchase, on the Closing Date, the Company (i) issued 5,000,000 of its common shares to Whitelaw Creek having a Closing Date fair value of $1,950 and (ii) paid Whitelaw Creek $1,507 in cash.

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.

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 net smelter returns (“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.

In order to maintain all claims in good standing, the Company is responsible for the payment of annual federal claim maintenance fees (currently $200/claim) and the recording of the annual claim maintenance and intent to hold notice with Crook County, Wyoming. All 499 unpatented claims included in the project are located on both federal and private lands

and are subject to annual maintenance fees payable to the United States Bureau of Land Management. Mineral rights on the mining claims and the approximately 640-acre Section 16 property provide the Company with mineral and surface rights to explore, develop, and mine the Bear Lodge Property, subject to the prior procurement of required operating permits and approvals and compliance with applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and ordinances.

Infrastructure

Exploration has been conducted 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 operations were conducted at the Bear Lodge Property by any of the prior owners.

Motels, restaurants, gas stations, and other services are available at Sundance, Upton, and other nearby towns, and a greater variety of accommodations are available to the east in Spearfish, South Dakota. All necessary infrastructure, such as housing, food, fuel, etc. would be available in these towns or further to the west in Gillette and southeast in Newcastle. Water rights at the mine site are available through permitting by the Wyoming State Engineer’s Office; these water rights have not been secured at the time of reporting. Near the mine site, a power line, which requires upgrading, runs to within a mile of the Bear Lodge Property.

Supplies can be trucked to the Bear Lodge Property 60 miles (100 kilometers) from Gillette, which is located on both U.S. Interstate Highway 90 and rail lines. A Burlington Northern Santa Fe rail transport line is also located at Moorcroft, 34 miles (54 kilometers) west of Sundance, and at Upton, 40 miles (64 kilometers) south. The Powder River Basin contains multiple power plants, and Gillette, the largest city in the basin, would be a major logistics center for any development at the Bear Lodge Property. The current size of the mine property is sufficiently large to support a mining operation, with no foreseeable obstacles to expansion, subject to a favorable outcome regarding permitting.

Condition of the Property

We are not aware of any outstanding environmental liabilities associated with the Bear Lodge Property, except for the required reclamation work associated with our exploration and drilling activities. Previous exploration activities were approved by both the USFS and the WDEQ. We have an approved reclamation plan and have posted surety bonds to cover the required reclamation. Certain of these reclamation activities were completed in 2024, and we are now awaiting final WDEQ approval for the removal of these obligations from our reclamation liability.

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

The Bear Lodge Property is an exploration stage property with no proven or probable reserves. There has been no historical production from the property.

The Bear Lodge REE Project

The Bear Lodge REE Project is located in Central Crook County, northeastern Wyoming, in the northwestern portion of the Black Hills uplift. The property is situated in the central Bear Lodge Mountains, a relatively small northwesterly trending range. The project is flanked to the west by the Powder River Basin, famous for its extensive coal mining, and is adjoined by the Great Plains to the southeast. See the property location map below.

The Bear Lodge REE Project lies about seven air miles (11 kilometers) or 12 road miles (19 kilometers) northwest of the town of Sundance (Wyoming), approximately 22 air miles (35 kilometers) west of the South Dakota state line, 55 air miles (89 kilometers) east of Gillette (Wyoming), and 230 miles (370 kilometers) north of Cheyenne, the Wyoming state capital. Gillette is the headquarters for much of the Wyoming coal mining industry.

General Property Location Map

Geological Setting

The Bear Lodge Mountains of northeast Wyoming are part of the Black Hills Uplift, which has a northwesterly orientation and extends from the western South Dakota – Nebraska border through northeastern Wyoming into southeastern Montana. The exposed basement consists of Precambrian schist, gneiss, and granite overlain by Paleozoic and Mesozoic clastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks eroded from higher elevations. Eocene (Tertiary) alkaline intrusive and extrusive bodies in the northern Black Hills form an N70°-80°W trending belt that extends from Bear Butte in South Dakota through the Bear Lodge Mountains, Devil’s Tower, and Missouri Buttes in northeastern Wyoming. These alkaline igneous rocks are represented by dikes, sills, stocks, laccoliths, diatremes, and ring complexes are associated with REE-enriched carbonatite dikes in the Bear Lodge alkaline-igneous complex.

