Australia-listed exploration company Vital Metals has announced that it will complete further testwork to determine the viability of niobium recovery from its Tardiff deposit in Canada’s Northwest Territories, as part of a scoping study that is under way.

Vital reported niobium pentoxide (Nb₂O₅) hosted at Tardiff in its updated January 2025 mineral resource estimate (MRE) for the first time, after initial metallurgical testwork completed for the scoping study indicated its potential recovery from the deposit.

Tardiff has a MRE of of 192.7-million tonnes at 1.3% total rare earth oxide and 0.3% niobium, containing 636 000 t of neodymium oxide and praseodymium oxide (NdPr) and 578 000 tonnes of Nb₂O₅.

Vital is using the updated resource estimate as the basis for its scoping study, which is examining the size and scalability of future production scenarios at Tardiff. It will now complete further niobium studies, which will be captured by reprocessing flotation tailings as a first-phase evaluation, and add these results to the study, which is now due in late April 2025.

“Previous metallurgical work did not focus on niobium recovery. This will now be a component of additional testwork to deliver the scoping study alongside further REE testwork,” said Vital Metals MD Lisa Riley.

“While Vital has primarily focused on rare earths at Tardiff, the potential to include niobium is now clear, and while additional niobium testwork will delay the completion of our scoping study, it will provide a more thorough understanding of the material and the value of its inherent parts. Given the contained niobium resource is almost equal in size and value to the NdPr resource, it is very important to maximise recovery and grade of both.”

Nb₂O₅ 99.5% has a current market price of $58.46/kg and is experiencing increased demand owing to its low oxidation point and relatively high melting point. It is used as an alloy in aeronautic engines, electronic applications and as an additive to lithium-ion batteries to enhance battery life. 

Niobium is a key critical mineral, with limited current production sources globally. 

NdPr oxide has a current market price of $61.90/kg. The similar price decks show that if similar recoveries are achieved for grades, which will require further optimisation in metallurgical testwork, then niobium could add substantial value to the project.