The Elements of Innovation Discovered
The Elements of Innovation Discovered
Metal Tech News - July 28, 2025
Aerial view of North T, a high-grade deposit mined at Nechalacho from 2021 to 2023.
High-grade rare earths sample from Nechalacho.
In 2021, Nechalacho rose from obscurity to international prominence as the site of Canada's first rare earths mine. But the acclaim was short-lived – by 2023, owner Vital Metals Ltd. had shuttered the small-scale operation. Now, the Australian miner is preparing a major comeback with a scoping study that lays the groundwork for a significantly larger rare earths and niobium operation.
The new study outlines plans for a mine at Nechalacho capable of producing 2,900 metric tons of neodymium and 900 metric tons of praseodymium, along with dysprosium and terbium byproducts, annually for 11 years. All four of these rare earths are used in magnets for electric vehicles, wind turbines, computer hard drives, robotics, and advanced defense systems.
Vital Metals Managing Director Lisa Riley says the scoping study is an essential step along the path to the company's new vision for Nechalacho.
"It is a first step towards Vital playing a key role in building critical minerals supply chain in Canada," she said.
Unlike the previous rendition of the mine, which focused on the small but very high-grade North T deposit, Nechalacho 2.0 leverages the much larger, albeit lower-grade Tardiff deposit.
High-grade rare earths sample from Nechalacho.
A 2024 resource estimate shows Tardiff hosts:
• 48.6 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 1.32% total rare earth oxides (TREO) and 0.25% niobium (Nb).
• 144.1 million metric tons of inferred resources averaging 1.31% TREO and 0.32% Nb.
In total, the deposit contains more than 2.5 million metric tons of rare earth oxides and 635,000 metric tons of niobium.
Based on mining about 15% of this resource, the Tardiff mine outlined in the scoping study generates a post-tax net present value (8% discount) of $445 million and a post-tax internal rate of return of 25.5% over an 11-year mine life.
Riley noted that these economics are expected to improve with further metallurgical optimization that will bring niobium and additional rare earths into the mine plan.
"Recommended next steps will aim to capture further economic upside by optimizing REE and Nb recoveries, lifting concentrate grades and delivering higher payability for the economic commodities," said Riley.
To help realize its vision for Nechalacho 2.0, Vital has joined the Canadian Rare Earth Supply Chain Consortium, an initiative aimed at linking rare earth production with downstream magnet manufacturing.
The goal of the consortium is to foster the collaboration between industry, government, and technical partners to accelerate the establishment of a mines-to-magnets rare earth supply chain in Canada.
Strategically positioned along the north shore of Great Slave Lake, Nechalacho is connected to southern transportation networks via barge access to Hay River and the rail system beyond – key infrastructure advantages for feeding into Canada's emerging rare earths supply chain.
If successful, Nechalacho could reemerge at the northern edge of Canadian efforts to secure strategic materials essential to electrification, national defense, and industrial innovation.
With more than 17 years of covering mining, Shane is renowned for his insights and in-depth analysis of mining, mineral exploration, and technology metals.
Reader Comments(0)