Vital appoints consultants for Tardiff Scoping Study

31 July 2024

(July 31, 2024) Vital Metals Limited (ASX: VML) (“Vital”, “Vital Metals” or “the Company”) is pleased to announce it has appointed ERM Consultants Canada Limited (“ERM”) for the Scoping Study to examine the size and scalability of future production scenarios for the Tardiff deposit at its Nechalacho Rare Earths Project in Northwest Territories, Canada.

Key Highlights

  • Vital has appointed ERM Consultants Canada Ltd (“ERM”) to complete a Scoping Study for the Tardiff deposit at its Nechalacho Rare Earths Project in NWT, Canada
  • Scoping Study to examine the size and scalability of future production scenarios at Tardiff
  • Tardiff has a Mineral Resource Estimate (“MRE”) of 213Mt at 1.17% TREO and is estimated to contain more than 623,000 tonnes of NdPr (April 2024), with an updated MRE due in CY2024 to include all recent drill results
  • Tardiff Scoping Study on track for completion by end of CY2024.  

Vital has been progressing technical workstreams informed by the 2023 drilling program. An Updated MRE was delivered in April 2024 and, coupled with the recently released final 2023 assay results (ASX release 23 July 2024), has continued to expand the size of high-grade REE mineralisation. Various work-streams continue to provide key inputs to the Scoping Study that will consider the future size and scalability of production scenarios.

ERM will review previous work by Vital, including data verification and metallurgical testwork, define a saleable product, estimate capital expenditures and trade-off analysis, estimate operating costs, and review environmental information relating to the project in completing its report.

ERM’s scope of work for Tardiff’s Scoping Study includes:

  • Development of a preferred flowsheet;
  • Assessment of production volume for financial modelling;
  • Identification of capital and operating costs estimates based on the preferred flowsheet;
  • Development of Scoping Study-based designed documents to support proposed cost estimates
  • Evaluations and calculations completed to the requirements of JORC 2012 and National Instrument 43-101 reporting standards.

Vital Managing Director Lisa Riley said: “We are pleased to be working with ERM to deliver this report by the end of 2024.

“The Tardiff Scoping Study will examine our pathway to developing this large-scale and globally significant rare earths deposit. Tardiff’s MRE of 213 million tonnes at 1.17% TREO including 623,000 tonnes of NdPr in a single pit-constrained resource offers potential to be a large-scale source of rare earths needed for North America’s transition to low-carbon energy."