Canada-based Ucore Rare Metals Inc. has put up a new team of mine-development specialists to facilitate the immediate production of its rare earths project at Southeast Alaska.

A well-funded junior exploration company focused on establishing rare earth elements (REE), uranium and other rare metal resources through exploration and property acquisition, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. holds multiple projects across North America, its primary focus of which is its 100 per cent owned Bokan - Dotson Ridge REE property in Alaska.

Located 60 km southwest of Ketchikan, Alaska and 140 km northwest of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, the Bokan - Dotson Ridge REE project has direct ocean access to the western seaboard as well as the Pacific Rim, factors which reportedly give it great advantage as it expedites mine production and limits capital costs connected with mine construction.

To facilitate the immediate production of the Bokan - Dotson Ridge REE project, Ucore Rare Metals Inc. appointed Randy MacGillivray, an environmental geoscientist who has worked at mines throughout the world, as Senior Mine Permitting Manager. In a statement, MacGillivray will work with the state, the U.S. Forest Service, and other regulators to "bring Bokan into production without delay." He is the first of a comprehensive team of mine-development specialists being assembled by Ucore Rare Metals Inc., Ken Collison, Chief Operation Officer, said.

Alaskan Governor Sean Parnell had long been endorsing the state's rare earth mineral potential, noting the Bokan - Dotson Ridge REE project as well as other Alaska rare earth prospects can significantly help reduce China's dominance of those supplies.

Contrary to its name, REEs are found throughout the earth's crust. However, the 17 elements, abundant as the case may be, requires refinement, as all mining activities do, requiring several steps of chemical refinement to separate the ore into scandium, yttrium, and the lanthanides. Rare earths are used in all kinds of gadgets, including cell phones, computer hard drives, solar cells and hybrid vehicles, as well as in military applications.

China's refinement process is very inexpensive, which gives it the distinction as the world's hub of rare earths supply, and eventually, the power to control the supply movement in the global market.