The company planned to complete the initial calcine circuit and defer the calcine leaching, purification and rare earth carbonate precipitation circuits of the facility to better align its completion with the readiness of its offtake partner to receive the final mixed rare earth carbonate product produced, from mid-2024.

Completion of the calcine circuit would have enabled the company to investigate the sale of an intermediate product to generate revenue ahead of completing the balance of the facility. However, at the current time, the company has been unable to secure intermediate product sales on commercially satisfactory terms.

A subsequent review of the economic viability of mining and beneficiating ore at North T has indicated that the scale of operations and associated unit operating costs will not achieve positive cashflow from the project.

Vital Metals, which is also focused on advancing the Tardiff Project, plans to seek alternative funding sources and partners to develop a sustainable business model for the Saskatoon plant.

The full Saskatoon processing facility, which includes calcine, hydrometallurgical leaching, purification and rare earth precipitation circuits, is roughly 50% complete. A strategic review of the Saskatoon Project is expected to be completed in three months. Vital's focus will now be on conserving cash and retaining its Saskatoon-based workforce while it seeks solutions.

The processing plant which plans process rare earths mined in Northwest Territories, opened in Saskatoon last September.