The Bear Lodge alkaline-igneous complex is a northwest-trending alkaline intrusive dome with dimensions of approximately 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) NW-SE by six kilometers (3.7 miles) 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 48,768 meters (160,000 feet) of drilling was completed in over 200 core holes. 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 3,556.5 meters (11,698 feet). The second phase consisted of 21 core holes totaling 3,247 meters (10,651 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.

The 2014 program consisted of excavating a test trench along the southwestern flank of Bull Hill in August. The main mineralized zone was exposed and exploited to collect 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 approximately 630 tonnes (695 tons) of sample materials that will be utilized in the Demonstration Plant.

No exploration drilling was conducted from 2013 through the end of 2024, and no drilling or exploration activities are currently planned for 2025.

Mineralization

The Bear Lodge REE Project comprises two main areas represented by the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge deposits, as well as the exploration targets of the Carbon Hill and East Taylor deposits (see map below). All the deposits have carbonatite-related dikes and veins that range in size from hairline fracture veinlets to dikes that may exceed 80 feet (24.4 meters) in width. Lower-grade stockworks of veinlets commonly surround the higher-grade REE-bearing dikes and veins. Oxidized mineralization (FMR and OxCa) extends to depths of 500 to 600 feet (152 to 183 meters). Oxide zone REE mineralization is dominated by REE minerals of the bastnäsite group, with variable and typically subordinate quantities of monazite and cerianite. Oxide-carbonate mineralization contains a variable mix of bastnäsite group minerals and ancylite, with varied and subordinate amounts of monazite and cerianite.

Bull Hill District Grade Shells

REE mineralization is widespread on the property. However, the area proximal to the Bull Hill and Whitetail diatreme bodies is believed to be the most prospective for significant REE mineralization.

Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge Deposits

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 deposit 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 a north-westerly to a north-easterly direction. 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 OxCa and FMR bodies. The mineralized structures range in size from veinlets to large dikes more than 30 meters (98 feet) 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 (1,499 feet) along strike and less than 100 meters (328 feet) 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 (1,001 feet) down dip.

The Whitetail Ridge deposit occurs about 700 meters (2,297 feet) 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 (1,247 feet by 951 feet). 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 from 2011 through 2013 indicates that much of the mineralization is confined within the volume of the Whitetail Ridge diatreme.

Other Exploration Target Areas at the Bear Lodge REE Project

The discovery of high-grade REE mineralization at the East Taylor and the Carbon target areas expanded the area of known REE mineralization outside of the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge deposits. The data indicates that the Bear Lodge REE Project area covers a crudely elliptical area that extends approximately 1,750 meters (5,741 feet) northwest-southeast by 1,300 meters (4,265 feet) 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 and the Carbon target areas identify these areas as zones of HREE-enrichment relative to the 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.

Permitting and Licensing

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 the preparation of the draft 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 were involved in the EIS process as cooperating agencies. On January 22, 2016, our Board of Directors decided to conserve cash due to the difficult market conditions at the time and suspended 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. During 2022, the Company undertook environmental sampling to update the baseline environmental data for the Bear Lodge REE Project.

The Company will be required to obtain permits and licenses to further develop the Bear Lodge REE Project from the USFS, the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Land Quality Division (WDEQ-LQD), and the NRC.

Processing and Decommissioning

The Company is proceeding with the construction and operations of a rare earth processing and separation Demonstration Plant. The Demonstration Plant construction was substantially completed in late 2024 and is expected to be in operation in mid-2025 following a period of equipment commissioning. The Demonstration Plant is expected to advance the Company’s proprietary processing and separation technology and generate the operational and economic data necessary for the design of a commercial-scale facility.

