LONDON (Alliance News) - BMR Group PLC said Friday it has seen encouraging test results for the potential of vanadium recovery and production from tailings at the Kabwe mine in Zambia.
BMR said metallurgical test work suggests no modifications are needed to its current set-up at the Kabwe plant in order to recover vanadium from the tailings there. BMR also is looking to extract lead and zinc from the tailings at the mine, which closed in 1994.
Preliminary test work suggests a vanadium pentoxide recovery factor of approximately 65%, discounted at 5% from test work results, said BMR. Vanadium pentoxide is used to create alloys with iron.
BMR said test work continues to optimise the recovery factor and establish final product quality and the design of the process circuit, enabling expenditure costs to be established.
Extrapolating from mineral reports at the closure of the mine, BMR said in theory it could extract approximately 45,000 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide at the plant. After the completion of current tests, BMR will look to upgrade the vanadium present to a JORC compliant resource.
BMR intends to lodge an environmental project brief with Zambian authorities for approval of the vanadium processing circuit in February, having already secured approval for a plant at the site. Approval is generally expected within four to six months, said BMR.
Shares in BMR were up 3.6% at 6.86 pence Friday.
By Adam Clark; adamclark@alliancenews.com
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