Vita Resources NL has lodged a revised assessment application with Traditional Owners to advance its ICE polymetallic project in Canada’s Yukon territory ahead of the 2027 field season.
The company submitted a revised Tū Łidlini Assessment Process (TAP) application to the Ross River Dena Council (RRDC), seeking formal consent for a low-impact Class 1 exploration programme.
The submission follows two major regulatory milestones achieved earlier in the year: a positive recommendation from the Yukon Environmental and Socio-economic Assessment Board (YESAB) and a five-year Class 3 exploration approval granted by the Yukon Government, effective through October 2031.
The proposed 2027 programme focuses on lower-impact exploration activities aimed at refining future drilling targets across the prospective volcanic-hosted massive sulphide (VHMS) system.
Planned activities include ground-based and airborne electromagnetic (EM) geophysical surveys, soil geochemistry, geological mapping, and prospecting.
Vita is evaluating expanded EM surveys to identify conductive massive sulphide mineralisation and potential satellite ore bodies to expand the project’s existing JORC-compliant copper Mineral Resource Estimate.
While historical exploration at the ICE project includes 121 shallow diamond drill holes totalling 10,584 metres, 116 of those holes were concentrated within a tight 600-metre by 400-metre footprint, testing less than 1 per cent of the broader project area. Vita has identified 11 priority exploration targets beyond the current resource envelope.
Vita Resources Chairman Gavin Rutherford noted the importance of preliminary geophysics before committing capital to underground drilling.
“Our application to the Ross River Dena Council represents another important step towards recommencing field exploration at ICE in 2027,” Rutherford said.
“More than 10,000 metres of diamond drilling has been undertaken at ICE. A similar programme today, in such a remote location, would require a multi-million-dollar investment, meaning it’s essential to support future drilling with the best geological, geophysical and geochemical information available.”
Subject to RRDC consent and securing project funding, field operations are scheduled to commence in late May 2027 using helicopter-supported logistics.
