Vita Resources NL (ASX:VTA) has secured a key regulatory milestone for its ICE copper-gold project in Canada, with the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) recommending approval for a further five years of exploration activity.
The recommendation allows the company to progress to the next stage of permitting, with final approval now pending from the Yukon Government’s Department of Energy, Mines and Resources.
Permitting milestone clears path forward
Under the proposal, Vita would be permitted to undertake seasonal exploration activities between May and September each year, including up to 150 diamond drill holes or 15,000 metres of drilling, along with bulk sampling, camp infrastructure and core storage facilities.
“The YESAB recommendation represents an important milestone in advancing the next-stage exploration approval for the ICE Project,” non-executive chairman Gavin Rutherford said. “It provides critical guidance for the Yukon Government in progressing towards a final decision.”
With the YESAB process largely complete, Vita will now move to develop a new five-year Multi-Use Land Access (MULA) application aligned with the recommendation as it continues through the permitting pathway.
Resource base with expansion upside
The ICE Project hosts a JORC-compliant mineral resource estimate of 6.43 million tonnes at 1.07% copper, including indicated resources of 5.76Mt at 1.09% copper and inferred resources of 0.67Mt at 0.83% copper.
Location map of the ICE Copper-Gold Project in Yukon, Canada
Despite this established resource, the project remains largely underexplored, with less than 1% of the broader project area tested to date and multiple geophysical and geochemical targets identified for potential expansion.
In a separate update, Vita confirmed it has allowed leases over its Chilean assets to lapse, sharpening its focus on core projects in Western Australia, Canada and Sweden. The company is also progressing exploration elsewhere in its portfolio, having recently mobilised for a maiden drilling campaign at its Ninnis Gold Project in Western Australia targeting structurally controlled gold anomalies.