Brent Berg, the top executive behind development of a novel $44 million rare earth minerals project backed by the federal Department of Energy in northeastern Wyoming, has left the company for another Wyoming operation with big aspirations for uranium development.
Berg, formerly the president and CEO of Rare Element Resources Ltd., has left to join Uranium Energy Corp., a Corpus Christi, Texas-based uranium business that has plans to restart uranium production at its Irigaray central processing plant and satellite Christensen Ranch facility — both located in the Powder River Basin.
In his new role, Berg becomes the senior vice president in charge of U.S. operations with Uranium Energy, working with longtime uranium expert Donna Wichers, vice president of Wyoming operations.
Rare Element Resources Moves On
Meanwhile, Rare Element Resources has named former board member Ken Mushinski to replace Berg, with Kelli Kast, a current board member with a dozen years of experience with the company, appointed as interim president and CEO until Mushinski joins permanently May 1.
Rare Element is set to complete a rare earth minerals processing facility in Upton, Wyoming, this summer that is viewed as a first step toward putting the United States in a better competitive advantage with China, which has long dominated this sector.
Rare earth minerals are used in magnet materials required for everything from powering electric vehicles and wind turbines to military applications to ensure short takeoffs and landings of jets from an aircraft carrier’s deck, and aircraft powered by magnet motors.
The demonstration-scale processing plant, which was unveiled in a groundbreaking ceremony last fall, is pioneering a new, more efficient method to extract rare earths.
In an interview earlier this month, Berg told Cowboy State Daily that Canadian-based Rare Element Resources is holding the line to a July opening date for the demonstration project despite concerns about inflation driving up the construction cost of the $44 million project.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, the company states that “potential options include changes to the project timeline and the raising of additional funds.”
The company is addressing the higher expense to build the plant with a major financial backer, the U.S. Department of Energy, and may negotiate for additional money, Berg told Cowboy State Daily.
More Money
Kast, in a recent interview with Cowboy State Daily, said that her company is in talks with DOE on a revised cost sharing plan to accommodate a “greater than 17%” increase in inflation since 2020 levels.
Rare Element is looking for a 50-50 cost-sharing arrangement with DOE on the $7.5 million in added costs to the project over the past four years.
“We have seen inflation pressures on the project,” Kast said.
The cost of the plant was “derisked” this month due to completion of a $35.8 million rights offering to existing shareholders, she said.
Berg, 52, had informed the board of directors of Rare Element Resources on Jan. 2 of his planned departure for personal reasons.
Berg said that he has a 21-plus career in the uranium industry and is excited to get back to his roots.
"The future looks bright for uranium and nuclear energy,” he said. “It’s good to get back to where I started."
He’ll run operations in Wyoming, Texas and some developmental projects in Arizona.
"I’m spending time with different projects, but my priority is to restart the operations in Wyoming first," he said.
His replacement, Mushinksi, 61, is getting paid $320,000 with a one-time signing bonus of $60,000, according to a regulatory filing.
Besides being backed by a 70.6% stake from military contractor General Atomics of San Diego, a builder of huge drones and other high-tech gadgetry, Rare Element is getting $21.9 million in financial support from DOE’s Advanced Materials and Manufacturing Technologies Office, a matching amount from the company, and a $4.4 million grant from the Wyoming Energy Authority.
Pat Maio can be reached at pat@cowboystatedaily.com.
