Rare earths are now being mined in Canada

On June 28, First Nations mining contractor Nahanni Construction Ltd. dug a scoop of ore from the North T open pit at Vital Metals Ltd.'s Nechalacho project in Northwest Territories that marked a momentous milestone - Canada is now a rare earths-producing nation.

Tests of the x-ray transmission ore sorting technology being used upgraded Nechalacho material with an average grade of 10.5% rare earth oxides to a rough concentrate averaging 36% REO, while retaining about 70% of the available rare earths.

With ore now being mined from the North T pit, Cheetah Resource Corp., Vital's Canada-based subsidiary, can begin upgrading the ore into even higher-grade concentrates that will be shipped to Vital's rare earth carbonate production plant adjacent to Saskatchewan Research Council's REE processing facility in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

"Beneficiated material will be stockpiled for transport to our extraction plant in Saskatoon." Mixed rare earth carbonate products produced in Saskatchewan will be further upgraded into rare earth oxides that go into electric vehicles, wind turbines, computer hard drives, and a plethora of other high-tech devices.

REEtec, a Norway-based company that has developed an efficient and environmentally sound REE separation technology, has entered into a contract to produce 1,000 metric tons of separated rare earth oxides annually, not counting the cerium, over the first five years.

Overall, the Upper Zone at Nechalacho hosts 94.7 million metric tons of measured and indicated resources averaging 1.46% total rare earth oxides.

Nahanni Nechalacho REEtec rare earth elements Yellowknives Vital Metals NWT Cheetah Resources Corp. An aerial view of the North T deposit and ore sorter at the Nechalacho rare earths mine in Northwest Territories.

https://www.miningnewsnorth.com/story/2021/07/09/news/rare-earths-are-now-being-mined-in-canada/6878.html