Cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments at December 31, 2012 were $40.1 million. The decrease in cash and investments in the quarter ended December 31, 2012 was $7.2 million and was primarily due to exploration, corporate administrative costs, and foreign exchange losses on our Canadian cash balances.
Six Months Ended December 31, 2012 Financial Highlights:
The net loss for the six months ended December 31, 2012 totaled $15.4 million or $0.35 per share as compared to a net loss of $21.1 million or $0.48 per share for the same period in 2011. The $5.6 million positive variance in net loss between the periods was due to the following:
-- Increased exploration spending of $2.6 million at the Bear Lodge property;-- Increased corporate administration spending of $0.8 million due primarily to an increase in the number of employees;-- Positive variance in stock-based compensation of $4.4 million due primarily to a lower share price and smaller number of options granted;-- Positive variance of $0.9 million due to prior period write-downs of exploration properties;-- Positive variance of $4.1 million in foreign exchange due to the impacts on the Company's Canadian dollar cash balances related to exchange rate fluctuations in the US dollar on the balance sheet date; and-- Negative variances of $0.4 million in other non-operating income and expenses.
Cash and cash equivalents, and short-term investments decreased $11.6 million for the six months ended December 31, 2012. The decrease in cash and investments was primarily due to spending for exploration, corporate administrative and Bear Lodge development related costs, offset by positive impacts from foreign exchange changes on translating our Canadian cash balances to U. S. dollars, working capital changes, interest income, proceeds from option exercises and releases of restricted cash.
The audited financial statements are available through the Canadian securities regulatory authorities at www.sedar.com, and with the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov. They are also available on the Company's website at www.rareelementresources.com.
Rare Element Resources Ltd. is a publicly traded mineral resource company focused on exploration and development of rare-earth elements (REEs), with a significant distribution of critical rare earths (CREEs). In addition to the REE exploration and evaluation efforts, the Company controls the Sundance gold project, which is located on the same property in Wyoming.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of securities legislation in the United States and Canada. 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' or by discussions of strategy or intentions. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and include but are not limited to, mineral resource estimates and their underlying assumptions; the effect of Whitetail Ridge HREE on project economics; anticipated recovery rates to be obtained with new process technology; advancement of the project in 2013; and possible timing of the Feasibility Study. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results or achievements to be materially different from any future results or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, our estimates of mineral resources; capital costs estimates; plans for pilot scale metallurgical testing; processing technology effectiveness; fluctuations in demand for, and price of, rare earth products; timing of and unexpected events at the Bear Lodge property; delay or failure to receive government approvals and permits; timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; the timing of a Feasibility Study and matters that will be discussed therein; technical, permitting, mining or processing issues; changes in U.S. and Canadian securities markets; and fluctuations in input costs and general economic conditions. 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 factors in our Form 10-K for the six months ended December 31, 2012. We expect that the above estimates will change as new information is received and that actual results will vary from these estimates, possibly by material amounts. While we may elect to update these estimates at any time, we do not undertake to update any estimate at any particular time or in response to any particular event. Investors and others should not assume that any forecasts in this press release represent management's estimate as of any date other than the date of this press release.
Cautionary Statement
The mineral resource estimate referred to in this release was completed by Mr. Alan C. Noble, P.E., principal engineer of Ore Reserves Engineering (ORE), and is based on geological interpretations supplied by the Company to ORE and subsequently modified by ORE. Mr. Noble is an independent Qualified Person under NI 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101") of the Canadian Securities Administrators, and Mr. Noble has verified the data disclosed in this release.
Jaye T. Pickarts, P.E., serves as the Chief Operating Officer of the Company and as an internal, Qualified Person. Technical information in this news release has been reviewed by Mr. Pickarts, and has been prepared in accordance with Canadian regulatory requirements that are set out in NI 43-101. For a description of the key assumptions, parameters and methods used by the Company to estimate mineral reserves and resources, 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, socio-political, marketing or other relevant factors, please see the Technical Reports for our project as filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Additional information regarding the Company's mineral resources estimate is contained in the Company's 18 March 2013 press release titled "Rare Element Reports 65 Percent Increase of Total M&I Rare-Earth Mineral Resources at Bear Lodge".
Cautionary Note to U.S. Investors - The United States Securities and Exchange Commission permits U.S. mining companies, in their filings with the SEC, to disclose only those mineral deposits that a company can economically and legally extract or produce. We may use certain terms in public disclosures, such as "measured," "indicated," "inferred" and "resources," that are recognized by Canadian regulations, but that SEC guidelines generally prohibit U.S. registered companies from including in their filings with the SEC. U.S. investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 10-K which may be secured from us, or from the SEC's website at www.sec.gov.
Neither TSX nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
Rare Element Resources Ltd.
David Suleski
720-278-2468
www.rareelementresources.com
