Australian Vanadium’s Gabanintha project could be a boon for Bryah Resources
Australian Vanadium is looking to produce 1,775tpa of mixed base metal sulphide concentrate at Gabanintha. Bryah Resources owns the mineral rights to all nickel and copper produced.
Australian Vanadium’s (ASX: AVL) Gabanintha project could soon be generating revenue for the company and Bryah Resources (ASX: BYH), which owns the mineral rights to the proposed nickel and copper by-products.
Only yesterday, Australian Vanadium unveiled its pre-feasibility study for the Western Australian-based project where it is planning to build a long-term, low-cost vanadium mine and processing plant to produce 98% vanadium pentoxide.
In addition to that, Australian Vanadium has investigated the possibility of unlocking the value in cobalt, nickel and copper minerals that are present.
The pre-feasibility study indicates a sulphide flotation circuit would extract about 1,775 tonnes per annum of a mixed sulphide concentrate.
Australian Vanadium estimates the sulphide concentrate would contain up to 6% cobalt, nickel and copper and the concentrate would be generated from year three of the operation to 16.
However, Australian Vanadium only owns the mineral rights to the expected cobalt and vanadium production, with Bryah possessing the rights to the nickel and copper.
From this concentrate, Bryah estimates it would lock-in revenue of about $16.57 per kilogram for all nickel extracted and $7.95/kg for copper – with a 65% payability assumed for base metals.
The by-product production is underpinned by an inferred base metal mineral resource of 14.3 million tonnes at 666 parts per million nickel, 217ppm copper and 206ppm cobalt.
Australian Vanadium will be kicking-off a definitive feasibility study early next year to evaluate the project further.
In addition to nickel and copper, Bryah has the rights to all minerals except vanadium, uranium, cobalt, chromium, titanium, lithium, tantalum, manganese and iron ore at Gabanintha.
Bryah Basin
Bryah Resources is focused on unearthing the copper, gold and manganese minerals across its Bryah Basin project in WA.
The company has found high-grade manganese while collecting rock-chips across the project.
Meanwhile, a drilling campaign has revealed up to 15.05 grams per tonne gold at the Windalah prospect within the project.
Drilling has also intersected 27m at 1.43g/t gold and 21m at 1.21g/t gold at Windalah.
Both intersections contained several higher-grade intervals.