The owner of the Nechalacho rare earths project says samples from previously unexplored parts of the site suggest a larger-scale future mine may be possible.
Valuable minerals may be spread across a much wider area than the single deposit on which existing plans for a mine are based, Vital Metals said in an update this week.
Vital has been trying to develop an open-pit mine at the Tardiff deposit at Nechalacho, around 100 km east of Yellowknife.
This week’s update states rock samples from six areas across the broader site returned high concentrations of rare earths – including heavier, more valuable types that were not previously a focus.
The company said the results point to a “district-scale” mineral system that extends well beyond Tardiff’s existing 192.7-million-tonne resource estimate.
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The samples are grab samples – pieces of rock picked up from the surface – which are selective by nature and, as Vital noted in its announcement, may not represent what lies underground. A 1,000-metre drilling program across three of the areas is now under way and will run until April.
Results from that drilling will help determine whether the surface findings translate into something the company can eventually mine. A pre-feasibility study for Tardiff, the next major step toward an actual mine, is now targeted for February 2027.
Vital has had a turbulent few years. The company abandoned a Saskatoon processing plant, took controversial investment from a Chinese firm, underwent multiple changes of leadership and saw a wildfire burn through its Nechalacho camp last summer. The Yellowknives Dene First Nation raised concerns about not being consulted before a recent deal that saw American investors take a significant stake in the company.
Nechalacho was briefly operated as a small “demonstration mine” but has not been in production for several years.
