Neometals’ plans to recover vanadium from steel slag deemed commercially feasible

Neometals’ (ASX:NMT) plans to manufacture and sell vanadium recovered from steel slag has been confirmed as feasible in a Finnish costing study. 

Nordic engineering firm Sweco Industry Oy compiled a costings report for the project’s larger overhead PFS, concluding the project to be highly competitive. 

Neometals is seeking to eventually establish a facility capable of pushing out 300,000 tonnes of vanadium per year for a cost of US$341m. 

This would see Neometals manufacture and sell 19m pounds of vanadium a year, easily boosting its profile and market share. 

Environmental approvals from Finnish regulators remain pending but are expected to be obtained in September 2022. 

Yesterday, Neometals’ share price went up 8.2%, even though the company did not release any news.

300ktpa facility 

Should Neometals vision go ahead to its full scope, the company will build a facility in the Finnish locality of Pori to recover vanadium from steel slag. 

It will be joined by private Australian entity Critical Metals in a JV structure. 

The steel slag waste acting as a feedstock for the facility is to be supplied by European manufacturers in the region. 

What’s the deal with Vanadium?

Last month, BloombergNEF reported vanadium pentoxide demand is set to grow over the next decade driven by battery storage initiatives. 

The firm expects vanadium production, in turn, to double between 2022 and 2031. 

Vanadium pentoxide spot prices were down 2.06% across June according to Seeking Alpha but still remain above US$9/lb. 

Neometals' six month charts reveal a downturn in investor enthusiasm starting in June compared to the materials index