Battery Minerals has announced the highly positive results from preliminary work at its Montepuez Graphite Project in Mozambique.
The work allowed Battery Minerals to classify the vanadium content as an inferred mineral resource. This will give them the confidence to continue mining to determine the economic potential.
Vanadium is a silver-grey metallic element with a resistance to corrosion and stability against alkalis, acid and salt water.
It can be used to make steel alloys which can be used for space vehicles, nuclear reactors, and aircraft carriers. It can also be used to add strength, toughness and heat resistance to products.
Vanadium is in high demand from traditional sectors of the market and the energy sector. The steel industry accounts for over 90 per cent of vanadium use with China’s use rising steadily every year.
However global production is decreasing because of tightened emission standards for mines in China as well as a ban on import of vanadium to China and reduced supply form South Africa.
While commercial studies have not yet been completed, preliminary test work indicated the potential to be beneficial towards future mines and production of vanadium concentrate.
“The company will continue studies to understand how the value from the vanadium might be extracted while remaining focussed on the primary objective of developing the graphite operations,” Managing Director Jeremy Sinclair said.