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

Mineral Resource Estimate

In March 2024, the Company announced the completion of a new mineral resource estimate based on maximizing the recovery of La and the key magnet materials of Nd, Pr, Tb, and Dy. The estimate was focused on the oxide zone of the Bull Hill deposit at the Bear Lodge REE Project with long-term upside existing in the Carbon, Whitetail, and Taylor deposits. The resource estimate was based on 252 core holes drilled between 2009 and 2013, including 20,491 assay intervals that totaled 186,712 feet (56,910 meters) of drilling from the Company’s drill hole database. The estimate also used the economic data generated from the 2021 pilot plant testing of the Company’s proprietary processing and separation technology. The resource estimate focuses on the Ox and OxCa zones of the Bull Hill deposit, which are considered the best plant feed and are expected to have the best recoveries and costs by utilizing the Company’s innovative technology.

The Bull Hill deposit estimates of measured, indicated, and inferred mineral resources, based on a base-case cutoff grade for resource reporting of 2.18% TREO, aresummarized in Table 1 below. As noted in the TRS, the effective date of the mineral resource estimate is December 31, 2023. The Company has determined that the assumptions included in the mineral resource estimate are reasonable as of December 31, 2024.

Table 1. Bull Hill TREO Mineral Resource Summary for the Total Oxide (Ox & OxCa)**

**at the End of the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2024

At December 31, 2024, we had no proven or probable mineral reserves. The metallurgical recoveries, pay factors, and commodity price assumptions used in the preparation of the mineral resource estimate are shown in Table 2 below. Additional information about these assumptions is provided in Chapter 11 of the TRS and in the Technical Report.

Table 2. Pay Factors, Hydromet Plant Recoveries and Rare-Earth Elements Prices

HREE (Heavy Rare Earth Elements) = Ytterbium (Yb)+Thulium (Tm)+ Terbium (Tb)+ Erbium (Er)+Holmium (Ho)+Lutetium (Lu)*

Data Verification

The Company obtained the geological, exploration, and drilling data package from Phelps Dodge and Newmont Corporation, covering most of the work done on the property by various companies and claim owners through 1996. From 2006 until spring 2010, the Company conducted its own REE drilling programs throughout the Bear Lodge Property under a joint venture agreement with the Newmont Mining Corporation (“Newmont”), with the Company maintaining a separate database of REE drilling results. While the Company continued focusing on the exploration for REEs, Newmont's efforts continued in gold exploration. Separation of the two exploration drilling programs for REEs and gold, and their respective drilling data continued through the 2009 drill season when the Company assumed control of the program with the termination of Newmont's interest in the property in May 2010.

Drill hole data prior to 2008 has not been used for resource estimates.

From 2008 through 2010, the Company compiled analytical data in Excel, Access, and Datamine for use in GIS and 3D mapping software. Between 2010 and 2011, a drill data management system was implemented by EDM Solutions. The drill data management database was built on an MS SQL SERVER platform and was hosted on a secure “Cloud” server with restricted access. Security and backup features were built into the system and were considered industry standard. The data is currently maintained in the Company’s archives.

All on-site drilling programs conducted by the Company were supervised by experienced geology professionals. Company geologists and consultants from Ore Reserves Engineering conducted extensive reviews and verified data from the 2009 – 2013 drilling programs, for use in the TRS resource estimate.

Drill hole collar surveys for all 2008 through 2013 core holes were surveyed by Bear Lodge Ltd., professional engineers and land surveyors based in Sundance, Wyoming. Down-hole surveys were conducted on all core holes drilled by Company personnel from the 2008 through 2013 drill programs.

REE assays for the 2009, 2012, and 2013 programs were conducted by Activation Laboratories of Ancaster, Ontario, and assays for the 2010 and 2011 drill programs were done by ALS Laboratories. Both laboratories are independent, ISO 9001 accredited and operate to standards consistent with ISO 17025 methods.

Dr. Jeffrey Jaacks of Geochemical Applications International Inc. conducted a review of the results for the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) program used in rare earth element assaying for the Bear Lodge exploration drill

programs (2009-2013). Dr. Jaacks, in his review, concluded that the 2009-2013 drill program analysis/assays to be of an acceptable quality and appropriate for resource estimation.

Rare Earth Processing and Separation Demonstration Plant Project

During 2021, a consortium of companies, of which the Company is a member, and which is led by General Atomics, secured with the DoE an assistance agreement for the engineering, construction, operation and decommissioning of a rare earth separation and processing Demonstration Plant to be located in Upton, Wyoming at a leased industrial site near infrastructure (the “Demonstration Plant”). The consortium created by General Atomics, an affiliate of Synchron, includes certain of General Atomics’ affiliates, the Company, and LNV, an Ardurra Group, Inc. company, as engineering and construction subcontractor. The Company, as a subrecipient of the award, along with the other consortium members, commenced work on the planning and design of the demonstration project in November 2021.

