Neometals (ASX:NMT) has secured a €48.7 million ($86.63 million) grant by the Finnish Government through Business Finland, to support the development of its Vanadium Recovery Project.
The grant is conditional on securing the balance of equity and debt financing required for the project.
Neometals, which has a market capitalisation of $42.38 million, says the project’s plant will be built by Novana and will operate by Recycling Industries Scandinavia’s side streams. From that, vanadium is separated using patented leaching technology and the by-products generated are used in the manufacture of building materials such as concrete.
The plant is estimated to produce about 9,000 tonnes of vanadium per year, which corresponds to between 5-6% of the total global production and up to 60% of the vanadium needed in Europe.
Neometals CEO Chris Reed says vanadium is a critical mineral in the EU, US, and Australia.
“This grant plays a significant role in reducing the equity required to fund the project which aims to produce vanadium with a zero carbon footprint in the Nordics from an industrial side stream,” Reed says.
Neometals holds an 86.1% interest in Recycling Industries Scandinavia, which wholly owns Novana.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Neometals
