The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
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From breaking ground at Alaska's next gold mine to the advancement of North of 60 projects focused on delivering the metals needed for the transition of low-carbon energy, and an impressive safety milestone at Alaska's only coal mine to a history of the helicopters that make mineral exploration across the North possible, here is a countdown of the 10 most popular North of 60 Mining News articles in 2023: No. 10 - CORE celebrates Manh Choh, Lucky Shot Contango Ore Inc., a... Full story
With a summer marred by unprecedented wildfires behind them, companies exploring the mineral-rich Northwest Territories are reporting impressive results from their 2023 programs. Seeking new deposits of valuable minerals, ranging from ever-popular diamonds and precious metals to recently designated "critical minerals," such as lithium, rare earth elements and zinc, a score of explorers took to the field across the territory. "An exciting new chapter is emerging for mining in t... Full story
Shenghe acquires ore stockpile that symbolized a shift away from China for REEs critical to North America's green energy and high-tech sectors. High-grade ore dug up from a small open pit at Vital Metal Ltd.'s Nechalacho project in the summer of 2021 marked the start of Canada's first rare earth elements mine and the first link in an REE supply chain that was envisioned to be completely independent of China. "The combination of our efforts clearly work together towards the...
Vital Metals turns to Chinese firm to fund Nechalacho, home to first REE mine in Canada. Drifting further away from the original vision of establishing a rare earths supply chain in Canada that would help to break the West's heavy reliance on China for this suite of tech elements, Vital Metals Ltd. has turned to Shenghe Resources Holding Co., Ltd. for funding that will allow the Australia-based REE mining company to move forward with its plans for a larger mine at its...
Over the course of two short years, Vital Metals Ltd. has fallen from a visionary mining company pioneering a first-ever rare earth supply chain in Canada to a delisted Australian firm struggling to reclaim some of its former glory at the Nechalacho rare earths mine in Northwest Territories. Vital Metals reached a pinnacle when its Canadian subsidiary Cheetah Resource Corp. began mining ore from the high-grade North T deposit at Nechalacho during the summer of 2021, forging...
In a move that helps provide a tangible link between the rare earth elements produced in Northwest Territories and the green technologies they enable, Cheetah Resources is sponsoring an electric vehicle rideshare cooperative in the NWT capital of Yellowknife. The YK Car Share Co-op allows members to rent an EV charged with the predominantly hydroelectricity that feeds the power grid in Yellowknife for $10 per hour. "Electric vehicles and car sharing reduces the environmental...
The increasing number of electric vehicles charged with renewable energy, connected to 5G networks, and boasting the computing power of 200 laptops to autonomously traverse global highways is creating a meteoric rise in demand for the minerals and metals critical to clean energy and high-tech. Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, the foremost authority on lithium battery supply chains, estimates that more than 300 new mines will need to come online by 2035 – just to produce the c... Full story
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... Full story
Mining activity in Northwest Territories held steady in 2022 despite constraints imposed by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic as a cadre of mainly junior mining companies took up the international challenge to seek out large deposits of critical minerals. Early in the year, government officials noted that industry interest in diamonds, gold, and especially critical minerals boded well for the NWT economy in the coming year. "An exciting new chapter is emerging for mining in the... Full story
Following an AU$45 million (US$31.6 million) infusion of cash in July, Vital Metals Ltd. has gone through some significant changes that are being reflected in a new strategy that slows the ramp-up of production at the company's rare earths separation plant in Saskatchewan and focuses the company's resources on expanding production at its Nechalacho Mine in Canada's Northwest Territories. Shortly following this financing anchored by AU$30 million (US$21 million) contributed by...
With mineral exploration expenditures nearly doubling over the past year, Nunavut has dethroned Yukon as the most popular Canadian territory to discover and expand deposits of industrial, precious, and critical minerals. According to preliminary estimates published by Natural Resources Canada, roughly C$232.4 million (US$173.7 million) will be spent on exploration and deposit evaluation in Nunavut this year, a 95% leap from over the C$119.2 million (US$89.1 million) invested... Full story
Honored for local hire and business opportunities at Canada's first rare earths mine. Cheetah Resources Corp. Nov. 20 announced that it has been honored with the 2022 Northwest Territories Mining and Exploration (MAX) economic leadership award for its innovative Indigenous and northern employment and procurement at Nechalacho, as well as the rare earth mine's contribution to the mining and export sectors of the NWT economy. "Vital has successfully developed an entire... Full story
Develops strategy to be the world's critical minerals supplier of choice Understanding that the renewable energy and electric vehicle revolution offers a "generational opportunity for Canada and its world-class mining sector," Ottawa is leveraging the nation's wealth of critical minerals to become a powerhouse that feeds raw materials into resource-hungry clean energy and technology supply chains. "Canada's Critical Minerals Strategy will position Canada as the global supplier...
