Ann: Request for Extension of Voluntary Suspension, page-59

All my research points to the GOVT backing this in to completion, and i just cannot help but think that SRC will be more actively involved in the running of our facility,

they have the expertise and they are local to us , when you read how SRC have progressed and building out with their technoligies in the ree production side,

read the article below, they would be an invaluable asset to VML moving into the future


Vital’s Saskatoon facility is adjacent to a rare earth processing plant under construction by Saskatchewan Research Council (SRC) as part of a rare earths hub.

The SRC is providing technical support during the construction and operation of the plant as part of ongoing collaboration, allowing Vital and SRC to maximise potential synergies between the two operations


VML Dec 22 Ann

The amount spent to date on the Saskatoon Refinery is approximately A$19.7 million with the cost to complete the full Saskatoon processing facility estimated at A$40.8 million for a revised total cost of approximately A$60.5 million for the full project.

Increased capital costs are attributable to the decision to expand capacity of the processing facility from 500 to 1,000 tonnes per annum of NdPr, execution challenges, scoping changes and industry inflation.
Interesting article below

https://electricautonomy.ca/2023/07/10/crabtree-rare-earth-saskatchewan/

Few extracts from the article by the SRC CEO Mike crabtree


SRC Mike Crabtree: The plant is designed to take in about 3,000 tonnes of monazite annually. And because it’s about 60 per cent rare-earth-oxide equivalent, the output is about 1,600 tonnes of rare-earth oxides, of which about 400 tonnes go on to become their metals. Basically, the metals represent about one-quarter to one-third of the overall output.

SRC Mike Crabtree:
The overall goal is to develop a research and commercial facility. A full-commercial monazite plant is around 10,000 tonnes, maybe 12,000 tonnes. So, the SRC facility is about one-third scale,

but it is still a profitable business.

The 400 tonnes of NDPR that will be produced is sufficient to manufacture half a million engines for electric vehicles. This isn’t a pilot-scale test platform

VML Ann

Vital’s Saskatoon plant will have initial throughput capacity of 1,000 tonnes/year of rare earthoxide(REO) excluding cerium, which is equivalent to ~470t NdPr/year.

Stage 2 will produce 2,000 tonnes/year REO excluding cerium, equivalent to 940t NdPr/year.

Under Vital’s amended offtake agreement with REEtec, following REEtec’s decision to use Vital’s product as its principal feedstock for its rare earth separation facility, Vital will incrementally deliver 187.5t NdPr (contained within approximately 500t TREO) to REEtec by October 2023 and a minimum of 750t/year NdPr over five years (total 3,750t NdPr) contained within approximately 2,000t/year


So Mike Crabtree

is saying their facility that will be producing 1/3 of its future output that being 400 tonnes of NDPR from 1600 tonnes of REE is going to be a profitable business

Vml has forecast intial output before scale up from the above Ann

an output of 470tonnes of NDPR from 1000 tonnes of REE

So going by a basically next door comparison '

if SRC can turn over a profit on 400t from 1600t of REE

then surely on comparison alone

VML should be profitable also turning out 470t from 1000t of REE

With regards to their extraction

Many REE projects propose processing of ores containing both bastnaesite and monazite using flotation, but the behaviour of individual mineral is rarely investigated.

Such a system was studied using the Niobec REE zone ore.

Individual mineral recovery values were evaluated using 11 flotation tests conducted following a 23 factorial design.
Bastnaesite and monazite recoveries are both first-order rate processes with monazite consistently showing smaller recovery values when compared to bastnaesite.

This is ascribed in part to the low degree of liberation and small grain size for monazite. This distinction between the two minerals highlights the importance of individually quantifying their recoveries in complex systems, especially when several valuable species co-exist


So i take from the above conclusion of a study on the REE extraction that Monazite is showing less recovery when compared to Bastnaesite

and this confirms in our product VMl bastnaesite comparison against SRC monazite

ie 470t from 100t against 400t from 1600t respectively

So going on Mike crabtree,s interview

it would appear that we have what looks to be in comparison a profitable buisness

looks like all we have to do is get the funding to finish the plant

Electric Autonomy asks
Why is this a government project as opposed to a private-sector investment?

SRC Mike Crabtree replies

: The market is extremely volatile, and private-sector investors got burned [in the rare earth space] in the early 2010s. So, the government is now applying what you could call a ‘strategic override’ to de-risk markets for subsequent large-scale private investment.

Mike Crabtree:
It’s really important that we gain that operating cost advantage because, in other parts of the plant, we’ve spent a lot of capital to achieve sustainability and recyclability. We’ve built a plant that is going to be the most sustainable in the world. In the U.S., hydromat plants use vast quantities of water and chemicals. With this plant, not one single drop of liquid will be emitted. Everything will be recycled and reused.

This could be the reason for our blow out in costs if SRC are having a say in the build they are obviously trying to future proof our facility for years to come


Vital’s Saskatoon plant will have initial throughput capacity of 1,000 tonnes/year of rare earth oxide(REO) excluding cerium, which is equivalent to ~470t NdPr/year.
Stage 2 will produce 2,000 tonnes/year REO excluding cerium, equivalent to 940t NdPr/year.

Under Vital’s amended offtake agreement with REEtec, following REEtec’s decision to use Vital’s product as its principal feedstock for its rare earth separation facility, Vital will incrementally deliver 187.5t NdPr (contained within approximately 500t TREO) to REEtec by October 2023 and a minimum of 750t/year NdPr over five years (total 3,750t NdPr) contained within approximately 2,000t/year

https://electricautonomy.ca/2022/09/28/saskatoon-rare-earth-processing/

taken from the above september 22 article again src come into play

Across a dirt road from Vital Metal’s facility, the Saskatchewan Research Council is developing a provincially funded $55-million plant — including $2.5-million interest-free repayable federal funding under the Western Diversification Program — that will offer a complete service, taking ore from mining companies for separation and refining it to high purity ingots. The SRC will initially target the market for permanent magnets, which are used by a range of industries, including electric vehicle production, but there is potential for future expansion into other market sectors.

The SRC plant will also play a small role in the Vital Metals supply chain, offering near real-time assays to monitor production with the potential for more areas of collaboration in the future.

I could be totally wrong all the above is IMHO

See how we go