Special Report: Vanadium prices are booming at around $US36.5 per pound – up from about $US5/lb in 2017 – and explorer Pursuit Minerals has taken the opportunity to snatch three more exploration licences at its high grade Airijoki project in Northern Sweden.

Historical drilling of the new tenements intersected thick sequences of vanadium mineralisation, which produced high-grade vanadium magnetite concentrates greater than 2 per cent vanadium pentoxide (V2O5).

Grades of two per cent V2O5 in magnetite concentrate compete with the very best projects around the world.

With these new tenements, Pursuit (ASX: PUR) has increased its exploration area at Airijoki from 9.6 square kilometres to 32 square kilometres.

Pursuit Minerals Managing Director Jeremy Read said outstanding exploration results from the Airijoki project so far provided the impetus to acquire more tenements.

“The results from our re-sampling of historical drill holes and rock chip sampling on the Airijoki project have been incredibly positive so far, confirming that we have thick sequences of vanadium mineralisation which produce high-grade vanadium magnetite concentrates,” he says.

Pursuit is currently finalising an 18 hole, 2876 metre drilling program at Airijoki to define a JORC-compliant resource.

Pursuit's Airijoki Project
Pursuit’s Airijoki Project

JORC refers to the mining industry’s official code for reporting exploration results, mineral resources and ore reserves, managed by the Australasian Joint Ore Reserves Committee.

This will be followed by a scoping study on developing Airijoki.

After completing the scoping study around March next year, Pursuit will decide whether to commence a feasibility study.

“Dig and Deliver” for rapid, low cost production

Pursuit is progressing rapid, low cost “dig and deliver” development plans for its high grade Koitelainen and Airijoki vanadium projects in Finland and Sweden.

“Dig and deliver” refers to simple, low cost processing and export of high-grade vanadium in magnetite concentrate to vanadium smelters overseas.

Pursuit is able to consider this rapid project development concept because of the high-grade vanadium magnetite concentrates produced at Koitelainen and Airijoki.

It also means Pursuit can start making money without funding the expensive processing equipment required to convert this concentrate into V2O5 flake.

By exporting high-grade vanadium in magnetite concentrates the timeline to production is significantly shortened, feasibility studies and government approval processes simplified, and capital expenditure requirements substantially reduced.

 

Pursuit Minerals is a Stockhead advertiser.

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