PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Australian Vanadium has executed a grant agreement with the Department of Industry, Science and Resources, providing the company with a A$49-million grant under the Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

Australian Vanadium was last year tapped as one of the proposed recipients of over A$243-million in funding under the Collaboration Stream of the A$1.3-billion Modern Manufacturing Initiative.

The funding would go to support the company’s development of its A$367-million namesake project, in Western Australia, which will process high-grade vanadium from its Meekatharra mine and transported it to its Tenindewa plant powered by clean hydrogen from partner ATCO Australia.

The project is one of the most advanced vanadium projects being developed globally and will produce a vanadium concentrate at the resource site and complete production of a high-purity vanadium and an iron titanium (FeTi) coproduct at a processing plant located near the port city of Geraldton.

The project will ship 900 000 t/y of FeTi coproduct through the Port of Geraldton for the 25-year life of the project, with more than 740 jobs to be supported.

The grant funds eligible activities to construct and commission a concentrator and high-purity vanadium processing facility capable of using green hydrogen as part of the extraction process for the project. This critical mineral extraction process is a key precursor for vanadium electrolyte manufacturing, said Australian Vanadium.

The scope of the grant encompasses support for all stages of the vanadium production value chain, from mining and concentrating to vanadium processing for use in electrolyte production, a key enabler for the Australian vanadium redox flow battery industry.

As part of the activities under the Grant, AVL will also collaborate with fellow listed Bryah Resources Limited to explore options to extract cobalt, nickel, copper and gold economically from the project.

Australian Vanadium on Tuesday said that broader activities needed to realise the overall project, such as development of the mine and supporting infrastructure, would be funded from sources other than the grant.

“Australian Vanadium has been working closely with the Australian government and we are pleased to announce execution of the agreement. The grant will be of great benefit to Australian Vanadium as we seek to optimise and finalise our financing and offtake arrangements and continue to move the project forward for the benefit of the Mid-West region of Western Australia, and Australia more broadly,” said Australian Vanadium CEO Graham Arvidson.

“We are very grateful to the Australian government and the grant team who worked tirelessly to finalise this important outcome.”

The agreement has a start date of May 29 and ends at the end of July 2026. The grant will be paid progressively over the term of the agreement, subject to milestones and compliance by the company with its obligations under the agreement. An initial payment of A$9.8-million is scheduled to be received by June 2023, followed by three further payments, with the final payment scheduled for August 2025.