The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The mining newspaper for Alaska and Canada's North
The aurora lights up the night sky over Vital Metals' exploration camp at the Nechalacho project.
Nechalacho lies about 60 miles southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
Vital Metals Ltd. Jan. 20 reported a significant upgrade to Tardiff, including the first time that niobium has been included in a resource estimate for this large rare earths deposit in Canada's Northwest Territories.
Nechalacho lies about 60 miles southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories.
According to the new calculation, Tardiff hosts 48.6 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 1.32% (640,000 metric tons) total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.25% (158,000 metric tons) niobium; plus 144.1 million metric tons of inferred resource averaging 1.31% (1.88 million metric tons) TREO and 0.32% (477,000 metric tons) niobium.
While the overall size of the deposit is only slightly larger than what was outlined in a mineral resource estimate (MRE) calculated last April, roughly 17.5 million metric tons of inferred resources have been upgraded to the higher confidence measured and indicated resource categories. This upgraded resource will serve as the basis for a scoping study that outlines the economic and engineering parameters for developing a mine at Tardiff.
"The current MRE is the final piece awaited for inclusion in our Tardiff Scoping Study, which is now due for delivery in the coming weeks," said Vital Metals Managing Director and CEO Lisa Riley.
It is expected that the scoping study will focus on the recovery of neodymium and praseodymium, a pair of rare earths that are the primary ingredients in the permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors, wind turbines, audio equipment, MRI machines, and a wide range of other products.
Neodymium and praseodymium make up 25% (158,000 metric tons) of the total rare earths contained within the measured and indicated resources at Tardiff.
The updated mineral resource estimate for Tardiff also included the first-ever calculation for niobium, a high-strength alloying metal found alongside the rare earths in the deposit.
Niobium, which is on the critical mineral lists for both Canada and the United States, is used in the production of high-strength steels for industrial use and superalloys for aerospace and other applications.
Vital says recent metallurgical testing indicates an opportunity to further investigate and advance the potential opportunity to recover niobium minerals from Tardiff ore.
The potential size and scalability of a future mine at the Tardiff rare earths-niobium project will be better defined with the finalization of the scoping study.
"With the work we completed on the MRE and the forthcoming Scoping Study, we have, and continue, to build a solid foundation of data and knowledge to advance our project," said Vital Metals Vice President of Exploration Natalie Pietrzak-Renaud.
Over his more than 16 years of covering mining and mineral exploration, Shane has become renowned for his ability to report on the sector in a way that is technically sound enough to inform industry insiders while being easy to understand by a wider audience.
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