Technology Metals Australia has delivered an impressive 32 per cent increase to its Yarrabubba vanadium pentoxide resource at its Murchison Technology Metals Project, or “MTMP” in Western Australia, including a cracking 110 per cent lift in the indicated resource component. The company’s resource base at the project now clocks in at a whopping 146.2 million tonnes grading 0.8 per cent vanadium pentoxide.
Yarrabubba now takes in a 36.6Mt resource at 0.8 per cent vanadium pentoxide, with 20.2Mt at 0.9 per cent vanadium pentoxide classified in the higher confidence indicated category.
The MTMP consists of two high purity vanadium deposits - Yarrabubba and the nearby Gabanintha deposit where some 29.6Mt in ore reserves grading 0.88 per cent vanadium pentoxide have been defined.
The resource upgrade at Yarrabubba has returned a high-grade component of 19Mt at 1.1 per cent vanadium pentoxide to bump up the high-grade portion across both deposits to an eye-catching 79.8Mt at the same grade.
The company has already run the ruler over Gabanintha where a 2019 definitive feasibility study, or “DFS” returned some stellar numbers for a proposed 16 year mining operation.
The study delivered a stunning total EBITDA of just over $4 billion for the life of mine, with a swift 3.2 year estimated capital payback period.
The DFS did not include any ore from Yarrabubba.
Technology Metals is now evaluating the potential of an integrated operation that combines both Gabanintha and Yarrabubba.
The company believes the boost to indicated resources at Yarrabubba puts it in good stead to enhance the development of an integrated operation at its MTMP.
The new indicated mineral resource estimate for Yarrabubba represents a 27 per cent lift to the total measured and indicated resources across both deposits. Gabanintha and Yarrabubba now combine for 50.2Mt at 0.9 per cent vanadium pentoxide in the measured and indicated categories.
Technology Metals expects a significant portion of the indicated resources at Yarrabubba to be converted into ore reserves once existing geotechnical data from diamond drilling and open pit mine modelling and scheduling are incorporated with the updated resource. In turn, a lift in ore reserves at Yarrabubba could potentially pave the way for a boost to the mine life at the integrated MTMP.
Works to define ore reserves at Yarrabubba have already commenced with Technology Metals targeting a mine-life at its MTMP of more than 25 years.
Notably, recent test work on Yarrabubba concentrates has shown the vanadium pentoxide to be some 25 per cent higher than the concentrate from Gabanintha, according to the company. Technology Metals believes it could reap an economic benefit by integrating both projects into its MTMP if the higher grade Yarrabubba concentrates deliver a material increase in mine output.
Technology Metals Australia Managing Director, Ian Prentice said:“The Yarrabubba Mineral Resource upgrade is very pleasing, delivering on our objectives with a significant increase to the overall mineral resource and importantly more than doubling the Indicated mineral resource component.
This underlines the opportunity for Yarrabubba to materially extend the life of the proposed low cost MTMP as a large scale, world class vanadium development project, which is expected to be viewed favourably by prospective Project financiers and key stakeholders.”
The company recently secured well known private equity fund, Resource Capital Funds as a cornerstone backer in a two-stage $20 million placement to fast-track development of its MTMP.
Technology Metals says the cash injection will fund it all the way through to a DFS on the integrated venture and will pay for the front-end engineering and design stages at Yarrabubba and Gabanintha.
A final investment decision for the proposed operation is anticipated next year.
With a major resource boost at Yarrabubba under its belt, punters will likely be keeping a close eye on Technology Metals as it looks to advance its integrated vanadium pentoxide project towards production.
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By Matt Birney
