Mining News
Vital Metals 'pleased' with production ramp up progress at Nechalacho rare earths project
(Kitco News) - Vital Metals (ASX: VML), the Canada’s first rare earths producer, today announced that its Nechalacho rare earths project in Northwest Territories, Canada, continued to ramp up production during July.
Vital said that Nechalacho ore sorter exceeded expectations by successfully producing high-grade rare earths product from low-grade stockpiled material. As sorter operations proceed through August, material from the high and medium grade stockpiles will start to be processed, Vital added.
According to the company’s statement, drilling, blasting and mining of ore continued at the North T pit through July, with 6,200 bank cubic metres (BCM) of ore mined and ~120,000 BCM of waste mined for the month, with activities in August are expected to start to enter the main ore body. The first mining campaign is scheduled to be completed, with mining equipment being demobilised, in October. This will provide sufficient ore to enable multiple years production at Vital’s Rare Earth Plant in Saskatoon, the company noted in its press-release.
Managing Director Geoff Atkins said, “We are really pleased with the way our operations are ramping up at Nechalacho, and the exciting developments we’ve made with ore sorter operation and mineralisation in the North T pit wall during July."
Vital Metals is an explorer and developer focusing on rare earths, technology metals and gold projects. The company’s projects are located across a range of jurisdictions in Canada, Africa and Germany. Vital Metals’ flagship Nechalacho project is a high grade, light rare earth (bastnaesite) project located at Nechalacho in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Nechalacho hosts within the Upper Zone, a JORC Resource of 94.7MT at 1.46% TREO comprised of a Measured Resource of 2.9MT at 1.47% TREO, an Indicated Resource of 14.7MT at 1.5% TREO, and an Inferred Resource of 77.1MT at 1.46% TREO.
