(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Ucore Rare Metals Inc announced today the appointment of Ketchikan resident Randall (Randy) Johnson to the Company's Advisory Board.

"We're extremely pleased to have Mr. Johnson joining us as Bokan enters the late stages of mine planning and pre-construction", said Jim McKenzie, President & CEO of Ucore. "His exceptional track record of building businesses from the ground up, and his knowledge of the Alaskan business landscape, in particular, make him an invaluable addition to the Ucore Advisory Board."

Bokan Mountain in Southeast Alaska is the proposed site of a heavy rare earth element mine.
Photo Credit: Susan Karl, USGS

Bokan Mountain in Southeast Alaska is the proposed site of a heavy rare earth element mine and is the largest heavy rare earth element deposit in the United States.. The Bokan project is located about 37 miles southwest of Ketchikan and approximately 86 miles northwest of Prince Rupert, British Columbia.

Johnson is the President of Tyler Rental Inc., an Alaska-based enterprise with over $50 million in assets and 75 employees, which he founded as a start-up in 1989 and subsequently grew to a multi-state enterprise.

A resident of Alaska for 33 years, Johnson formed Alaska Ship and Drydock ("ASD") to operate the Ketchikan Shipyard under contract with the State of Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities in 1993. Working in conjunction with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA), he guided an $80 million shipyard expansion project at ASD, including a new 2,500 ton dry-dock, upland ship berthing and an 80,000 square foot ship assembly hall and production support complex. He sold the company to Vigor Industrial in 2012, having grown it into a thriving enterprise with annual revenues of $35 million and up to 200 employees.

In addition to Tyler and ASD, Johnson's business operations and ownership experience includes such Southeast Alaska enterprises as Ty-matt Construction and Ketchikan Ready Mix and Quarry.

Commensurate with his appointment, Johnson will be granted 150,000 stock options, subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange. The options are exercisable at a price of $0.27 per share and will expire on February 17, 2019. One third of the options will vest six months after the date of the grant, with an additional third to vest every six months thereafter until fully vested.

Bokan Mountain was once mined for uranium. The granite peak on Prince of Wales Island contains rich veins of the harder-to-find heavy rare-earth elements. The project has strong support from Alaska's legislature and from nearby communities. The Bokan Mountain project covers 19 sq. miles.

Currently the U.S. imports rare earth elements from China with China controlling 95 percent of the world's rare-earth supply.

Edited by Mary Kauffman, SitNews

Source of News: 

Ucore Rare Metals Inc
www.ucore.com

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