Vital Metals Limited (ASX: VML) is pleased to report on its March 2026 quarter activities at its Nechalacho Rare Earths and Niobium Project located 100km southeast of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, Canada.
Key Highlights:
- Six exploration targets identified across Nechalacho, demonstrating the emerging district-scale rare earth and niobium system beyond the currently defined 192.7Mt Tardiff deposit, with the following result highlights:
– Program-high TREO of 292,145ppm (29.2%) confirmed at regional target 1029A, including 7.0% Nd?O? and 1.7% Pr?O??. NdPr oxides totalled 8.7% (87,731ppm), representing 29.8% of TREO.
– Program-high dysprosium of 15,609ppm Dy?O? confirmed at the R Zone, alongside a TREO result of 125,920ppm (12.5%).
- Winter drill program completed 17 holes at Tardiff and 3 exploration holes at R Zone, S Zone and Cressy Ridge. Once the assay results are received and assessed the Company will evaluate whether further drilling is required to achieve its objectives.
- The Company has completed its Request for Proposal for the Pre-Feasibility study (PFS). The expected outcomes of the PFS are twofold:
1. Increasing the certainty of the resource by upgrading from inferred to indicated in a new MRE.
2. Improve TREO recoveries/concentrate grades and payability through additional metallurgical testing.
- The Company is evaluating processing equipment and flowsheet options to optimise recovery of total rare earth oxides (TREO) into saleable concentrates. The North T surface stockpiles of approximately 45,000 tonnes represent a potential opportunity to produce saleable concentrates and generate near-term cashflow.
- Board governance strengthened with the appointment of Alexius Chan as Non-Executive Chair, separating the Chair and CEO roles as VML transitions into feasibility-stage development.