Wyoming News Briefs

RER coming to Upton

NEWCASTLE (WNE) — Rare Element Resources, or RER, will open its test facility in Upton, where it will process elements from RER’s Bearlodge mine located 12 miles from Sundance.

RER is an energy company specializing in mining rare earth elements to provide them to technology companies.

According to George Byers, vice president of RER, the search for a test facility site started about 10 years ago.

“The industrial park (in Upton) was a good choice because No. 1, you guys all wanted it,” Byers said. “Upton . . . has got the attributes you need. You got the rail, you’ve got the highway. you’ve got natural gas, you’ve got power.”

The test facility will be small enough to “fit in a garage,” Byers said.

Construction of the test facility is expected to take place in 2022 or 2023, and it will operate from 2023 to 2024.

The test facility will be responsible for refining several rare earth oxides. The most valuable oxide to come out of the plant will be neodymium praseodymium oxide, which is used to produce high-strength magnets for various types of technology, including cell phones. To produce this, the test facility must separate lanthanum, cerium and thorium.

Sen. Chris Rothfuss, the minority leader in the Wyoming Senate, supports bringing the rare element industry to Wyoming.

Rothfuss said that he hopes Wyoming can use the thorium to give it a stake in the next generation of nuclear reactors. He also praised the low environmental impact the Bearlodge mine will have.

The U.S. Department of Energy has given RER $22 million, and RER is responsible for raising the other $22 million from investors. RER is offering shareholders the ability to buy stock for 0.24 cents a share until Dec. 8.

Gas prices down slightly from last week

CHEYENNE (WNE) — Wyoming gasoline prices have declined by 0.3 cents per gallon in the past week, averaging $3.41 per gallon Monday, according to GasBuddy.com’s daily survey of 494 stations in Wyoming.

Gas prices in Wyoming are 0.5 cents per gallon lower than a month ago, and stand $1.27 per gallon higher than a year ago.

According to GasBuddy price reports, the cheapest station in Wyoming was priced at $2.87 per gallon Monday, while the most expensive was $3.89, a difference of $1.02.

The national average price of gasoline has fallen 3.4 cents per gallon in the last week, averaging $3.37 per gallon Monday. The national average is down 1.4 cents per gallon from a month ago, and stands $1.26 per gallon higher than a year ago.

Gates no longer connected to Irma Lake Lodge

CODY (WNE) — Billionaire Bill Gates is no longer connected to the Irma Lake Lodge, a South Fork ranch Buffalo Bill named after his oldest daughter back when he developed the property in 1895.

The 752 acres feature one 9,598-square-foot ranch house, two guest houses and five outbuildings. It sits directly below the eastern portion of Carter Mountain and looks over Irma Lake and toward the Buffalo Bill Reservoir in the distance.

The main lodge has 24 rooms, eight bedrooms – each with their own bathroom — and 11 fireplaces.  

Park County Assessor’s Office documents reveal J Over 3 Lazy B’s LLC is the new owner of the property, with Josh Allison listed as the contact for that entity and taxes. 

Allison, a Cody businessman, did not respond by time of publication to multiple requests for comment.

Allison has been associated with several downtown development projects in recent years and was a spokesperson advocating for the legalization of pari-mutuel gambling in Park County in 2020, an effort that was rejected by voters.

A new deed for the property was filed on June 30, facilitating the transfer from Mt. Baker to Lazy’s B’s. 

The prior owner of the property is Mt. Baker Holdings, LLC, a business with an associated address in Kirkland, Wash. 

In 2009, Business Insider reported Gates had purchased the property that had been listed at $9 million. 

According to the Assessor’s Office, the property has a $3.7 million market value. 

Man considered habitual criminal receives another sentence

GILLETTE (WNE) — A man already sentenced to 30 to 45 years in prison for aggravated assault and battery has gotten another prison sentence for identity theft.

Brennan Thomas Baker, 30, was sentenced Nov. 12 to 2.5 to three years in prison for using another man’s driver’s license and returning merchandise to Menards for store credit.

But the sentence will be served concurrently to the aggravated assault sentence and two other earlier felonies for burglary.

Baker pleaded no contest Nov. 12 to the accusations that he used another man’s driver’s license and returned merchandise that Menards officials believe was stolen originally.

Baker was flagged by Menards management after he returned $69.98 worth of steel Aug. 2 that the store doesn’t actually sell. Because he didn’t have a receipt, his driver’s license was scanned in. A few hours later, he returned to the store and tried to use the store credit, according to an affidavit.

Further investigation shows that Baker had returned merchandise on at least three occasions using the same identification. The real person hadn’t given him permission to do so, according to the affidavit.

District Judge John R. Perry ordered Baker to pay $1198 to Menards, $2179 to one Gillette man and $2014 to another as restitution.

Typically, an aggravated assault charge carries a maximum penalty of ten years in prison, but prosecutors added a habitual criminal status to the charge because Baker was considered a habitual criminal because he had two other felony convictions for burglary in Campbell County from 2019 cases.

The sentencing enhancement increased the possible prison time to up to 50 years. Baker was convicted by a jury in July of beating another man over the head with a crowbar.