The uranium deposits in the Beaverlodge camp were recognized as carrying anomalous REE mineralization in ratios similar to those found in the leucogranite host rocks. Total REE contents ranged from 20 ppm to 2,595 ppm, however, at the time of mining there was no interest in REE’s due to the relatively small market for such metals.

During the 1950s, the Alces Lake area was subject to geological mapping, prospecting, ground radiometric surveying, minor trenching and limited diamond drilling. A few companies such as Goldfields Uranium Mines Ltd., Fargo Oils Ltd and J.H. Wilson, carried out exploration programs; however, the Beaverlodge area near Uranium City was main focus of exploration and mining activity in this region.

A second period of uranium exploration occurred between 1966 and 1968 consisted of an airborne radiometric survey and ground prospecting by Numac Oil & Gas Ltd. This coincided with airborne surveying activity over the Athabasca Basin by the Dynamic Group in the search for sandstone-hosted (roll-front) uranium deposits. This program was ultimately carried forward by Gulf Minerals and its partners resulting in the discovery of the Rabbit Lake unconformity-type uranium deposit. Numac’s airborne survey in the Alces Lake area resulted in the detection of 287 anomalies that led to the discovery of 79 radioactive occurrences. These were subsequently revisited by Wilson who trenched the better showings and discovered radioactive pegmatites which were named the “SCRUB” showing. However, the principal metal of interest was uranium and no significant value was given to rare metal mineralization.

During 1975, SMDC explored for the continuation of uranium deposits along the eastern strike of the St. Louis Fault, a major control on uranium mineralization in the mines in the Beaverlodge area. SMDC used water and lake sediment geochemical sampling together with VLF-EM techniques over the Alces Lake water body. The program failed to identify mineralization of economic significance. While exploration continued in the Uranium City area, principally for gold and uranium, the areas to the east saw no significant activity through the remainder of the 1990s.

During the summer of 2010, the Saskatchewan Geological Survey completed sampling and geological mapping in the area of the J.H. Wilson discovery trenches. The exploration program verified the existence of high-grade rare earth elements (“REE”s) from the old trench blasts, but also discovered some new outcrop showings. Samples taken from the trenches contained as much as 28.9% total REE with spectrometer readings as high as 53,500 total counts per second (“cps”) from the old trench areas (Normand, 2010). During October the following year, Appia and Mr. Scott Bell initiated exploration in the Alces Lake area with a helicopter-supported prospecting program in the area of the Wilson trenches that were previously resampled by Wilson.