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(Alliance News) - Bushveld Minerals Ltd on Friday provided a maiden mineral resource estimate for its Brits vanadium project in South Africa with an average grade "among the highest in the world".
Shares in Bushveld were up 4.0% at 25.99 pence in mid day trade.
The aggregate inferred and indicated mineral resource estimate, following a 2018 drill campaign of 26 holes, is 66.8 million tonnes as an average grade of 1.6% vanadium oxide in magnetite with a cut-off grade of 20% magnetite in whole rock. This gives an estimate of 175,400 tonnes of contained vanadium.
The indicated mineral resource accounts for 67% of the combined mineral resource and is 44.9 million tonnes, average grade 1.6% vanadium oxide in magnetite, giving 115,600 tonnes of contained vanadium across the three seams at Brits.
Of the three seams - lower, intermediate, and upper - the lower seam accounts for most of the total resource with 55.5 million tonnes at 1.6% vanadium oxide in magnetite for 137,000 tonnes of contained vanadium in total. This is around 83% of the total combined maiden mineral resources tonnage.
The intermediate seam, however, has the highest grade - 1.8% vanadium oxide in magnetite - although the tonnages are low at the 20% cut-off grade.
Bushveld Chief Executive Fortune Mojapelo said: "We are pleased to be able to report solid results confirming that we have a high-quality asset at the Brits Project, where its average grade of 1.6% [vanadium oxide] in magnetite is among the highest in the world.
"This represents an important step in the development of Brits - as we recently detailed our path to producing over 8,400 [million tonnes of vanadium] per annum and Brits provides the optionality for additional ore feed for the Vametco plant and, if required, concentrate feed for the Vanchem plant."
