Rare Element Updates Its Community Relations Activities

LAKEWOOD, COLORADO -- (Marketwire) -- 08/13/12 -- Rare Element Resources Ltd. (TSX: RES)(NYSE MKT: REE) is pleased to report on its community and governmental accomplishments thus far this year including site visits at its Bear Lodge Project in Wyoming and a series of presentations to trade groups, industry analysts, local, federal and Wyoming audiences.

Rare Element hosted three important and well-attended public information meetings in Sundance and Upton, Wyoming, as well as numerous local presentations to county commissions and town councils, service clubs, chambers of commerce and elected officials in the nearby communities of Hulett, Pine Haven, Newcastle, Sundance and Gillette, Wyoming, as well as in Spearfish, South Dakota.

At the Bull Hill Mine site, a series of mine tours were conducted. Participants included U. S. Forest Service personnel; Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality and EPA technical staff; Congressional staff from the state of Wyoming; local elected officials and staff from Crook and Weston Counties; and college students and faculty. The Company also hosted a May 2012 tour attended by representatives from eight American Indian tribes that expressed interest in learning about the project. Potential local and national vendors also made site visits. Briefings on our progress were conducted at the Bull Hill mine site and the proposed hydrometallurgical plant site at Upton, Wyoming.

Two final tours are scheduled for this summer including a visit by the National Park Service staff and a visit by state and county elected and appointed officials and their staff. The Company was also represented at the Crook County and Weston County fairs and the Gillette Energy Expo.

Additional presentations over the past eight months on the progress of the Bear Lodge Project and the exploration advancement at the Bull Hill Mine were made to organizations including the Northwest Mining Association; the Technology and Rare Earth Metals Conference in Arlington, VA; the Office of Naval Research; the U.S. Department of Energy's Innovation Hub at the Department of Energy's Ames Lab; the Environmental Protection Agency's Rare Earth Elements Workshop in Denver, CO; the Wyoming Mining Association's annual meeting; the Wyoming Legislature's Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee; and the Colorado School of Mines Rare Earth short course in Golden, CO.

Randy Scott, President and CEO, stated, "We appreciate the opportunity that these groups provided us to communicate why the rare earth industry is critical to future economic growth and to provide updates on the progress we continue to make at our Bear Lodge Project. It is important for people to know that the Bear Lodge Project will use only the highest order of sound science and good engineering to make this a truly world-class operation in every respect. With continued local, state and federal support, we anticipate that mine development will remain on schedule with ramp up to full production scheduled for 2016."

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (TSX: RES)(NYSE MKT: REE) is a publicly traded mineral resource company focused on exploration and development of rare-earth elements and gold. 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.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Anne Hite, Director of Investor Relations

For information, refer to the Company's website at www.rareelementresources.com.

Forward Looking Statements 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", "has potential to", or "intends' or by discussions of strategy or intentions. 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. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts, and include but are not limited to, estimates and their underlying assumptions; statements regarding plans, objectives and expectations with respect to the effectiveness of the Company's business model; future operations, products and services; the impact of regulatory initiatives on the Company's operations; the size of and opportunities related to the market for the Company's products; general industry and macroeconomic growth rates; expectations related to possible joint and/or strategic ventures and statements regarding future performance.

Contacts:

Rare Element Resources Ltd.

Anne Hite

Director of Investor Relations

720-278-2466
www.rareelementresources.com