By Shane Lasley
Mining News
Blast marks start of Vital rare earth mining
Another exciting milestone reached at Canada's first REE mine North of 60 Mining News – May 14, 2021
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Last updated 5/13/2021 at 5:05pm
Vital Metals Ltd.
This first blast marks the start of mining of the North T rare earth elements deposit at Vital Metals' Nechalacho project.
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 deposit that hosts 105,000 metric tons of resources averaging 8.9% (9,345 metric tons) total rare earth oxides.
Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction Ltd., a Northwest Territories-based company 51% owned by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation, is carrying out this mining under contract with Vital.
Vital Metals Ltd.
Drone footage of the first blast at Vital Metals' Nechalacho rare earths project in Canada's Northwest Territories.
It is expected that Det'on Cho Nahanni Construction will be able to mine, crush, and stockpile enough ore by the end of September to last until 2023.
The ore stockpiled by Det'on Cho Nahanni will be upgraded with an x-ray transmission (XRT) ore sorting plant operated by Cheetah before being shipped to Vital's rare earth carbonate production plant being developed adjacent to Saskatchewan Research Council's REE processing facility in an industrial park in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Vital expects to begin producing rare earth oxide in June, making it the first REE producer in Canada and only the second in North America.
"Plans are progressing to schedule, with all equipment now delivered to site and we look forward to achieving production status in the coming weeks," said Atkins.
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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