Yellow Rock Resources (ASX:YRR) has completed a concept engineering study demonstrating its Gabanintha high grade vanadium project in Western Australia has potential for significant production and competitive costs.

It also indicates the project is technically low risk with a long life of more than 20 years.

Key takeaways include:

-   Estimated C1 cash operating cost of A$7.26/kg vanadium pentoxide;

-   Estimated capital cost to first production of A$230 million including A$18.5 million of contingency to direct costs;

-  Average vanadium production of 10,000 tonnes per annum from a 2.1 million tonne per annum throughput plant;

-  Production of high-purity (+98.5% V2O5 Flake) via open pit mining, feed preparation/beneficiation and a salt roast-leach extraction process is well understood and commonly available technology. Higher purity at >99% V2O5 is also expected to be achievable.

Gabanintha has one of the highest grade vanadium deposits in the world with an Indicated and Inferred Resource of 60.4 million tonnes grading 0.98% V2O5, 11.4% TiO2 and 42.15% iron.

“The concept engineering study results indicate the Gabanintha deposit could support a significant vanadium mine for in excess of 20 years,” chief executive officer Lorry Hughes said.

“There are a number of areas that the study has identified that require follow-up development work, however I consider the results to be highly encouraging.

“There is a good opportunity to identify higher grade zones within the existing resource with infill drilling and utilise selective modelling techniques to define them more accurately.

“Any improvement in the resource grade is likely to positively impact the project by allowing lower production rates and therefore a lower capital expense project to be more attractive. There are mines in production and development that have significantly lower vanadium grades than

Yellow Rock has at Gabanintha.”

He added the study team’s decision to evaluate the production of vanadium pentoxide flake as a product that can be sold into the majority of end-user markets had broadened the size of the market.

“Most vanadium is consumed in the global steel alloy industry with about 9% used in the chemical, titanium alloy and redox battery markets.

“By producing vanadium pentoxide flake there is potential to sell to companies that convert vanadium pentoxide to ferrovanadium.”

• [Editor:Mango]