Australian Vanadium Limited (ASX: AVL) has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with China’s Yanshan Vanadium Titanium (YVT) to negotiate a binding technical services and purchase agreement for AVL’s vanadium products.
Yanshan Vanadium Titanium is a subsidiary of HBIS Group Chengsteel, one of the world’s largest steelmakers, and was set up to co-ordinate and commercialise research and development innovation in steel industry.
YVT has developed a molten salt vanadium extraction process which demonstrates innovation in vanadium extraction technology with a reduction in waste produced.
HBIS Chengsteel is also currently the world’s third largest vanadium producer and has been involved in many ground-breaking projects, including the provision of more than 240,000 tons of vanadium- bearing anti-seismic rebars and fine steel plates for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge.
The group produces and utilises vanadium in a wide range of its products, including earthquake rated anchors and wire for skyscraper construction, vanadium aluminium alloys for aerospace applications, and electrolyte for vanadium redox flow batteries.
The terms of the Letter of Intent include AVL providing a product sample to Yanshan Vanadium Titanium for testing.
AVL’s Managing Director, Vincent Algar and Chief Operating Officer, Todd Richardson will travel to Chengde, Hebei later this month to progress technical and offtake discussions.
Through AVL’s online Data Room, Yanshan Vanadium Titanium has already started to undertake its due diligence of the project and the company.
“We were invited by Yanshan Vanadium Titanium to attend a conference in Hebei last year and to meet with the company,” Mr Algar said.
“Discussions were productive and highlighted a desire by Yanshan Vanadium Titanium to become more involved in AVL’s Project. We are now visiting Chengde this month to further these discussions and move towards a formal agreement.”
Mr Algar said Yanshan Vanadium Titanium is keen to assist with the processing design for the Australian Vanadium Project.
“The visit to Chengde will allow Mr Richardson to undertake technical discussions regarding potential improvements to the lroject’s process, which Yanshan Vanadium Titanium believes could result in cost improvements.”
