Interesting article, worth reading:
https://seekingalpha.com/article/4209400-invest-vanadium-stocks-lithium-cobalt-hibernate
Summary:
-Vanadium mining companies provide a great investment opportunity.
-Steel demand protects a vanadium investment from downside risk, and uptake of Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries could send demand soaring.
-Vanadium is now at the highest spot price since 2005.
Some details:
"There was a 9,309 ton vanadium supply deficit in 2017, which equates to about one mine's worth of production. The shortage is the result of several factors:Mapoch's Vanadium mine closed, which removed 11000 tons of yearly vanadium supply.China banned imports of vanadium bearing slag, mostly from Russia.China's new strict environmental regulations and rationalization caused the closure of numerous domestic iron ore mines, which were a source of vanadium.Chinese environmental regulators refuse to issue permits for stone coal operations; another potential source of supply.
Going forward this gap between supply and demand is expected to widen, because of VRFB demand, and in the near term, greater demand from China. Earlier this year, the Standardization Administration for the People's Republic of China implemented a new rebar standard to take effect in November 2018. This standard calls for stronger rebar, which means more vanadium will be required in steel production. Today China produces 140 million tons of rebar, so to comply with the new standard, steel producers could require an additional 17000 tons of vanadium starting in November. To put this in perspective, 17000 tons would be 21% of global vanadium production."
The article mentioned different vanadium miners, such as Largo Resources (TSX),Bushveld Minerals (LSE) and some ASX quoted companies like TMT and AVL etc.
Personally I missed out the boat with Largo, but I have a stake in Bushveld. Both companies are already producer in the current stage and profit very much from rising vanadium price !
Why do I write this ? The article doesn't mention our TNO and this company is flying under the radar of most investors, but in my opinion
it is worth to have a look. Tando's completed acquisition of SPD Vanadium Project in South Africa is similar to Bushveld's resources with very high grades and remember, grades are king !
"Samples taken from these pipes, which start from the surface, have returned extremely high grades of vanadium, highlighting their potential to underpin a low-cost direct shipping ore (DSO) operation which could generate early cashflow for Tando (see ASX release dated June 20, 2018)."
To date Tando's share price seems sleeping like a log, but one day the fire will light it up and then it would be wiser imo, not have missed the boat !
