The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
Sorted by date Results 1 - 23 of 23
Final assays from the 2023 program are expected to upgrade rare earth resources ahead of scoping study; new CEO leads the company forward. Vital Metals Ltd. July 23 reported that final results from its 2023 drill program continue to demonstrate the world-class rare earths potential of the Tardiff deposit on the company's Nechalacho project about 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. According to a calculation completed in April, the...
Vital Metal Ltd. Feb. 7 reported that results from its 2023 drill program at Nechalacho continue to show the potential to upgrade and expand upon shallow, high-grade rare earth element mineralization within the Tardiff deposit on the project about 110 kilometers (70 miles) southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. In 2021, the Australia-based company began mining high-grade ore from the North T deposit, which was upgraded in preparation for shipping to Saskatchewan for...
Still overshadowed by lithium but no less significant, cobalt falls within a unique category as a critical mineral not only for its properties but also for its controversial supply. As a fundamental component necessary for nickel-cobalt-manganese (NMC) lithium-ion batteries, cobalt warranted its place as a critical mineral vital to the zero-carbon transition due to the necessity of those batteries to power a clean, emission-free future. Its critical uses, however, go far...
Less than three years after bringing its ambition to mine rare earth elements to Canada, Vital Metals Ltd. is rapidly establishing its presence on the world stage as one of few miners of rare earth minerals outside of China. In July 2021, the Australia-based company became the first to extract rare earth-rich material for commercial processing from the ground in Canada – a country known to host vast undeveloped quantities of the coveted resources. Vital Metals is also only t...
From flashlights to supercomputers, tin is the glue for an electronic age Lost in the clamor for lithium, nickel and other metals needed for the batteries powering electric vehicles and modern electronics, or the rare earth elements that turn stored energy into motion, is the enormous need for a much more modest metal that is so fundamental to the advancement of technology that it almost goes unseen – tin. While other technology metals are critical to certain products and s...
When Vital Metals Ltd. purchased the rights to mine the mineral resources in the upper zones of the Nechalacho rare earth project from Avalon Rare Metals Inc. in 2019, the Australian junior hit the ground running. And the rest is history. Literally. In July, Vital Metals became the first company to produce rare earth minerals in Canada – a country known to host vast undeveloped quantities of this suite of coveted elements. Vital is also only the second company to mine rare e...
Racing to become Canada's first miner of rare earth elements, Vital Metals Ltd. had clocked another milestone by producing a 12-kilogram sample of rare earth carbonate in a bulk sampling program at its Nechalacho rare earths project located 100 kilometers (62 miles) southeast of Yellowknife, the capital of Northwest Territories. Vital is hoping to begin production of rare earth oxide at Nechalacho in the second quarter of 2021, with early production from a North T starter...
On track to begin the initial phase of rare earth production at the Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories later this year, Vital Metals Ltd. has launched a drill program to prepare for the second stage of REE mining at the project along the shores of Thor Lake. "2021 will be a groundbreaking year for Vital Metals," said Vital Metals Managing Director Geoff Atkins. "In addition to the commencement of development and construction activities for our Stage 1 operations at...
Explorers seeking new mineral discoveries in the Northwest Territories are expected to spend less in 2018 than the C$90 million they shelled out collectively last year. Natural Resources Canada projects spending this year for mineral exploration and deposit appraisals in the northern territory will total C$81.3 million. But some observers expect to see an uptick in hardrock mining exploration in 2018, especially in the highly prospective Slave Province where the Northwest...
Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. Feb. 6 reported that headway is being made at its Will Scarlett rare earth elements recovery project in Illinois and Nechalacho REE Mine project in Northwest Territories. Avalon said the December agreement by Canada and the United States to co-operate on critical minerals supply chain development, particularly rare earths, has resulted in new government initiatives in both countries to support the creation of these supply chains. The critical...
Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. Oct. 30 announced that Australia-based Cheetah Resources Pty Ltd., a private company recently acquired by Vital Metals Ltd., has made the final cash payment to acquire the near-surface resources at the Nechalacho rare earth elements project at Thor Lake, roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. According to a resource calculated in 2012, the Upper zone at Nechalacho hosts 47.2 million metric tons of indic...
Canada is one of the world's richest sources of raw commodities, not least of which are the so-called rare earth elements. While China currently dominates global production and hosts some 35 percent of the world's known resources, observers believe Canada is endowed with world-class rare earths deposits, which could account for as much as 40-50 percent of the world's REE reserves. Demand for rare earth elements, along with lithium minerals, tin and other critical materials,...
