TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Brazil-focused vanadium producer Largo Resources’ Maracas Menchen mine generated record output during May.

The Bahia-state project produced 487 t of vanadium pentoxide last month, the highest since production started in August last year, and also set a new daily production record of 23 t.

This was about 87% of the plant’s Phase 1 design capacity and a 7% increase from the 21 t/d record, or 81% capacity, reported last March. Largo expected to hit Phase 1 output in the third quarter.

The TSX-listed company on Tuesday advised that production rates, recoveries and availability of operations were improving and greater overall stability had been achieved.

For about half of the past three-month period, the plant had operated at or above 18 t/d, or about 68% capacity, with over one-third of those days at or above 19 t, or about 72% capacity. Further, the operations regularly realised output in a single shift of 8 t and 9 t, which management expected could result in the capability to eventually exceed its full Phase 1 capacity of about 26 t/d, based on three daily shifts.

Importantly, the plant's end-product vanadium was of extremely high quality, having met standard specifications since first production.

However, Largo warned that it was experiencing various equipment interruptions that temporarily impacted its daily tonnage rates – some of which were minor, normal-course occurrences related to a particular piece of equipment and some of which were more systemic and required longer-term solutions.

Largo had identified several critical optimisation projects, which would address ongoing variances in daily production rates. Since completing a C$75.2-million financing deal in May, the company had taken aggressive action to address its remaining optimisation projects. It expected that these would be completed and commissioned over the next few months.