Surefire Resources has received a formal expression of interest (EOI) for its vanadium and titanium projects from German independent commodities trading company HMS Bergbau AG.
The EOI is focused on Surefire’s vanadium and titanium Victory Bore project in WA and also extends to the company’s associated processing facilities in Saudi Arabia while also contemplating a long-term strategic resource partnership.
The two companies are also discussing terms and funding support as part of the deal with a view towards creating a sustainable supply of vanadium and other metal products to Germany and Europe. The approach appears particularly timely given the European Union’s current interest in securing raw materials and reducing its dependence on China for critical minerals.
HMS Bergbau’s interest in Surefire is a positive sign for the Perth-based mineral explorer, given HMS Bergbau AG is a well-established international, independent commodities marketing company supplying Europe, Afirca, Asia and the Middle East.
Surefire Resources managing director Paul Burton said: “We welcome the approach from HMS Bergbau CEO, Mr Dennis Schwindt, as we continue to develop our flagship Victory Bore critical minerals project. There are direct synergies with their presence in the Middle East and our plans for processing in Saudi Arabia. In addition, (we expect) their relationship with KfW Ipex will open funding discussions as we move the project forward.”
Surefire’s Victory Bore vanadium project sits about 450 kilometres northeast of Perth in WA’s Mid West and 100km east of the town of Mt Magnet. It is one of the biggest advanced critical mineral projects in Australia.
The project comprises a mineral resource estimate of 321 million tonnes grading more than 0.4 per cent vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) yielding a concentrate grade 1.43 per cent vanadium pentoxide.
Current estimates over the project also suggest it contains 37 million tonnes at 23 per cent aluminium oxide (Al2O3) with the exploration target in the range of 682 million tonnes to 1190 million tonnes at 0.2 to 0.43 per cent vanadium pentoxide.
While the exploration target remains conceptual it does paint a broad picture of the project’s potential, based on a variety of local geological and economic factors and analogues.
Elements of the recent EOI have been flagged by Surefire’s lodging, in May, of a provisional patent application in a bid to protect Surefire’s proprietary vanadium recovery process, which eliminates the standard heat pre-treatment processes currently employed in the vanadium extraction industry.
The new process also provides a significant improvement over existing vanadium recovery processes and reduces capital and operating cost.
The patent application comes a year after Surefire appointed METS Engineering to assess the possibility of a high purity vanadium oxide in liquid form, from which a clean high purity vanadium electrolyte could be produced for use in the emerging vanadium battery sector in Australasia.
The company achieved remarkable numbers for vanadium extraction, including 91 per cent and 88 per cent for titanium after a 96-hour leach directly from Victory Bore magnetite concentrate.
In July, Surefire confirmed it has completed dual listing of its ordinary shares on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (DAX) under the code GBL.
The aim of the dual listing is to expand the company’s investor reach and increase its exposure to the European markets. No capital raise in Europe was required and is not planned.
The company is also running an investor relations and awareness marketing campaign to attract German investors to Surefire. The Frankfurt stock exchange is one of Europe’s biggest stock exchanges handling total trades from within Germany and from other European countries.
In September, the German government launched a €1 billion (AU$1.61 billion) fund to invest in raw materials as it seeks to limit dependency on producers such as China for critical minerals.
Surefire has also executed a heads of agreement with DRA Global in late August for a total engineering services package to advance the Victory Bore iron-vanadium project from feasibility through to construction and operation.
DRA is an international multi-disciplinary engineering, project delivery and operations management group, mainly focused on the mining, minerals and metals industry with demonstrable experience in minerals processing globally, including in Saudi Arabia.
Surefire also executed a joint cooperation agreement with Mid West Ports Authority to export its products through the WA Port of Geraldton, aiming at obtaining 1.25 million tonnes per year of export capacity.
The agreement envisages the port being key to the export of magnetite concentrate to Saudi Arabia for onward processing.
Surefire has plainly been getting all its ducks in a row in a timely way and looks set to press “go” on its planned export operations as soon as agreements, testwork and supply lines are finalised.
Is your ASX-listed company doing something interesting? Contact: matt.birney@businessnews.com.au
By Doug Bright
