Surefire Resources lodges patent application for revolutionary vanadium recovery solution
Surefire Resources (ASX: SRN) has moved to protect its unique vanadium recovery solution by lodging a provisional patent application with IP Australia.
Surefire’s process is a significant improvement over existing vanadium recovery processes, with test work achieving high recoveries of vanadium and titanium as well as base metals, from titaniferous feedstocks from the company’s Victory Bore project in Western Australia.
Through its wholly owned subsidiary Suretec Solutions, Surefire’s Perth-based patent attorney WRAYS has lodged the patent application after a review of the new process, including a search on the subject matter of the invention.
Sitting under the Federal Department of Industry, Science and Resources, IP Australia is responsible for administering intellectual property law including the registration of patents, trademarks, registered designs and rights in Australia.
This new application will underpin future international patent filings, further securing Surefire’s intellectual property.
Development path
The path to the lodgement of a patent application traces back to May 2023, when Surefire appointed METS Engineering to undertake an assessment of the potential for recovery of high purity vanadium oxide in liquid form, from which a clean, high purity vanadium electrolyte could be produced for use in the emerging vanadium battery sector in Australasia.
Earlier this year, Surefire unveiled the promising results of laboratory-scale leach test work, which achieved remarkable extractions for vanadium (91%) and titanium (88%) after a 96-hour leach directly from Victory Bore magnetite concentrate.
The leach process was applied to pre-treated concentrate, allowing it to scavenge effectively.
Further laboratory test work improved the results, achieving a 97% recovery of vanadium after only 24 hours.
Further work planned
Surefire has now commissioned METS to produce test work plans for the proprietary leach process to be applied to a much larger sample, between 250 and 500 kilograms.
From this, final products of vanadium pentoxide and vanadium electrolyte will be produced and assessed for grade and quality.
The company believes the new process will offer significant reductions in capital and operating costs as no heat treatment is required, unlike traditional vanadium recovery processes that require pre-heat treatment from a kiln at temperatures of 1100 degrees celsius.
It is also assessing the potential to license the process for use on other vanadium resources, subject to test work results.
The Victory Bore project contains one of the largest vanadium resources in Australia and its rich critical minerals make-up continues to attract global interest, particularly from the Middle East.