The purpose of the Demonstration Plant is to process and separate certain rare earth elements from previously stockpiled high-grade sample materials from the Bear Lodge REE Project, utilizing the Company’s proprietary extraction and separation processes. The Demonstration Plant has been designed as a demonstration-scale facility that will produce high-purity NdPr, as well as other rare earth oxides. Successful operation will serve as a precursor to a future full-scale production facility.

As of December 31, 2024, construction of the Demonstration Plant was substantially complete, with operations expected to start during mid-2025.

Demonstration Plant Permitting and Licensing

On July 31, 2023, the NRC issued the Company a Source Material License. This license is necessary to allow the processing of previously stockpiled material from the Bear Lodge REE Project at the Company’s Demonstration Plant. In November 2023, the DoE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy finalized its NEPA review of the Company’s Demonstration Plant issuing a finding of no significant impact (also known as a “FONSI”), completing the federal permitting activity required for construction of the Demonstration Plant. Finally on December 21, 2023, the DoE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy issued a Project Continuation Notice following its approval of the budget for construction of the Company’s Demonstration Plant. This approval, along with the completion of the DoE’s NEPA review, allowed for the commencement of the construction of the Demonstration Plant.

The Demonstration Plant will encompass the physical processing of the sample materials followed by chemical processing to extract selected elements. All chemicals will be managed in accordance with federal, state, and local environmental and safety regulations. The Company has obtained a source materials possession license from the NRC as well as an air quality permit from the WDEQ. A road use permit was secured from the USFS to improve the access road to the sample storage location. All licenses and permits required for the construction of the Demonstration Plant have now been secured.

As part of the project licensing with the NRC, the Company has secured and maintains, on behalf of the Demonstration Plant project, a reclamation bond in the amount of $917 and has posted cash collateral of $195 as security for the bond. The ultimate clean-up and any associated decommissioning costs of the Demonstration Plant are the responsibility of the Company and payment of these costs will be handled through the Cost Share Agreement (as defined below).

Demonstration Plant Project Schedule

To achieve the Demonstration Plant project objectives, the schedule was divided into three distinct performance periods, which commenced on October 1, 2021. During the performance periods, there were three DoE go/no go decision points.

The objective of Performance Period 1, which was achieved in December 2022, was the completion of the design of the facility and the establishment of requirements and standards to support the subsequent procurement of process equipment, as well as commencement of permitting and licensing. Licensing and permitting was extended into Performance Period 2 and achieved in early 2024. The objective of Performance Period 2, now nearing completion, was the final procurement of the process equipment and construction of the Demonstration Plant. The objective of Performance Period 3 is the actual operation of the Demonstration Plant itself in accordance with all local, state, and federal permits, licenses, and regulations.

In December 2022, the Demonstration Plant achieved its final engineering design milestone, marking the DoE’s first go/no-go decision point. A second go/no-go gating milestone was achieved in December 2023 with the issuance by the DoE of a Project Continuation Notice, allowing for the construction of the Demonstration Plant. In September 2024, the DoE issued its final Project Continuation Notice confirming the Demonstration Plant’s readiness for operations. This notice, along with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (the “NRC”) operations approval under its previously issued license (received in October 2024), allows for the commencement of Demonstration Plant operations. In November 2024, the Company commenced equipment shakedown and plant commissioning activities, with expected commencement of plant operations in mid-2025.

End-of-Project Goals

The goal of the project is to build and operate a permitted and licensed Demonstration Plant that:

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 Bear Lodge REE Project in Crook County, Wyoming. In 2011, we published an NI 43-101 compliant technical report that now contains historical 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, no drilling or exploration on the Sundance Gold Project has been conducted since the end of 2011 and none is currently planned. We have not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as a current estimate of mineral resources, mineral reserves, or exploration results, and we are not treating the estimate as a current estimate of mineral resources, mineral reserves, or exploration results.