www.americanvanadium.com
American Vanadium Corp., formerly Rocky Mountain Resources Corp., is a Canada-based junior mining company. As of November 30, 2010, the Company’s main focus was the development of its Gibellini Project, located in Eureka County, Nevada. In June 2010, the Company initiated a bulk sampling program, comprising collection of samples from both oxide, and transition vanadium zones from four different trenches on the project, and a diamond drill program, which was two-phased. On September 9, 2010, the Company announced that it initiated a feasibility study of its Gibellini Project. In November 2009, the Company sold its interest in the Paris Hills mineral property to Stonegate Agricom Ltd (Stonegate). On September 29, 2010 the Company announced the acquisition of the Del Rio Property, a new vanadium project located approximately eight miles south of the Gibellini Project.
American Vanadium to release feasibility study for Gibellini project in Q2
Vancouver-based junior explorer American Vanadium (CVE:AVC) said Thursday that its Gibellini project in Nevada, positioned to be the only vanadium mine in the US, is progressing on target, with preparations to release a feasibility study in the second quarter.
"It is important to recognize that the US imports virtually 100% of its vanadium, which makes our project critical for domestic production of high quality steel and mass storage of renewable energy," said president and CEO Bill Radvak.
Recent growth in the demand for high strength, low alloy steel has resulted in the price of vanadium pentoxide increasing from the $7.00 per pound range in 2010 to $7.50 today, and is only forecast to rise further. Vanadium is used not only to strengthen steel, but also increasingly for lithium batteries used in the automotive and mobile power sectors.
"This upward price movement will improve the positive economics of our 2008 Scoping Study which gave an after-tax internal rate of return of 40% using a price of $6.00 per pound," added Radvak.
Currently, the feasibility study for Gibellini is on target to be completed by the end of May, after which an updated NI 43-101 compliant resource report is expected to be released. The company's goal is to start production at the vanadium mine by 2013.
Through an aggressive exploration program, the company is focused on increasing the resource of the five other vanadium occurrences on its 6,600 acre property.
The first target is Louie Hill, which is adjacent to the current resource, and will be followed by the nearby Del Rio, where large surface vanadium anomalies were discovered this past fall. Additional surface sampling and over 10,000 feet of drilling are planned for both these targets this spring.
American Vanadium said it has already begun initial talks with steel producers and metal traders in the US and internationally for off-take agreements, as well as with several companies involved in the commercialization of vanadium redox batteries for renewable energy storage.
