This is another highly successful step towards Australian Vanadium’s (ASX:AVL) goal to build and operate the world’s next and lowest cost primary vanadium operation.
The pilot scale testing — designed as a scaled down version of the real thing – shows AVL’s mechanical leach circuit to be a viable, cost effective design, maximising extraction of high value critical mineral vanadium products.
Vanadium extraction from roasted pellets averaged 89% in the first part of a two stage water leach flowsheet currently being piloted.
This was consistent with lab scale work, but demonstrated significantly better vanadium to impurities dissolution.
Overall vanadium leach extraction from the two-stage leach is expected to be greater than 93%.
Completing the crucial first stage of a two-stage pilot-scale water leach process allows AVL to conclude final processing designs, mass balances and detailed costings for the Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS).
Significant amounts of AVL’s iron-titanium co-product will be generated by the pilot leach program, samples of which are destined for blast furnace customer testing in Asia.
Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) products will be analysed and used for specific customer testing in vanadium redox flow battery and specialty chemical applications.
“AVL understands the vital importance of representative pilot scale testing as part of the design process,” managing director Vince Algar says.
“The AVL team’s extensive vanadium specific experience has been a key aspect in the successful development of the processing flowsheet. The success of this latest water leach testwork and the prior ground-breaking pellet roasting are testimony to this.
“As we work to finalise the BFS in the coming months, the level of detail supplied by AVL’s testwork becomes critical to institutional investors, finance institutions and quality off-take partners which have the highest standards when scrutinising new projects for final investment.”
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