Apr 25 2014
U.S. Rare Earths, Inc., a domestic rare earths exploration company with 25,000 acres of mining claims in Idaho, Montana and Colorado, announced that it has completed its preliminary exploration and assessment of a portion of its claims located in the Lemhi Pass region of western Montana and eastern Idaho.
The independent report, prepared by Process Engineering and compliant with the NI 43-101 standard, demonstrates a significant concentration of both critical and heavy rare earths in the company's Lemhi Pass projects.
The company also said that it plans to continue the assessment of its broader claim package in Lemhi Pass. For the purposes of exploration, U.S. Rare Earths plans to reopen existing adits, which are horizontal mines extending underground more than 400 meters or 1,300 feet, and are known to intersect one of the largest identified mineralized veins of both heavy and critical rare earths located within the continental United States.
Historic exploration of the Lemhi Pass by governmental and private entities identified what many believe to be the highest concentrations of rare earths elements in the U.S. It was during this earlier exploration that the adits on the property were first opened. U.S. Rare Earths holds more than 700 claims covering more than 14,000 acres in the Lemhi Pass region. Claims are located in areas historically identified as promising, including two existing adits which the company believes should aid exploration.
For purposes of evaluation, U.S. Rare Earths separated these claims into five individual exploration project areas: the Last Chance, Sheep Creek, North Fork, Lemhi Pass and Diamond Creek projects. The company has done NI 43-101-compliant exploration on three of these, the Last Chance, North Fork and Diamond Creek properties. According to the report, results of the drilling so far confirm and advance historic findings regarding rare earth concentrations.
"The Lemhi Pass region is generally recognized as having some of the highest concentrations of rare earth elements in North America. We are very pleased that the preliminary survey of our projects, compliant with the NI 43-101 standard, confirms a high concentration of both critical and heavy rare earths," said Kevin Cassidy, CEO of U.S. Rare Earths. "While further exploration is needed to establish reserves, we are encouraged to move forward with further exploration and testing."