Vital Metals Begins Commissioning Its Rare Earth Extraction Facility in Saskatoon, Canada
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Canada’s first rare earths producer Vital Metals Limited has commenced feeding ore into a dense media separation (DMS) plant as part of commissioning its rare earth extraction facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Vital will commission the Saskatoon facility incrementally over coming months with plans to produce a 2.5t rare earth carbonate sample for offtake partner REEtec Ag as the next step of product qualification. Vital is processing ore from the company’s Nechalacho operation in Canada’s Northwest Territories, where mining commenced in mid-2021.
“This is an exciting step for the company as we continue our transition from rare earth developer to operator. We have been a rare earth miner for more than 12 months and now we can commence production of rare earth carbonate. We are excited to have reached this milestone at Saskatoon despite the challenges surrounding supply chains and logistics across the world,” said Vital Metals Managing Director Geoff Atkins.
“We are targeting to produce 2.5t of carbonate for REEtec as an important step of our production qualification process before we commence ramping up our volume. We are forecasting for this to occur in October 2022,” added Atkins.
With DMS commissioning commenced, over the coming months Vital will incrementally commission the calcination, leaching and purification & precipitation equipment at Saskatoon. This approach will focus on producing product at specification whilst minimizing off-spec production, and hence wastage.
Vital’s Saskatoon facility is adjacent to a rare earth processing plant under construction by Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) as part of a rare earths hub. The SRC is providing technical support during the construction and operation of the plant as part of ongoing collaboration, allowing Vital and SRC to maximize potential synergies between the two operations.
Earlier this year, Vital was advised that it is to receive C$5 million funding from PrairiesCan under Canada’s Jobs and Growth Fund to assist with working capital during ramp-up of its operations, including establishing the Saskatoon facility. Vital will commence repaying the facility in monthly installments over five years from April 2024.
About Vital Metals
Vital Metals Limited is Canada’s first rare earths producer following commencement of production at its Nechalacho rare earths project in Canada in June 2021. It holds a portfolio of rare earths, technology metals and gold projects located in Canada, Africa, and Germany.
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