4 December 2023
Vital Metals Limited (ASX: VML) (“Vital”, “Vital Metals” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce the appointment of Natalie Pietrzak-Renaud, P.Geo, PhD, as VP Exploration.
Dr Natalie Pietrzak-Renaud is a Professional Geologist with more than 20 years mineral exploration and research experience in a variety of deposit types. She has extensive experience in developing and managing exploration programs including world-class gold and rare earth element (REE) deposits.
Her appointment comes after the success of recent drilling at Tardiff, part of Vital’s Nechalacho rare earths project in Northwest Territories, Canada, which returned shallow high grades and remains open in several directions. Recent results from Vital’s 74-hole (6,664 m) program completed this year included:
Dr Pietrzak-Renaud has acted in the Vice President Exploration role in publicly-traded and private junior exploration companies focused on gold and REEs. She has led and managed the development and execution of geological and testing programs for Quest Rare Minerals Ltd. and later Torngat Metals Ltd., at the Strange Lake REE deposit in Quebec, Canada.
She brings her expertise of REE mineralogy, processing and ore deposit modelling to the Nechalacho deposit. Dr Pietrzak-Renaud holds a PhD. in Geology from Western University, Ontario with specialisation in ore deposit modelling and geometallurgy. She also completed her post-doctoral research in REE mineralogy at Western University, Ontario, Canada.
Vital’s Managing Director and CEO Dr Geordie Mark said: “We are very lucky to have added Natalie to our team as VP Exploration and we look to gain immediate momentum in advancing the world-class Tardiff rare earths deposit. With her experience and detailed approach to modelling and geometallurgy of rare earth systems, we believe that we can explore beneficiation processing pathways never examined before on the Nechalacho Project.
“Given the impressive outcome from our latest parcel of drilling results from the Tardiff deposit, Natalie represents the ideal steward to test for extensions to shallow high-grade rare earth mineralization in follow up drilling expected to be incorporated in our scoping study later next year.”
Dr Natalie Pietrzak-Renaud commented: “I am very pleased to be joining the team at Vital Metals, and I am excited to be working on a premiere REE project. I have been familiar with Nechalacho for many years and have noted the encouraging results at Tardiff recently. I look forward to bringing my knowledge and expertise to the table and advancing the project through the next stages of development. I am happy to be back working in the REE arena.”