In Game of Thrones, a sword forged out of Valyrian steel is recognized for its unparalleled strength and light weight. It is this advantage that denotes it as one of Westeros’s most sought-after materials. In the real world, its equivalent just might be vanadium.
This silvery-grey metal was once used to construct some of the most celebrated blades in the world, including the Damascus Sword, on which George R.R. Martin based Valyrian steel. The swords were known to be so sharp that they could cut a “floating feather in half.”
And while swords are no longer the metal’s primary end-product, vanadium’s use in rechargeable batteries could position it for international reverence once more.
Ferro-Alloy Resources Limited (LON:FAR) is developing the giant Balasausqandiq vanadium deposit in Kyzylordinskaya oblast of southern Kazakhstan. The ore at this deposit is unlike that of nearly all other primary vanadium deposits and is capable of being treated by a much lower cost process.