Vital Metals plans to develop the Tardiff deposit at Nechalacho to build a large-scale, long-life rare earths project. Tardiff is one of the highest grade rare earth deposits in the world and the only rare earth project capable of beneficiation solely by ore sorting.
Tardiff has a Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 192.7 million tonnes at 1.3% TREO, containing 2.5 million tonnes of TREO, as announced January 2025. It is estimated to include more than 636,000 tonnes of neodymium oxide +praseodymium oxide (NdPr), plus a niobium oxide (Nb₂O₅) resource of 578,000 tonnes. Niobium is hosted within the same geological formations hosting the rare earth mineralisation but had not been included in the MRE until 2025.
A Scoping Study completed for Tardiff in July 2025 evaluated development of a hard rock starter open pit that extracts only 15% of the total Tardiff MRE, with the adjacent North T and South T deposits not included in the study. This found Tardiff could produce 56,000 tonnes of concentrate per year at a grade of 26.4% TREO and 3.3% Nb₂O₅ over an initial 11-year mine life.
Vital is moving ahead with a Tardiff Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) that will optimize TREO and niobium recoveries; prove the payability of niobium and test zircon recovery. This is on track for delivery in 2026.
Nechalacho includes a 40-person camp and airstrip, with more than $120 million spent on drilling, permitting and development by previous owners.