"Grade is king" is an adage that guides mineral exploration and mining. The premise behind this basic axiom of the mining business is the less ore that needs to be mined and processed per ounce of precious metals, pound of base metals, kilogram of critical minerals, or carat of gemstones produced, the more profitable an operation will be. The kingliest of orebodies would be of such high grade that a mining company would simply need to dig up the ore, crush it, and then ship it...
Rare earths from the Nechalacho Mine being delivered into the supply chain marks the opening of a new critical minerals chapter in the story of mining in Northwest Territories – a saga that includes a 1930s gold rush to the territory's capital, a whole new town to support the Pine Point zinc mine, and the unlikely discovery of world-class diamond deposits in the famed Lac de Gras region. "We have an opportunity to add to our rich and long-standing mining story," Northwest Terr... Full story
Though the 2022 field season is scarcely underway, Vital Metals Ltd., Canada's first rare earths producer, is already eyeing a second banner year at its Nechalacho REE mining operation in Northwest Territories – with recent progress in virtually every aspect of the Australia-based company's Canadian project, from exploration to marketing. Vital's offtake partner, Norway-based REEtec AS, signed a purchase agreement in April to supply rare metals for magnets used in electric m...
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... Full story
Mineral exploration activity in Northwest Territories showed signs of revival in 2021, coming on the heels of the slowest year in recent memory. Excited by renewed interest in gold deposits in and around the capital city of Yellowknife and other hot spots after the pandemic-related restrictions of 2020, juniors joined longtime explorers Nighthawk Gold Corp. and Gold Terra Resource Corp. (formerly TerraX Minerals) in hunting for the yellow metal across the 1.14... Full story
A recent agreement between Vital Metals Ltd. and Ucore Rare Metals Inc. marks a major milestone in establishing a complete North American rare earths supply chain with links in Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, and Alaska. Vital has already established Canada's only rare earths mine at its Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories and is building a processing facility in Saskatchewan to upgrade the high-grade ore into a midstream carbonated product with a mix of rare...
From more than 75% of its workforce and contractors being Canada's First People to sourcing goods and supplies from over 100 local suppliers, Cheetah Resources Corp. is committed to flowing benefits to Northwest Territories communities as it develops Nechalacho – Canada's first and only rare earth's mine. "It takes a village to raise a child, and it takes a community to build a project. A community of indigenous and non-indigenous suppliers, employees, and not-for-profits," s...
Roughly 38,000 metric tons of rare earth concentrates were produced from American soil during 2020, yet the United States remains 100% reliant on foreign countries for its supply of these 17 elements critical to our modern high-tech society – an apparent paradox that speaks to the complexities of these enigmatic metals. The irony of rare earth elements (REEs) begins with their name, which is at the same time a misnomer and accurate descriptor. "All the REEs except p... Full story
On June 28, First Nations mining contractor Nahanni Construction Ltd. dug a scoop of ore from the North T open pit at Vital Metals Ltd.'s Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories that marked a momentous milestone – Canada is now a rare earths-producing nation. This first REE ore mined at Nechalacho comes just two years after Australia-based Vital came up with a unique plan to take advantage of relatively small but high-grade mineralization coming to the surface at the p...
Vital Metals Ltd. June 3 announced that its Canadian subsidiary, Cheetah Resources Corp., will receive C$1.26 million from Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency (CanNor) to help fund the establishment of ore-sorting technology at the Nechalacho rare earths project in Northwest Territories. Vital is employing a unique approach to the mining of rare earths at Nechalacho. Taking advantage of a relatively small but very high-grade rare earths deposit that comes to the surf...
Vital Metals Ltd. and its Canadian subsidiary Cheetah Resources May 26 reported wide sections of high-grade rare earths mineralization in the first round of drill results from the early 2021 drilling at Tardiff Zone 1 on the Nechalacho project in Canada's Northwest Territories. "The first results of this drilling program have exceeded our expectations of the higher-grade bastnasite dominated rare earth zones in the Tardiff Zone," said Vital Metals Managing Director Geoff Atkin...
Vital Metals Ltd. May 12 reported that contractors have completed the first blast marking the official start of rare earths mining at the company's Nechalacho rare earths project in Canada's Northwest Territories. "This is another exciting milestone for Vital as we move closer to rare earths production at Nechalacho this quarter," said Vital Metals Managing Director Geoff Atkins. The initial mining at Nechalacho is being carried out at North T, a near-surface and high-grade...
