In April 2024, Vital announced an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the Tardiff Upper Zone Deposit at Nechalacho (to 30 January 2024). Tardiff is estimated to contain:
- 2.48 million tonnes of TREO within a total mineral resource of 213Mt at 1.17% TREO, a 79% increase over the previous MRE (February 2023).
- 623,000 tonnes of neodymium and praseodymium (NdPr), a ~49% increase over the previous MRE.
Table 1: Summary of the Mineral Resource Estimate for the Tardiff Upper Zone – Effective January 30, 2024
Key points
- The new resource estimate is informed by an integrated cost and recovery approach which employs a net metal revenue (NMR) cut-off based on projected cost and recovery factors;
- The new base resource estimate was constructed using first principles cost and metal recovery factors, and payability assumptions utilising peer and operational data to generate an NMR of C$115 per tonne and is reported within an optimised pit shell;
- Resource estimate for the Tardiff Upper Zone Deposit was created using drilling and assay results available as of 30 January 2024, unchanged from the previous MRE (31 December, 2022); and
- Vital expects to announce a further MRE update later in 2024 that will incorporate all drilling data completed post 2022.
The Tardiff MRE was compiled and is reported in accordance with the Australasian Code of Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (the JORC 2012 edition) and Chapter 5 of the ASX Listing Rules.
