Ann: TNG signs strategic HoA with BBI Group, page-252

It will be interesting to see which process technology is selected for the new BBI venture. Primary V has been around for a while longer than you have suggested however it struggles to compete against slag co production or secondary recycling. Those two routes would be ideal for the Tivan method.

I haven’t done a thorough review of the TNG announcementa on Tivan nor do I have the underlying data at hand to conduct due diligence However it is important that I draw attention to the test work recoveries you have quoted.

The recovery figure of 93% that was mentioned for Vanadium is for the refining stage. The ore first has to be mined and benwficiated. There are losses at that stage. The best titanomagnetite ores in the world can recover 90% of the vandium to concentrate. Salt roast conversion from the kiln through leach and all the way to the flaking wheel seldom exceeds 70% recovery. The cumulative recovery would thus be 63%.

Many of the WA vanadium deposits are oxidised or have other issues that harm the recovery to concentrate. 60 -80% recovery to con would be typical. An integrated mining-concentrator-Tivan operation would recover 55 to 74% of the vanadium to final product on such deposits. The unoxidised ore at BBI can recover 85% vandium to concentrate so Tivan on that project might achieve overall mine and refine recoveries of 79%. The mining, beneficiation and refinnng costs will be substantially greater than $2.50 per pound of pentoxide.

Where the steelmaking-vanadium slag co producers have the edge is that they sell steel first and then have a pile of rich slag that contains 15 - 22% V2O5 which is the feedstock to the vanadium refinery. Poor old BBI has 0.65% in the ground and the concentrate is 1.1% V2O5. BBI deposit is massive and the mass recovery to concentrate is good and strip ratios very low. 1.5 tonnes of ore generates one tonne of concentrate. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think Mt Peake needs to feed 5 tonnes of ore to generate one tonne of concentrate.