Highlights
- Surefire Resources has filed an Australian provisional patent application for its vanadium recovery process.
- The process eliminates the need for conventional heat pre-treatment processes in vanadium extraction.
- The process is anticipated to yield substantial positive effects on both capital and operating costs.
- Surefire has commissioned METS Engineering for larger scale testwork on vanadium recovery.
Surefire Resources NL (ASX: SRN) has lodged an Australian provisional patent application to protect its proprietary vanadium recovery process. The company filed the application with IP Australia through its wholly owned subsidiary Suretec Solutions Pty Ltd. This new application will strengthen the company's Intellectual Property by supporting future international patent filings.
New vanadium recovery process
The new process marks a substantial leap forward from existing vanadium recovery techniques, providing further advantages to the company and its Victory Bore vanadium project. Test work has successfully yielded high recoveries of titanium, vanadium, and base metals from titaniferous feedstocks.
Data and image source: Company update
The company is evaluating the expected advantages of adopting this novel process, which promises substantial reductions in both capital and operational expenditures by eliminating the need for heat treatment, a step necessary in conventional vanadium recovery methods. Additionally, it is exploring the possibility of licensing this process for utilisation on alternative vanadium resources subject to testwork results.
Next steps
Surefire has commissioned METS to develop test work plans for its proprietary leach process, targeting a larger sample size ranging between 250kg and 500kg. This is expected to yield final products of vanadium pentoxide and vanadium electrolyte, to be evaluated for grade and quality. The company is expecting results from this phase in the forthcoming months.
Shares of Surefire last traded at AU$0.010 on 02 May 2024.