Alogistics study looking onto possible solutions to market ore from Aim-listed Jangada Mines’ Pitombeiras vanadium project, in Ceará, Brazil, has identified three potential routes, two of which have Chinese ports as a final destination and one a Brazil refinery.
The study contemplates trucking ore from Pitombeiras to two Ceará ports, Pecém and Fortaleza, and then ship them to main Chinese ports.
The Fortaleza seaport as embarkation point was the most cost effective, with an estimated cost of $84.64 a wet metric ton (wmt), while the Pecem seaport as an alternative route had an estimated cost of $90.02/wmt.
The third option contemplates trucking ore to the Companhia Siderurgica de Pecém refinery, owned by South Korean companies Dongkuk Steel and Posco, as well as Brazilian miner Vale. This option had an estimated cost of $36/wmt.
Study, which forms part of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA), considered an estimated initial production of 300 000 t of vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) concentrate increasing to 600 000 t of V2O5 concentrate.
“The logistic analysis has demonstrated that Pitombeiras is well located to reach overseas markets through both the Pecém and Fortaleza seaports in Ceará state, which are within the Ceará Free Trade Zone, an industrial free trade area for exporting companies’ facilities. Importantly, they provide tax and exchange benefits, and simplified administrative procedures, which positively impact the product’s selling margins and bring additional competitive advantages to Jangada,” said chairperson Brian McMaster.
Pitomberias is Jangada’s high-grade greenfield vanadium, titanium, iron exploration project with mineralisation commencing at surface.
Up to August, exploration included five diamond drill holes with complimentary filed mapping, geophysics and metallurgy resulting in a technical report, including an exploration target, showing a resource of 8.5-million tonnes at 0.47% V2O5, 43% iron (Fe3O4) and 6.9% titanium dioxide (TiO2) and a demonstrable opportunity for expansion through additional exploration.
www.ferroalloynet.com
