VITAL METALS' MARCH 2022 QUARTERLY REPORT
April 29, 2022
Vital accelerates heavy rare earths strategy, aiming to be the world’s first producer of both heavy and light rare earth oxides
Vital’s three-stage development strategy includes adding heavy rare earths to its existing light rare earths operation at Nechalacho with first production ~ mid 2022
It will investigate developing a zone of xenotime mineralisation, a heavy rare earth mineral, at Nechalacho’s North T pit, targeting a 10-year operation from the zone
Vital commences drilling to define maiden Ore Reserve for the Tardiff deposit at Nechalacho
Vital plans to develop Tardiff in a modular fashion, having defined three modules with an existing resource of 16.3Mt at 1.85% TREO – or 303kt contained TREO
Tardiff is part of Vital’s larger 94Mt at 1.4% TREO Nechalacho resource (1.3Mt contained TREO)
Tardiff contains elevated heavy rare earths mineralisation which may complement North T’s xenotime deposit as part of Vital’s strategy to produce heavy and light rare earths
Construction activities continue at Saskatoon Rare Earth Extraction facility with first feed to occur in June 2022
Vital secures C$5 million interest-free funding facility from PrairiesCan
Funding is for eligible costs relating to establishing and commissioning Saskatoon facility and will assist Vital’s working capital requirements during facility commissioning and ramp
Vital’s shares commenced trading on the OTCQB Venture Market in North America
Offtake partner REEtec signs supply agreement with Schaeffler securing Vital’s revenue from the sale of its product to REEtec
Canada’s first rare earths producer Vital Metals Limited (ASX: VML l OTCQB: VTMXF) (“Vitalâ€, “Vital Metals†or “the Companyâ€) is pleased to report on its activities during the March 2022 quarter, including at its 100%-owned Nechalacho Rare Earth Project in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Vital Metals Managing Director Geoff Atkins said “This quarter has crystallised Vital’s three-stage development strategy to become a leading rare earths producer and the world’s first producer of heavy and light rare earths. Our three stages are foundation, growth and heavy rare earth production and we are now taking the steps towards executing that strategy.
“With our first mining campaign complete at Nechalacho’s North T pit in 2021, our rare earth extraction facility in Saskatoon is nearly ready to start processing bastnaesite concentrate shipped from site to produce a mixed rare earth carbonate for our offtake partners. This will cement our foundation as a rare earth producer.
“From there we are drilling at Tardiff to define a maiden Ore Reserve for the Zone 1 module as part of our second stage of growth and we are focusing other work during 2022 on developing the existing xenotime resource at North T, which sits beneath the base of the current mining envelope, into our development strategy, to accelerate our plans to become a producer of both rare earths groups.
