Rare Earth Minerals PLC (AIM: REM) is pleased to announce a potentially significant development in the advancement of the Sonora Lithium Project in northern Mexico, of which REM has a 30% direct interest in the Fleur-El Sauz Concessions of the Project and an economic interest of 31.5% due to REM’s direct 2.2% shareholding in Bacanora Minerals Ltd (“Bacanora”). Bacanora has released the results of the preliminary metallurgical testing, the full text of which follows at the end of this announcement.

David Lenigas, Rare Earth Minerals Chairman commented:

“The metallurgical recoveries  announced by Bacanora, of up to 90.4% of Lithium Carbonate from the initial independent test work on their section of the Sonora Lithium Project’s clays, are potentially economically significant to REM and this bench scale work shows categorically that Lithium can be extracted from this large Lithium Clay deposit.”

“The high recoveries of Lithium Carbonate demonstrate that Lithium from the La Ventana section of the Sonora deposit is indeed soluble and indicate that Lithium Carbonate can be produced from the resulting solution. The Company looks forward to working with our Joint Venture partner in advancing efforts to achieve a commercial grade lithium product as well as investigating the recovery of other alkali metal compounds contained within the deposit”.

Metallurgical test work has begun at the Metallurgical Division of Inspectorate Exploration and Mining Services Ltd of Richmond, Canada on samples from the southern extension of the La Ventana deposit on the Fleur-El Sauz concessions that form part of the Bacanora / REM Joint Venture Lands. Further details on the test work are available from Bacanora’s Press release 4/11/2013.

– Ends –

For further information please contact:

Rare Earth Minerals plc                                                  +44 (0) 207 440 0647

David Lenigas

Kiran Morzaria

WH Ireland Limited (NOMAD & Joint Broker)                    +44 (0) 20 7220 1666

James Joyce

Nick Field

XCAP Securities plc (Joint Broker)                                   +44 (0) 207 101 7070

Guy Peters

Jon Belliss

Square1 Consulting

David Bick                                                                     +44 (0) 207 929 5599

Mark Longson

Bacanora’s News Release date 4 November 2013:

Calgary, Alberta, Canada                                                                                                                                  November 4, 2013

TSX-V Symbol: BCN                                                                                                                                                        

NEWS Release

BACANORA ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT LITHIUM CARBONATE RECOVERIES FROM PRELIMINARY METALLURGICAL TESTING

BACANORA MINERALS LTD.(“Bacanora” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received results of preliminary metallurgical testing undertaken by the Metallurgical Division of Inspectorate Exploration and Mining Services Ltd (“Inspectorate”) of Richmond, Canada on samples from the La Ventana Lithium Deposit, Sonora Lithium Project, Mexico. The test work was conducted on behalf of Bacanora under the direction of Mr. John Fox, P.Eng. The testing was conducted on a total of 4 samples averaging 9.88 kilograms each. The samples consisted of split drill core with 2 samples from each of the upper and lower clay units.

The bench scale testing focused on two process options designed to liberate lithium into solution from the clays. The first option was pugging with sulphuric acid followed by a water leach; the second option tested roasting of the clays with several combinations of reagents with the roasted product leached with water in order to put lithium into solution. Results of these solubility tests indicate that the roast-leach process is most favorable as 86.7% of lithium in the upper clay and 88.6% of lithium in the lower clay was put into solution.

Test work on the lithium-bearing solutions derived from the roast-leach process included two stages of evaporation to concentrate the lithium. With the addition of another reagent to the concentrated solutions a precipitate was formed. Assays of the precipitate from the upper clay ranged from 14.6% to 15.85% Li or 77.8% to 84.5% lithium carbonate. Precipitate from the lower clay ranged from 15.5% to 16.96% Li or 82.2% to 90.4% lithium carbonate.  A summary of the results are tabulated below.

Table 1. Summary of Preliminary Metallurgical Test Results

On the recommendation of Inspectorate, further testing is continuing in order to optimize reagent ratios, percent of solids in leach pulps and leach time with the objective of increasing the lithium recoveries from the clays and increasing the lithium carbonate purity to 99.5% (battery grade). Furthermore, test work will be initiated on larger “run-of-mine” samples in order to optimize pre-treatment processes for upgrading clays prior to roast – leach processing.

