Vital Metals Ltd. Feb. 22 announced that its Canadian subsidiary Cheetah Resource Corp. has signed a definitive contract with Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction Ltd. to begin mining at the North T Zone on the Australia-based miner's Nechalacho rare earths and critical minerals project in Canada's Northwest Territories.

Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction Ltd., a Northwest Territories-based mine services and earthworks company 51% owned by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, will carry out mining and crushing of rare earths ore from the North T during a summer program slated to begin in March.

"The signing of our mining contract in Yellowknife is an important step forward for Vital as we move toward production at Nechalacho, and we are pleased to be working with Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction Ltd, which is owned by local First Nations people," said Vital Metals Managing Director Geoff Atkins. "We are developing Nechalacho using the most sustainable methods possible which includes the use of local labor so that we can support the communities surrounding our project."

After mobilizing to Nechalacho via an ice road by the end of March, Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction will begin the early earthworks such as site clearing, road building, and retention pond construction.

"The Yellowknives Dene First Nation is pleased to be the first Indigenous group in Canada to be responsible for mineral extraction on their traditional territory," said Yellowknives Dene First Nations Chief Ernest Betsina. "When indigenous people conduct the mining operations, they are better able to control the process, resulting in better safeguarding of the environment."

Under the direction of Cheetah, Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction will mine near surface rare earth ore from a small open pit at North T, which hosts 105,000 metric tons of resources averaging 8.9% (9,345 metric tons) total rare earth oxides, and stockpile material at an ore sorting plant that will be operated by Cheetah.

Previous ore sorting tests using x-ray transmission (XRT) technology upgraded Nechalacho material with an average grade of 10.5% rare earth oxides to a rough concentrate averaging 36% REO, while retaining about 70% of the available rare earths.

The upgraded material will be shipped to Vital's rare earth extraction plant in Saskatchewan to create a mixed rare earth carbonate product that can be shipped to third-party facilities to be separated into rare earth oxides that are ready for the market.

Earlier this month, Vital signed an offtake and profit-sharing agreement with Norwegian rare earth separation company REEtec to produce 1,000 metric tons of rare earth oxides, excluding the cerium, over five years. Vital and REEtech have optioned to increase this contract to 5,000 metric tons of REO per annum over 10 years.

It is expected that Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction will be able to stockpile enough ore this summer to feed Vital's ore sorting plant through 2023.

Vital anticipates that the First Nation-owned construction company will be needed for a second mining campaign to replenish stockpiles in 2024.

"Meaningful participation in the extraction of critical minerals for the green economy provides employment and procurement benefits for our members and businesses," said Chief Betsina. "We look forward to increasing our participation as the Nechalacho rare earth project grows in the years to come."

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Shane Lasley, Publisher

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