PERTH (miningweekly.com) – The share price of ASX-listed Australian Vanadium increased by nearly 17% on Monday after the company signed a joint venture agreement to develop the Coates vanadium project, in Western Australia.
Under the terms of the agreement, privately held Ultra Power Systems (UPS) would be given exclusive rights to earn a 49% interest in the project by spending A$50 000 on exploration within the first 12 months of the agreement, and A$150 000 during the first 24 months of the agreement.
Once this expenditure threshold has been reached, UPS can acquire Australian Vanadium’s interest in the project for a further A$500 000 in shares.
UPS is hoping to produce vanadium electrolyte using a combination of a unique processing route and a high-density vanadium electrolyte production. The company holds the exclusive Australian option to license the VanadiumCorp Electrochem Processing Technology (VEPT), which enables the recovery of valuable by-products during the vanadium processing route with minimal carbon production and minimal waste.
UPS will test the material from the Coates project, and if proven successful, will test the low-grade mineralisation from the Australian Vanadium project using the VEPT process.