Overview
Status | Inactive / Suspended |
Mine Type | Open Pit |
Commodities |
|
Mining Method |
|
A mining campaign was carried out at the Nechalacho, North T site in 2021. Local contract mining company Det’on Cho Nahanni Construction mined nearly 58,000 tonnes of ore from the North T pit at Nechalacho during a five-month mining campaign. Vital will again crush and sort the ore from this mining campaign starting in May 2024 and this will continue over the next couple of years, aided by a further mining campaign in the future, as required.
Vital Metals Limited ceased its construction of the rare earth processing plant in Saskatoon and intends to continue its exploration and development activities at the Nechalacho projects whilst assessing opportunities to acquire further suitable projects for exploration and development as they arise.
Vital plans to complete a Scoping Study for Tardiff in CY2024, from which can build a plan for the next steps at Nechalacho project. |
Source:
p. 7,86
Contractors
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Summary:
The mineral deposits at Thor Lake site include the Nechalacho deposit, and the separate and distinct R, S and T Zones, with the Nechalacho deposit bearing many of the attributes of an apogranite originating as an apical or domal facies of the parental syenite and granite. The deposits are extensively metasomatized with pronounced magmatic layering and cyclic ore mineral deposition.
The main chemical features of the Nechalacho deposit that contrast to those overall features are that the rare earth levels are higher than typical, uranium is not particularly high, with anomalous but modest levels of thorium, and the lack of beryllium mineralization. Beryllium is present in the North T deposit, a separate smaller deposit to the north with dissimilar geology. The R, S and T Zones are small separate pegmatitic bodies to the north and northeast of the Nechalacho deposit.
The preferred genetic model is that of igneous differentiation within a closed-system with rare earth element concentration within a residual magma, aided by depression of the freezing temperature of the magma by fluorine and possibly carbon dioxide.
Nechalacho mineralization is hosted in nepheline syenite that has been extensively hydrothermally altered in areas of mineralization. The payable elements of the Nechalacho deposit are typically hosted in a number of minerals, summarized as follows:
-LREEs dominantly occur in bastnaesite, synchisite, monazite and allanite.
Summary:
The Nechalacho project is a high grade, light rare earth (bastnaesite) project located at Nechalacho in the Northwest Territories of Canada and has potential for a start-up operation exploiting high-grade, easily accessible near surface mineralisation.
Vital’s strategy is to develop Nechalacho in two stages. Stage 1 of the operations focuses on the North T Zone resource and Stage 2 will involve the development of the much larger Tardiff deposit.
Det’on Cho Nahanni Construction will mine the North T Zone as a small open pit, with material transported to Vital’s ore sorter on site at Nechalacho for sorting. This will create a product suitable for further processing off-site at Vital’s rare earth extraction plant, to be constructed in Saskatoon, which will produce a mixed rare earth carbonate product for sale to separation facilities.
Det’on Cho Nahanni Construction will undertake mining and crushing during a single campaign between March and September 2021, under the control and direction of Cheetah Resources. Mined ore will be stockpiled for use in ore sorting operations which will be undertaken by Cheetah personnel during the summer periods of 2021 to 2023.
It is anticipated that a second mining campaign will be required in 2024 to replenish stockpiles.
Vital completed a maiden mining campaign at its Nechalacho Rare Earths Project during the 2022 period.
Local contract mining company Det’on Cho Nahanni ........

Source:
Summary:

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Production:
Commodity | Units | Avg. Annual (Projected) |
Total Rare Earth Oxides
|
t
| 1,000 |
Reserves at December 13, 2019:
The Upper Zone is estimated to contain combined measured, indicated and inferred mineral resources of 94.7 million tonnes grading 1.46% REO including 0.29% Nd2O3 at a cutoff grade of 0.1% Nd2O3 above the 150m elevation level.
Category | Tonnage | Commodity | Grade |
Measured
|
2.914 Mt
|
Total Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.468 %
|
Measured
|
2.914 Mt
|
Heavy Rare Earth Oxides
|
0.142 %
|
Measured
|
2.914 Mt
|
Light Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.326 %
|
Measured
|
2.914 Mt
|
Nd2O3
|
0.288 %
|
Measured
|
2.914 Mt
|
Pr6O11
|
0.077 %
|
Indicated
|
14.662 Mt
|
Total Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.508 %
|
Indicated
|
14.662 Mt
|
Heavy Rare Earth Oxides
|
0.137 %
|
Indicated
|
14.662 Mt
|
Light Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.372 %
|
Indicated
|
14.662 Mt
|
Nd2O3
|
0.295 %
|
Indicated
|
14.662 Mt
|
Pr6O11
|
0.08 %
|
Inferred
|
77.159 Mt
|
Total Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.456 %
|
Inferred
|
77.159 Mt
|
Heavy Rare Earth Oxides
|
0.133 %
|
Inferred
|
77.159 Mt
|
Light Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.323 %
|
Inferred
|
77.159 Mt
|
Nd2O3
|
0.291 %
|
Inferred
|
77.159 Mt
|
Pr6O11
|
0.077 %
|
Total Resource
|
94.735 Mt
|
Total Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.464 %
|
Total Resource
|
94.735 Mt
|
Heavy Rare Earth Oxides
|
0.134 %
|
Total Resource
|
94.735 Mt
|
Light Rare Earth Oxides
|
1.33 %
|
Total Resource
|
94.735 Mt
|
Nd2O3
|
0.291 %
|
Total Resource
|
94.735 Mt
|
Pr6O11
|
0.078 %
|
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