This article is a sponsored feature from Mining.com.au partner Velox Energy Materials. It is not financial advice. Talk to a registered financial expert before making investment decisions.
Velox Energy Materials (TSX-V:VLX) is gearing up for a transformative 2025, marked by plans for a dual listing and advancements at its flagship North Queensland Vanadium Project (NQVP).
2024 has been a year of preparation for Velox as it works towards expanding its resource base, strengthening its portfolio, and listing on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
The NQVP, situated approximately 500km southwest of Townsville in Australia’s North West Minerals Province, has been the focal point of Velox’s activities this year.
The region, an emerging major critical minerals hub, has proven to be an ideal location for vanadium exploration.
Velox’s efforts have included detailed exploration and metallurgical testing, all aimed at advancing the project toward production readiness.
CEO Simon Coyle says metallurgy test work will be ongoing on the Cambridge mineralisation as the company continues to move forward with study work and the development pipeline.
The Cambridge prospect, a key component of the NQVP, hosts a resource of 206 million tonnes at 0.33% vanadium pentoxide.
Notably, the prospect hosts a higher-grade middle layer, with drill intercepts such as 2m at 1% vanadium pentoxide from 10m and 3m at 0.62% vanadium pentoxide from 10m.
As Velox’s understanding of the Cambridge deposit develops, the company is seeing that the mineralisation is shallower and thicker than prior explorers had initially anticipated.
Velox has prioritised optimising a mine development plan that leverages the low strip ratio and higher average grade of the Cambridge deposit. This strategy aims to reduce mining costs while maximising the economic potential of the resource.
Expanding resource potential
While the Cambridge prospect has been a major focus, Velox’s 1,246km2 landholding offers further exploration upside from multiple other prospects. To date, only 15% of the NQVP area has been explored, providing additional opportunities for resource expansion.
The company is targeting high-grade mineralisation at prospects such as Flinders River, Runnymede, and Silver Hills, all of which lie within the Toolebuc Formation —the primary host rock for vanadium in the region.
Over 76km of this structure has been mapped and more than 300km2 is outcropping, while 100km2 is undrilled within the Runnymede prospect.
In mid-May, Velox defined an exploration target for the prospect, estimating 144.3 to 216.46 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.22% to 0.33% vanadium pentoxide, along with 147 to 220.8 parts per million molybdenum trioxide.
Preliminary metallurgical test work has already demonstrated a 2-3.65 times improvement in vanadium pentoxide grade, with results reaching up to 0.98%. These outcomes underscore the potential for further enhancing resource grades and improving economic viability.
“Mineralisation is near surface (which implies a low strip ratio), occurs in soft flat lying oxidised sediments (implying low-cost mining) and coupled with the sizing results and the identification of vanadium in the -38μm fraction, we have increased confidence in the successful economic and technical extraction of vanadium,” Coyle said earlier this year.
Vanadium: A key to the renewable energy revolution
Vanadium’s role in renewable energy storage solutions has made it a sought-after commodity.
Vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs), in particular, offer several advantages over traditional lithium-ion batteries, including a longer lifespan, higher discharge capacity, and scalability.
These attributes make VRFBs ideal for grid-scale energy storage, a critical component of the global transition to renewable energy.
Global vanadium production in 2023 was approximately 100,000 tonnes. However, the International Energy Agency projects that demand will surge to 670,000 tonnes annually by 2040 to support the growing energy storage market.
This translates to the need for over 50 new mines, each producing 12,500 tonnes of vanadium pentoxide annually.
Velox is progressing its strategy to develop vanadium products that can be transformed into vanadium electrolyte – the key ingredient in VRFBs.
At the same time, the company is positioning itself to potentially take advantage of further opportunities in the sector.
“There is also the potential for additional projects to be added to the company which will be complementary to our current NQVP,” Coyle notes.
Dual listing and strategic growth in 2025
A significant milestone for Velox in 2025 will be its dual listing on the ASX. This move is expected to broaden the company’s investor base, enhance market visibility, and provide greater access to capital.
In August 2024, Velox secured a conditional commitment for a cornerstone investment of between $4 million and $5 million from the QIC Critical Minerals and Battery Technology Fund (QCMBTF), a fund managed and administered by QIC.
Brisbane-headquartered QIC is owned by the Queensland Government and has over $100 billion in assets under management – making it one of the largest institutional investment managers in Australia.
The investment is intended to support Velox’s listing on the ASX, which aims to raise between $8 million and $10 million.
On completion of the capital raising and listing on the Australian bourse, QCMBTF would be positioned with a potential stake in Velox of between 15% and 19%.
The additional funds raised will go towards feasibility and pre-production activities at the NQVP.
Velox now anticipates its proposed listing on the ASX will occur around the end of March 2025, with QCMBTF recently agreeing to extend the long stop date of the executed subscription agreement.
“2025 will be an exciting year for Velox as we finalise our ASX listing, further explore our tenements in the vanadium hub of Richmond/Julia Creek to expand and improve our current resource,” Coyle said.
This area hosts several large-scale resources, including the 175.2-million-tonne Debella deposit, which has attracted the likes of Japanese giant Idemitsu (TYO:5019) via a more than $75 million investment in the project’s owner Vecco Group to take a majority 51% stake.
Velox’s efforts in 2024 have laid a strong foundation for future growth. The company’s focus on high-grade vanadium mineralisation, ongoing metallurgical advancements, and a low-cost mining strategy position it well to meet rising global demand.
Write to Angela East at Mining.com.au
Images: Velox Energy Materials
