VanadiumCorp Resource Inc. (TSXV:VRB) (OTC:APAFF) (FSE:NWN) (the “Company”) is pleased to announce the commencement of engineering design and site selection for a vanadium electrolyte manufacturing facility to be located near Sherbrooke, Quebec. The Company also reports that the field program at its Lac Doré property near Chibougamau, Quebec, has collected representative titanomagnetite-mineralized samples from historical trenches to commence advanced metallurgical tests.
VanadiumCorp management has assessed the supply and demand outlook for vanadium to the years 2030 and 2050. We see a strong case for advancing the Lac Doré vanadium-titanium-iron mining project and, in parallel, developing a value-added manufacturing capacity for vanadium electrolytes. Concurrent advancement will maximize the value of our mineral deposit and our knowledge base in Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (“VRFBs”).
Lac Doré project work in October-November resampled historical trenches in the titanomagnetite horizons. A large sample is available now for grinding and separation tests. Additional hydrometallurgical testing is planned to commence in January 2023 to test the quality of our mineral concentrates and optimize the future production of vanadium and titanium strategic metals.
Engineering design and site selection have commenced for a modular vanadium electrolyte manufacturing facility near Sherbrooke, Quebec. Led by Company Directors Gilles Dupuis, P. Eng. and Gilles Y. Champagne, Ph.D., our engineering scoping defines an initial vanadium electrolyte production capacity of 315,000 litres/year (provisioning about 6.3 MWh of energy storage capacity in VRFBs). Quality testing of Lac Doré vanadium pentoxide product will be the primary use for the facility. In a later stage, cold-weather demonstrations of VRFBs in Canada’s remote northern communities, farms, and off-grid industrial locations will test the Company’s final electrolyte formulations.
Deployment of VRFBs for long-duration energy storage will expand dramatically as worldwide energy production shifts to renewables, according to consensus amongst industry, the International Energy Association (IEA), and a recent MIT Research Review (2022). Under the IEA’s Net-Zero by 2050 Roadmap, the share of power generated from renewables – mainly solar, wind and hydropower — would rise from current levels of around 10 percent to 60 percent. Fossil fuel usage would shrink from almost 80% to about 20%. Increasingly, governments require that renewable power projects have co-located long-duration storage capacity –a technical strength and cost advantage of VRFBs.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) notes that vanadium is 75% undersupplied for that 2050 Net-Zero goal. The IMF also reports that current vanadium production is the most regionally concentrated of all Net-Zero metals.
The key to the adequate supply of vanadium and titanium strategic metals will be adopting alternate, more efficient extractive technologies.
About VanadiumCorp
VanadiumCorp Resource Inc. is a mineral exploration company headquartered in Quebec and Vancouver, Canada, with 100% ownership of two strategic vanadium, titanium, and iron properties in Quebec. The Iron T is near Matagami, and the Company’s flagship Lac Doré property is near Chibougamau.
www.ferroalloynet.com
