The company on Monday said that the sample is now being prepared for shipment to offtake partner REEtec AS in Norway.

“Production of our bulk sample for REEtec is another important step towards reaching full production at Nechalacho. Production of this sample demonstrates we have our processes working correctly and we are preparing to send the sample to REEtec so it can undergo customer acceptance, as well as producing samples for other potential customers,” said Vital MD Geoff Atkins.

“We are preparing for our ore sorter to arrive at Nechalacho while mining is also due to start within the next few weeks, so we are getting really close to achieving our production goal.”

Vital aims to produce a minimum of 5 000 t of contained rare earth oxide by 2025 at the Nechalacho project, and has signed an offtake agreement with REEtec for Stage 1 production with the supply of 1 000 t/y for an initial five-year period.