In addition, test work has begun at Inspectorate on samples from the southern extension of the La Ventana deposit on the Fleur-Sauz concessions that form part of the Bacanora/Rare Earth Minerals PLC (“REM”) Joint Venture Lands.

Martin Vidal, President of Bacanora, commented: “We are very excited with the results of the preliminary metallurgical test work. The high recoveries of lithium carbonate demonstrate that lithium from the La Ventana deposit is soluble and that lithium carbonate can be produced from the resulting solution and confirms results already achieved at Bacanora’s laboratory. The Company looks forward to advancing efforts to achieve a commercial grade lithium product as well as investigating the recovery of other alkali metal compounds“.

About the Sonora Lithium Project:

The Sonora Lithium Project consists of the La Ventana, La Ventana 1 and the San Gabriel concessions which are owned 100% by Bacanora along with the contiguous El Sauz, El Sauz 1, El Sauz 2, Fleur and Fleur 1 concessions owned 70% by Bacanora and 30% by REM. The Company has declared inferred resources on each of the La Ventana concessions and the Bancanora / REM Joint Venture Lands, in respect of which reports have been prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for MineralProjects (“NI 43-101”) (please refer to the Company’s SEDAR filings for copies of these reports and related press releases).  Inferred resources have been estimated for the La Ventana Lithium Deposit totaling 60 million tonnes averaging 3,000 ppm Li (equivalent to 1.6% lithium carbonate equivalent1assuming 100% recovery and no process losses).  Inferred resources for the El Sauz and Fleur concessions total 88,271,000 tonnes averaging 3,163 ppm Li at a 2,000 ppm cut-off (1.68% lithium carbonate equivalent assuming 100% recovery and no process losses).  The resource on the Bacanora / REM Joint Venture Lands is open down dip to the east and to the south.  For further details concerning the Company’s agreement with REM and details of the joint venture, please refer to the Company’s press release dated May 22, 2013.

Carl G. Verley, P.Geo. is the Qualified Person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 that has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.

For further information please contact: 

Shane Shircliff                                                   and                   www.bacanoraminerals.com

Chief Executive Officer

Phone: (306) 649-0602

Martin Vidal

President

Phone: (+52 662) 210-0767

___________
1LCE = lithium carbonate equivalent (Li2CO3): determined by multiplying Li value in percent by 5.324 to get an equivalent Li2CO3 value in percent. Use of LCE is to provide data comparable with industry standards.

Reader Advisory

Except for statements of historical fact, this news release contains certain “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as “plan”, “expect”, “project”, “intend”, “believe”, “anticipate”, “estimate” and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” occur.  In particular, forward-looking information in this press release includes, but is not limited to, the potential for a significant lithium resource to be developed on the Sonora Lithium Project the potential of liberating lithium from the Sonora Lithium Project into solution and the potential of increasing lithium carbonate purity.  Although we believe that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. We cannot guarantee future results, performance or achievements. Consequently, there is no representation that the actual results achieved will be the same, in whole or in part, as those set out in the forward-looking information.

Forward-looking information is based on the opinions and estimates of management at the date the statements are made, and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking information.  Some of the risks and other factors that could cause the results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: commodity price volatility; general economic conditions in Canada, the United States, Mexico and globally; industry conditions, governmental regulation, including environmental regulation; unanticipated operating events or performance; failure to obtain industry partner and other third party consents and approvals, if and when required; the availability of capital on acceptable terms; the need to obtain required approvals from regulatory authorities; stock market volatility; competition for, among other things, capital, skilled personnel and supplies; changes in tax laws; and the other risk factors disclosed under our profile on SEDAR at .  Readers are cautioned that this list of risk factors should not be construed as exhaustive. 

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. We undertake no duty to update any of the forward-looking information to conform such information to actual results or to changes in our expectations except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation.  Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.