Technology Metals Australia generates 99.5% pure vanadium from Gabanintha

Technology Metals Australia (ASX: TMT) has generated a 99.5% pure vanadium pentoxide product from its Gabanintha vanadium project in Western Australia’s mid west.

Metallurgical test work on a 60kg composite sample of Gabanintha mineralisation managed to develop a 99.53% pure vanadium pentoxide from an ammonium metavanadate precipitate that extracted in excess of 98% vanadium from a leach solution.

The leach solution had been formed from salt roasting the magnetic concentrate.

According to Technology Metals, the test work confirms its wholly-owned Gabanintha deposit can produce a high purity vanadium pentoxide from conventional processing methods.

Additionally, the high purity vanadium was created without further contaminant removal methods.

“To achieve greater than 99.5% purity of vanadium pentoxide from this phase of test work is a very exciting achievement for the company and I look forward to presenting these results to interested parties during my current visit to China,” Technology Metals managing director Ian Prentice said.

Technology Metals has now sent samples of the high purity vanadium to potential end-users for independent evaluation in multiple applications, including the steel and vanadium redox flow battery sectors.

Gabanintha DFS advances

Technology Metals kicked-off a definitive feasibility study at Gabanintha in July and is due to be completed in the June quarter next year.

The company has calculated an ore reserve at the project of 16.7 million tonnes at 0.96% vanadium pentoxide. Mineral resources for the project total 119.9Mt at 0.8% vanadium pentoxide and 9.7% titanium dioxide.

Since the definitive feasibility study began, Technology Metals has progressed multiple components including its designs and process flow diagrams, as well as advancing regulatory environmental and heritage studies.

Australian Vanadium’s Gabanintha

Technology Metals is not the only company developing a vanadium-titanium asset in the WA’s mid west, with Australian Vanadium (ASX: AVL) also firming up a world class vanadium project, which has long-term operational potential.

Australian Vanadium is carrying out a prefeasibility study on its Gabanintha project, which aims to firm up a base-case sustainable operational scenario.

The company has worked up an overall resource for its project of 175.5Mt at 0.77% vanadium. The resource includes a higher grade section of 93.6Mt at 1% and Australian Vanadium is hoping to publish an upgrade after completing the first phase of its pre-feasibility drilling earlier this week.

According to Australian Vanadium’s managing director Vince Algar, the Gabanintha orebody covers 11.5km of strike within the company’s tenements.

Investors reacted positively to Technology Metals’ news this morning – pushing the company’s share price up more than 12% to reach $0.59 by late morning.