American Vanadium – Permitting America’s Only Vanadium Mine

Overview

American Vanadium Corp. (TSXV:AVC, OTCQX:AVCVF), formerly Rocky Mountain Resources (TSXV:RKY), is developing the Gibellini Project, 25 miles south of Eureka, Nevada. The Vanadium Hill Deposit on the Gibellini Project has a defined resource of 122 million pounds of V2O5 and an inferred resource of 16 million pounds.

Investment Highlights

  • Defined resource, scoping study and moving towards production
  • Open Pit Heap leach operation with a strip ratio of 0.2 or 80% Ore
  • Low capital, low production cost, mining friendly jurisdiction
  • Multiple discoveries indicate strong potential for resource expansion

Click below for in-depth interview with Bill Radvak at the Chicago Resource Expo

Key Property

Gibellini Property

The project’s NI 43-101 compliant resource represents 131.369 million pounds of measured and indicated vanadium (i.e., vanadium pentoxide or V205) grading at 0.30%, and an additional 48.96 million pounds of inferred vanadium grading at 0.172% (more NI 43-101 details further below).

The Gibellini Project is located in Eureka County, Nevada, about 27.5 miles south of the town of Eureka. The property is situated on the east flank of the Fish Creek Range in the Fish Creek Mining District and is easily accessed by dirt road extending westward from US Highway 50.

The project is comprised of 232 unpatented lode claims and seven placer claims totaling approximately 4,254 acres in U.S. state of Nevada, which is ranked among the world’s top 10 mining jurisdictions. Opportunities also exist to further expand the project beyond its current definition.

The Gibellini Project delivered a feasibility study September 2011 and is solidly tracking towards production (subject to permitting), which would make American Vanadium the only primary vanadium mine in the U.S..

The Company is undertaking a feasibility Study basecase under which mine production is projected to average 11.4 million pounds of vanadium pentoxide per year. This will enable Gibellini to potentially supply 5% of current global vanadium demand. A scoping study completed by AMEC E&C Services Limited in October 2008 and a feasibility study completed by AMEC E&C Services Limited September 2011 has guided project development.

According to the feasibility study, American Vanadium could potentially become the lowest cost primary vanadium producer in the world with a strip ratio of 0.22 and a unit operating cost of $4.10/lb.

Complete results of the feasibility study highlights are displayed below:

  • Internal Rate of Return (IRR) 43%
  • Net present value $170.1 million at 7% discount rate
  • Payback 2.4 years
  • Average grade 0.302% vanadium pentoxide (V2O5 )
  • Strip ratio 0.22 to 1 (waste:ore)
  • Mining Operating Rate 3.5 million tons per year (ore and waste)
  • Average V2O5 recovery 65.9%
  • Average annual production 11.4 million pounds V2O5
  • Operating cost $4.10 per pound V2O5
  • Capital cost $95.5 million (incl. $10.7 million contingency)
  • Average V2O5 selling price $10.95 per pound (Roskill Consulting Group)
  • V2O5 selling price range $7.68 – $13.63 per pound (Roskill Consulting Group)

To view the complete results of the study, click here. 

 

American Vanadium Advisors

In April 2010, American Vanadium hired Byron Capital Markets to introduce American Vanadium to capital market participates and strategic investors. Byron will also advise on strategies to maximize shareholder value and assist with external growth initiatives such as mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures.

Byron is a leader in investment banking of vanadium and lithium companies. Byron’s focus on lithium and their lithium index have made them a leader in coverage of strategic minerals and the exploration and development companies involved with those strategic minerals.

Management

Ron MacDonald – Executive Chairman
Mr. Ron MacDonald is the former Senior Assistant to the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputy Prime Minister, Chief of Staff to the Leader of the Government in the Senate of Canada, Parliamentary Secretary of International Trade and elected Member of Parliament. While President of the Council of Forest Industries, Mr. MacDonald championed industry wide developments including the establishment of the softwood lumber industry in Asia.  He was also a contributing member of the OECD Committee on ethical minerals, a contributor to the EU Commission Framework 7 policy paper on ‘Scarcity of Strategic Minerals’ and a presenter at conferences in the USA, Canada and Asia on critical and strategic markets.

Bill Radvak, BASc – President, CEO, and Director
Mr. Radvak received a Mining and Mineral Process Engineering Degree (1986) from the University of British Columbia. Mr. Radvak is a co-founder and past Chief Executive Officer of Response Biomedical Corporation, a publicly listed medical device company that commercializes rapid immunoassay diagnostic tests for its marketing partners, 3M and Roche Diagnostics. Mr. Radvak led the Response Biomedical from its evolution to a 90-employee company and raised in excess of $50 million in public offerings.

Michael Doyle – Executive VP, Operations
Mr. Doyle has more than 30 years of domestic and international mining experience in surface and underground operations, most recently as Executive Vice President of Allied Nevada Gold Corp. Prior to joining Allied Nevada Gold Mr. Doyle held positions of Senior Vice President of Operations for Kinross Gold Corporation, Vice president and General Manager of Round Mountain Gold Corp, (Kinross-Barrick joint venture), General Manager of Gold Bar operations for Atlas Gold Corp.. He graduated in 1977 from the University of California at Santa Barbara with a degree in geology and was the past chairman of the Nevada Mining Association.

Ron Espell, BSc – VP Environmental
Mr. Espell, has more than 30 years of domestic and international mining experience, primarily, most recently with Barrick Gold as Corporate Environmental Director with responsibilities for new project development, permitting and financing, environmental oversight of operating mines, and the development and implementation of Environmental Management Systems. Mr. Espell held roles within Barrick as Environmental Manager at Barrick’s Goldstrike Mine and Environmental Director for the Barrick Australia Pacific and African Regions. Before joining Barrick, Mr. Espell was with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, where he helped develop and implement Nevada mining environmental regulatory programs.