1. NATURE OF OPERATIONS	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2020
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
NATURE OF OPERATIONS	Rare Element Resources Ltd. (“we,” “us,” “Rare Element” or the “Company”) was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada, on June 3, 1999. Rare Element has been focused on advancing the Bear Lodge REE Project located near the town of Sundance in northeast Wyoming. The Bear Lodge REE Project consists of several large disseminated REE deposits and a proposed hydrometallurgical plant to be located near Upton, Wyoming. Additionally, the Company holds a 100% interest in the Sundance Gold Project, adjacent to the Bear Lodge REE Project, which contains a historical inferred mineral resource primarily composed of three gold targets within the area of the Bear Lodge property. As a result of the Company’s current focus on the Bear Lodge REE Project, the Sundance Gold Project has been on hold since 2011 and further exploration will be required in order to define the extent of the gold occurrences. During the quarter ended March 31, 2020, the Company focused on continuing the confirmation and enhancement of our proprietary technology for rare earth processing and separation through piloting. During March 2020, the board of Directors approved the engagement of Umwelt- und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH Dresden (“UIT”), an affiliate of General Atomic Technologies Corporation and Synchron, for further pilot plant test work to optimize certain processes and develop scale-up design criteria and cost estimates for a planned demonstration plant. The Company continued to monitor U.S. government actions regarding securing a domestic, non-Chinese, rare earth supply chain, participated in certain discussions with government officials, and met with a number of State and U.S. government officials regarding potential funding participation in the development of a demonstration plant.

1. NATURE OF OPERATIONS

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2020

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Rare Element Resources Ltd. (“we,” “us,” “Rare Element” or the “Company”) was incorporated under the laws of the Province of British Columbia, Canada, on June 3, 1999.

Rare Element has been focused on advancing the Bear Lodge REE Project located near the town of Sundance in northeast Wyoming. The Bear Lodge REE Project consists of several large disseminated REE deposits and a proposed hydrometallurgical plant to be located near Upton, Wyoming. Additionally, the Company holds a 100% interest in the Sundance Gold Project, adjacent to the Bear Lodge REE Project, which contains a historical inferred mineral resource primarily composed of three gold targets within the area of the Bear Lodge property. As a result of the Company’s current focus on the Bear Lodge REE Project, the Sundance Gold Project has been on hold since 2011 and further exploration will be required in order to define the extent of the gold occurrences.

During the quarter ended March 31, 2020, the Company focused on continuing the confirmation and enhancement of our proprietary technology for rare earth processing and separation through piloting. During March 2020, the board of Directors approved the engagement of Umwelt- und Ingenieurtechnik GmbH Dresden (“UIT”), an affiliate of General Atomic Technologies Corporation and Synchron, for further pilot plant test work to optimize certain processes and develop scale-up design criteria and cost estimates for a planned demonstration plant. The Company continued to monitor U.S. government actions regarding securing a domestic, non-Chinese, rare earth supply chain, participated in certain discussions with government officials, and met with a number of State and U.S. government officials regarding potential funding participation in the development of a demonstration plant.