Resource World Magazine

D E C E M B E R / J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5 www.resourceworld.com 41 MINING VanadiumCorp Resource Inc. [VRB- TSXV] has plans to become the world's key supplier producer of vanadium and the only large scale primary vanadium pro- ducer in North America. VanadiumCorp's 100%-owned, flagship project, Lac Doré, in Chibougamau, Québec is host to one of the largest concentrations of vanadium in the world. The Lac Doré Project is host to three vanadium depos- its: East, West and North; it is adjacent to BlackRock Metal's [Private] proposed, $600 million, iron-titanium-vanadium mine, with an offtake agreement obligating them to ship raw iron concentrate to China. The Lac Dore deposit was a Canadian Government asset for over 40 years. Over eight resource calculations, a Prefeasibility Study by Cambior (IAMGOLD) a Feasibility Study by SNC Lavalin and extensive metal- lurgy were all conducted before NI 43-101 regulation applied. The Lac Doré Project spans over 7,000 acres and the majority at- surface-mineralization is contained within a hillside along a 3.5 km strike length. Since ground staking the project against competitors in 2007, VanadiumCorp was finally awarded the Lac Dore deposit in 2011. Since then, management was replaced, and all applicable historic data was compiled in an NI 43-101 technical report. The previous work has enabled VanadiumCorp to bypass the need for con- firmation drilling to achieve an NI 43-101 resource. The resource statement is now pending before the end of Q4 2014. The strategy beyond the resource calculation is to proceed immediately to completion of a PEA and subsequent Feasibility Study. Upon receipt of a positive feasibility study, it will take approximately 1-2 years for mine permitting for production. Economically viable vanadium deposits are rare and the Lac Dore represents the most likely vanadium deposit to reach pro- duction of a scale necessary to become a key domestic and global supplier of vanadium. Grade, very low silica content, positive met- allurgy, available infrastructure and, most critically, size and expected mine life sepa- rates the Lac Dore from all other vanadium deposits in North America. The closest comparison in North America is VanadiumCorp's very own Iron-T project that shares many similarities to Lac Dore; the earlier stage development project represents the potential for long term growth. The Iron-T adjoins the min- ing town of Matagami and is 250 km West of the Lac Dore. Vanadium in its pure form is a soft, grey, ductile element primarily derived from mined iron ore and steel slag. Most vanadium is used as a steel strengthener; just ~0.1% of vanadium can double the strength of steel; two pounds of vanadium can double the strength of one ton of steel. Another competitive advantage to the Lac Dore deposit is the low level of impurities that provides the ability to expand into additional markets requiring metallurgi- cal grade vanadium. This would include vanadium batteries that may require a tremendous amount of vanadium in the future. Recently, vanadium's developing appli- cation in batteries is attracting interest. VanadiumCorp states that, "Vanadium has also been dubbed 'the electric metal' for its bright future in energy storage and green technology. Highly concentrated and eco- nomical sources to mine are only found in China, South Africa and Russia. In 2007 and 2008, VanadiumCorp acquired the most pro- lific vanadium deposits in North America." Vanadium's properties make it an excel- lent choice for use in mass energy storage batteries. This "VRB" technology has been used successfully in Japan for the last 15 years and is currently being commercial- ized in China, Korea and Europe. Energy storage is estimated to become a significant part of the world's energy solution bring- ing power to for the first time to some areas of the world through micro grids. Developing mass storage technology has demonstrated the advantages of vanadium over lithium batteries and bodes well for the vanadium market. Vanadium has some significant advantages over lithium: Lithium batteries store their energy in small cells whereas vanadium batteries store their energy in tanks, which can be as large as a swimming pool. This makes vanadium mass storage batteries easier to adapt for industrial use. Lithium batteries have a finite lifetime over which their performance decreases. Vanadium batteries can operate indefi- nitely. Upgrades can be easily made to electronics, a low-cost, rechargeable elec- trolyte (the active ingredient) never wears out and the holding tanks last for decades. Lithium batteries heat up and can even blow up. With vanadium batteries, there is no danger of overheating. Though there are no mines currently producing in the Chibougamau Mining District, about 30 mines were in operation producing more than 74 million tonnes of ore giving 1.3 million tonnes of copper, 133 tonnes of gold, 700 tonnes of silver, 115,000 tonnes of zinc and 4,400 tonnes of lead. The town of Chibougamau, with a population of over 7,500 has an avail- able work force with mining experience. VanadiumCorp says that, "The Québec government has committed significant capital to build rail, power and the Federal Port located at Saguenay." Targeting large-scale reserves, high quality of vanadium mineralization and low anticipated production cost, VanadiumCorp appears to have an extremely bright future. n vaNadiuMCorP – developing a rich vanadium project in Québec by Kathrine Moore

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