Vancouver-based mineral resources company Delrey Metals Corp. (CSE:DLRY) (FSE: 1OZ (OTC:DLRYF) is making progress on its Four Corner Project, as it recently received permits to establish as many as 20 drill sites east of Stephenville in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The 20 sites will comprise 5000m of land, and will be joined by an additional 1,600m of trenches. The campaign is expected to begin as early as July 15, and should last between six and eight weeks. In order to keep costs low, Delrey personnel will be camping near Keating Hill East Zone, the project’s flagship target where much of the drilling will take place.
Delrey received authorization for the sites from the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources, an agency which Delrey Metals President and CEO Morgan Good said “is well known for its ability to move expediently through the permitting process and certainly did not disappoint.”
What the Four Corners Project Offers
The Four Corners Project has been touted as “one of the largest and most accessible vanadium projects in North America.” As of May 2019 it totals 7655 hectares, since Delrey Metals added two additional claims to the contiguous land package in order to comprise the entirety of the “Four Corners magnetic anomaly.” Based on historical drilling and mapping of the area, this “anomaly” has provided strong evidence for a significant amount of vanadium deposits.
Vanadium is a corrosion-resistant, highly malleable element. It is celebrated for its ability to be formed and reformed without losing any of its toughness. You can find vanadium in cars, jet engines, pipelines, and redox flow batteries, which are reusable and a significant improvement on traditional, lithium-ion batteries for large grid power storage. Varandium is also an important alloy in the production of steel.
China has emerged as the largest consumer of vanadium in the world, with a 42 percent share of the market in 2017. Prices soared last year when China announced it would incorporate more Vanadium in its steel rebar beginning November 1, 2018. This will reduce the country’s reliance on substandard steel, and will in turn make Chinese buildings more capable of withstanding earthquakes.
Delray Metals Has Rare Access to an In-Demand Material
After nearly a decade of steady numbers, the news from China caused Vanadium prices to grow five fold, and all signs indicate that it will continue on its upward trajectory. Over the next seven years, Vanadium is expected to become a $56 billion market, according to a report from Acumen Research and Consulting.
China currently provides more than half of the world’s supply of vanadium, but this will gradually dwindle due to national environmental regulations.
With control of the Four Corners Project, as well as its Star, Porcher, Peneece and Blackie holdings in British Columbia, Delrey Metals is focusing on vanadium just as the element is becoming an incredibly hot, internationally-sought commodity. Selective samples from the Keating Hill East Zone ranged from 0.10 percent V205 up to 0.32 percent V205 with an average grade of 0.22 percent. The new drill sites will allow Delrey to begin accessing these deposits, and capitalizing on a rapidly growing market.
Delrey President and CEO Morgan Good said in a recent press release, “We are looking forward to a productive summer of drilling and are optimistic we can deliver promising results further enhancing value to our Flagship Asset for shareholders of Delrey.”
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