First Vanadium study envisions low-cost project in Nevada

[caption id="attachment_1003736717" align="alignnone" width="550"] First Vanadium president and CEO Paul Cowley at the Carlin vanadium project in Nevada. Credit: First Vanadium.[/caption] First Vanadium (TSXV: FVAN; US-OTC: FVANF) has completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for its Carlin vanadium project in Elko County, 10 km south of the town of Carlin in north-central Nevada. “Getting to the PEA level for Carlin was a significant milestone for us and is a key part of the process for unlocking the value of the project,” Paul Cowley, the company’s president and CEO, said in an interview. The early-stage study estimates an open-pit mine life of 11 years producing a total of 180 million lb. vanadium oxide (V₂O₅). The study also envisions processing an additional five years of stockpile feed that would generate an annual average of 11 million lb. V₂O₅ after the mine reaches the end of its operating life. Sulphuric acid and electricity from the processing plant would then be sold for a four-year period. “The deposit is located in significant mining hub, so as we approach the end of the life of the vanadium mine, the processing plant could continue to provide acid as well as electricity to mines operating in the district, so we won’t need to find buyers for it.” The PEA estimates average operating costs for the large-scale open-pit project of US$4.81 per lb. V₂O₅ for the first 10 years and US$5.17 per lb. V₂O₅ over the life of the mine. Continue reading at The Northern Miner.