Rare Element Resources reports encouraging 2011 drill results from Bear Lodge

Rare Element Resources (TSE:RES) (AMEX: REE) announced late Thursday rare earth element (REE) assay results from 21 drill holes completed during its ongoing 2011 core drilling program at the company's Bear Lodge property, located in northeastern Wyoming, intersecting many high grade REE zones.
Holes from the Whitetail Ridge target were all step-offs from the resource, and the holes at East Taylor confirmed and expanded the encouraging initial reverse circulation drill results reported in August, the company said.
Highlights from the Whitetail Ridge area included 31.8 feet at 3.94% total rare earth oxide (TREO), including 27 feet at 4.68% TREO in hole RES11-10; 113 feet at 2.52% TREO in hole RES-11-12; 48.25 feet at 2.9% TREO in hole RES11-14; and 108 feet at 3.81% TREO in hole RES11-25.
At East Taylor, hole RES11-26 returned 41.5 feet at 4.15% TREO.
Meanwhile, the company also drilled at the Bull Hill resource area, where notable intersections returned 58 feet at 4.88% TREO in hole RES11-27; 40 feet at 3.21% TREO in hole RES11-21 and 115 feet at 3.38% TREO; and 64 feet at 5.48% TREO in hole RES11-22.
"We continue to receive encouraging results from the Bull Hill resource area, and we are extending that mineralization west of the Bull Hill drainage," said VP of exploration, Dr. Jim Clark.
"Our results at the Whitetail Ridge Resource Area confirm the company's initial impression regarding the potential size and tenor of the REE mineralization there, and the East Taylor target is an exciting find, with the original RC drill assay values now confirmed with core drilling,"
"We are investigating the significance of the overlapping REE and gold mineralization at both East Taylor and Whitetail Ridge."
In June, the company published an updated NI 43-101 compliant resource report for the Bull Hill and Whitetail Ridge areas. According to the updated report, a total of 4.9 million tons were estimated in the indicated category at a grade of 3.77% rare earth oxides (REO), increasing the total pounds of REO contained in the Bull Hill high grade deposits by 20%, from 1,210 pounds to 1,450 pounds, at a 1.5% REO cut-off grade.
In addition, 17.8 million tons of inferred resources were established, at a grade of 3.03% REO.
The rare earth explorer's latest estimate, conducted by Ore Reserves Engineering, was based on data from 86 core drill holes completed by the company between 2008 and 2010, for a total of 19,093 metres. These new holes were substituted for those drilled before 2008, as well as for those completed prior to 2004 by other companies, Rare Element said.
The aim of the current drilling program is to continue to expand and upgrade the Bull Hill and Whitetail oxide resources, and to explore for additional REE resources at the East Taylor target, which is located approximately 760 metres west of the main Bull Hill rare-earth deposit.
Rare-earth elements are key components of green energy technologies, used in everything from hybrid automobiles, to advanced wind turbines and computer hard drives. China currently produces more than 96 percent of the 130,000 tonnes of rare-earths consumed worldwide each year, but has recently begun reducing its export quotas, making the metals more and more critical.