TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Rare earths and uranium project developer Pele Mountain Resources had appointed former Ontario Cabinet Minister John Wilkinson to its board.

Wilkinson had served as a Minister in the Ontario government from 2007 to 2011.

As Ontario's first full-time Research and Innovation Minister, he had implemented the $1.6-billion Ontario innovation agenda. Then, as Minister of Revenue, he successfully shepherded the largest Ontario tax reform in more than 40 years.

As Environment Minister he was responsible for the passage of the Water Opportunities and Water Conservation Act of 2010, which was set to maintain Ontario's sustainable fresh water supplies for generations to come.

“We are delighted to welcome John to our team and look forward to working with him toward the sustainable development of our Eco Ridge mine rare earths and uranium project in Elliot Lake, in Ontario,” Pele president and CEO Al Shefsky said.

He added that the company was seeing increased interest from the Canadian federal government, the provincial government, and major end-users of rare earths to develop a secure, local, rare earth supply chain to support value-added manufacturing in clean energy and high technology applications.

"As the world moves to address climate change and break its addiction to fossil fuels, demand for clean technologies will increase. I believe the Eco Ridge mine project is poised to provide a secure 'Made in Ontario' source for both the rare earths and uranium that the world needs,” Wilkinson said.

Eco Ridge is located in Elliot Lake, the only Canadian mining camp to have ever achieved commercial rare earth production.

The TSX-V-listed company said the geology and mineralogy was well understood, there was excellent regional infrastructure, and strong local support, making the project ideal for developing a safe, secure and reliable long-term supply of critical rare earths and uranium.

The company targets a construction licence by 2015. Start-up capital expenditure is estimated at $563-million, including $535-million for processing fees for the separation of rare-earth concentrates into individual oxides.