In the famous words of Sherlock Holmes, the game is afoot! After seasonally slower news from Alaska's mining industry in March and April, the dam has broken with over two dozen Alaska mining project news releases issued in the last month. Including those projects moving forward that have not released their 2019 plans, Alaska has become a very busy place under the sun. All of our major metal mines reported strong performances in the first quarter, several of Alaska's most...
Those of you that attended the recent Cordilleran Roundup Convention in Vancouver can attest to the exuberant, upbeat atmosphere that pervaded the conference and was very much in evidence at the standing-room only festivities at our annual self-hosted Alaska Night meet and greet. But digging down under this veneer of optimism, many of the junior explorers and most of the producers admitted to their expectations of challenging times in 2019. Putting words to this apparent...
Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. Jan. 30 reported that Cheetah Resources Pty Ltd., a private company based in Australia, will participate in the development of the Nechalacho rare earth elements project at Thor Lake, roughly 100 kilometers (60 miles) southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories. In 2013, Avalon published a feasibility study for a mine at Nechalacho that is calculated to produce 9,286 metric tons of rare earths, 19,763 metric tons of zirconium, 2,231 metric...
WESTERN ALASKA Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. announced that it had finalized a surface right of way agreement with Alaska Peninsula Corporation for use of that latter's lands for the construction and operation of transportation infrastructure associated with the Pebble copper-molybdenum-gold project. Alaska Peninsula Corporation is an Alaska Native village corporation with extensive land holdings proximal to the Pebble site and more than 900 shareholders, many of which live...
In 2017 Alaska’s mineral exploration industry saw its first up-tick in exploration spending since 2011, an increase that S&P Global Market Intelligence’s “World Exploration Trends” indicates was mirrored on the world-wide level. According to S&P’s data, the worldwide exploration industry spent $8.4 billion in 2017, the first such increase in spending since 2012. S&P also forecast a 15-20 percent increase in exploration spending for 2018 as well. The study also showed that dema...
While mining activity remained strong in the Northwest Territories in 2019, industry and government officials alike worried that the robust sector, driven largely by production at three diamond mines, has entered a prolonged downward slide. The near-term economic outlook for the territory, which covers 1.3 million square kilometers in Canada's central Arctic region, continues to be bleak as its diamond mines that have now passed peak production and replacement projects are in...
Putting Alaska on the map as a domestic source of rare earth elements and other strategic and critical minerals is a priority of Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell. During the 2012 budget cycle, Alaska lawmakers approved US$498,000 proposed by the administration to begin a statewide REE evaluation. This year's budget includes US$2.7 million for a three-year project to continue this initiative. "Alaska can become America's source for rare earth elements," Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell...
AVL: TSX President and CEO: Donald S. Bubar, M. Sc., P. Geo. Vice-President, Finance and CFO: R.J. (Jim) Andersen, CA, CPA, CFP Vice-President, Exploration: William Mercer, Ph.D., P. Geo. Formed in 1991, Avalon Rare Metals is a mineral exploration and development company primarily focused on the rare metals and minerals that are in increasing demand for environmentally-beneficial high technology applications. These include lithium, tantalum, cesium, indium, gallium, rare earth elements, such as neodymium, dysprosium and...
AVL: TSX President and CEO: Donald S. Bubar, M. Sc., P. Geo. Vice-President, Finance and CFO: R.J. (Jim) Andersen, CA, CPA, CFP Vice-President, Exploration: William Mercer, Ph.D., P. Geo. Formed in 1991, Avalon Rare Metals is a mineral exploration and development company primarily focused on the rare metals and minerals that are in increasing demand for environmentally-beneficial high technology applications. These include lithium, tantalum, cesium, indium, gallium as well as rare earth elements such as neodymium, dysprosium...
AVL: TSX President and CEO: Donald S. Bubar Vice President, Finance and CFO: R.J. (Jim) Andersen Vice President, Exploration: William Mercer Formed in 1991, Avalon Rare Metals is a mineral exploration and development company primarily focused on the rare metals and minerals that are in increasing demand for environmentally beneficial high technology applications. These include lithium, tantalum, cesium, indium, and gallium; rare earth elements, such as neodymium, dysprosium and terbium; and rare minerals such as calcium felds...
Heavy rains in late July and early August have dampened the number of wildlands fires that burned through Interior and the eastern part of Alaska, adversely affecting placer miners and metals prospectors attempting to complete field work this summer. Large fires in the eastern Interior, covering the Fortymile mining district, continue to smolder and creep, according to the Aug. 2 report from the Alaska Interagency Coordination Center, which is monitoring about 100 active fires in the state. So far, 520 fires in Alaska have...
