When the United States Geological Survey listed vanadium as a critical mineral in 2022, the announcement came as a public acknowledgement of the metal’s emerging value in the United States. Vanadium has historically proven to be an essential mineral commodity for industrial and aerospace applications. But as it stands today, the vast majority of the United States’ supply relies on imports from foreign countries like Russia and China.
Now, at a time when demand for the critical mineral is growing, a new market for vanadium is also emerging: grid-scale storage.
“About 80 to 90 percent of the vanadium consumption is currently for steel production, because a small percentage of vanadium – about two percent – literally doubles the strength of steel,” said Ron Espell, president of Nevada Vanadium. “But there’s been a growing interest on the battery side with vanadium flow batteries being able to provide grid-level power storage.”
Ferro-Alloy Resources Ltd (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.
