by Charles Kennedy
VANCOUVER, BC—Forget oil or gold. Future wars may well be fought over vanadium. The scary part? None of it is produced in the United States. Now United Battery Metals Corp is one of the few companies providing some hope.
This tiny mineral explorer is sitting on an estimated resource of 2.7 million pounds of proven Element “V” reserves—estimated in an independent geologist’s 43-101 technical report. And, that’s not all. Mentioned in today’s commentary includes: First Vanadium Corp, Largo Resources LTD, Prophecy Developments, Cameco Corporation, Ballard Power Systems.
The company has nearly 800 acres of property consisting of 39 claims, and one of the top exploration geologists in the western United States is on board.
Element “V“ Powers The New Energy Economy
Battery tech is poised to transform the electricity industry. In the U.S. alone, energy storage will grow 6x, from 120 megawatts to over 720 megawatts by 2020, and United Battery Metals Corp is potentially sitting on one of the only reserves of this critical metal anywhere in the United States.
BBC Magazine says it will “soon be powering your neighborhood.” Former U.S. President Barack Obama has touted it as the key to generating 80% of the nation’s electricity from renewable sources by the year 2035. These game changing batteries are nonflammable and nonexplosive. Unlike short-lived lithium ion batteries, their battery life is almost infinitely long.
Vanadium batteries already provide complete energy storage systems for $500 per kilowatt hour, a figure that is expected to fall below $300 per kilowatt hour in less than 2 years.
Robert Friedland—the mining magnate—believes that “there is a revolution coming in vanadium” thanks to this technology.
The rise of the Element “V” powered, global energy grid is poised to skyrocket demand for this little-known metal—which is a huge boon for stocks like UBMCF.
How Vanadium is becoming a critical element in American industry
Vanadium is critical to the production of steel. It helps make steel lighter, tougher and more efficient—making it one of the strongest alloy metals on Earth. Twenty years ago, literally no vanadium went into cars, versus around 45 percent of cars today. By 2025, it’s estimated that 85 percent of all automobiles will include it.
For United Battery Metals Corp, it’s the opportunity they’ve worked for.
On Sept. 4, U.S. weekly steel production capacity utilization climbed to the highest level since 2014. The same day, China reported new output highs. The price per pound is up nearly 300% over the last three years.
President Trump‘s domestic vanadium push
On Dec. 20, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order to ensure and protect reliable supplies of minerals recognized as critical to “national security.” The Department of Interior identified a list of 35 so-called critical minerals.
Over 70% of global production is controlled by America’s rivals in Moscow and Beijing. As Trump’s trade war escalates—it’s increasingly likely China will retaliate by restricting or even banning the export of strategic minerals.
That’s where United Battery Metals Corp comes in.
U.S. policymakers will use the critical minerals list to identify which resource projects should be given fast-track approval, and assistance with government grants. Environmental and Bureau of Land Management permitting that normally takes years could be slashed to the bone—radically improving the project’s economics.
Value in the ground with a 43-101
United Battery Metals Corp has the Wray Mesa Project—an exploration stage uranium-vanadium property located in Montrose County, Colorado. It consists of over 39 contiguous mining claims for a total size of about 800 acres. It could be the one of the first vanadium mines in the United States.
Drill exploration started in the late 1940’s with the U.S. Geological Survey, then continued from the 1960’s through the 1980’s with the private sector. Over 739 historical drill holes have been punched across all 39 claims—at a cost that would exceed $30 million today. UBMCF inherited this exploration windfall.
The company now has an NI-43-101 on the property authored by Antony Adkins in 2013. According to that report, they’re sitting on an estimated 2.7 million pounds of vanadium and an indicated resource of 500,000 pound of uranium—at $18.50 per pound vanadium and $26.20 per pound uranium.
They‘ve got an exploration “ace“ in the hole
Mineral exploration is a challenging proposition. United Battery Metals Corp has a secret weapon as an advisor.
Eric Saderholm is a professional geologist who previously worked as Newmont Mining’s exploration manager for the entire Western United states. His resume includes large projects at Bingham Canyon, Carlin, Midas, Gold Quarry, Twin Creeks, Lonetree, Mule Canyon, Black Pine, Genesis and Yanacocha. With UBMCF his mission is to help dramatically expand the resource at Wray Mesa and also to find additional properties in North America with vanadium discovery potential.
Conclusion
Urbanization is unstoppable. Globally, 1.5 million people are added to the urban population every week. Those new cities will require historic quantities of steel. High quality steel production will spur massive demand for Element “V”—vanadium. And, when the energy grid expands beyond Lithium…
Other miners looking to take advantage of the looming commodity boom:First Vanadium Corp is a full-blown mining company based in North America. The company engages in the exploration for copper, zinc, silver, gold, and of course, vanadium.Recently, First Vanadium reported its Phase 2 drill results for its massive Nevada-based vanadium project, exceeding initial expectations. CEO Paul Cowley noted, “The higher grades in a second twinned hole are very promising indicators for our project.”Largo Resources LTD is another Canadian resource explorer diving into the vanadium industry. In addition to vanadium, Largo explores for iron, tungsten, molybdenum, chromite, palladium, and platinum group metals. It’s flagship project, the Maracás Menchen Mine, has been profitable for Largo, but its real potential lies in its new initiatives.In early October, Largo announced new production results, in addition to a management shakeup. CEO Mark Smith noted, “With 7,235 tonnes of V2O5 produced so far this year, the Company is well positioned to achieve the upper end of its increased and revised 2018 guidance range of 9,150 to 10,150 tonnes of V2O5 produced for the full year.”Prophecy Developments owns the Gibelinni project, another Nevada-based plot containing significant vanadium reserves. Prophecy, like First Vanadium and United Battery Metals, are trying to become America’s go-to vanadium producer.Last week, Prophecy appointed a new president and CEO, Gerald Panneton, an expert geologist and businessman with years of experience in the field. Mr. Panneton noted, “I am very excited to join the Prophecy team to work on the Gibellini vanadium project in Nevada. The Gibellini project represents an excellent opportunity to be developed in the very near future, as it stands to be a low-cost producer due to its very low strip ratio, and a low-cost heap leach operation in the mining friendly state of Nevada.”Cameco Corporation is one of the largest global producers and sellers of uranium and nuclear fuel. Its operating uranium properties include the McArthur River/Key Lake, Cigar Lake, and Rabbit Lake properties located in Saskatchewan, Canada.While many analysts see low uranium prices as a problem for miners, the OPEC-like move from world uranium leader Kazakhstan to bump prices has benefited Cameco and its peers significantly.Ballard Power Systems develops and produces hydrogen fuel cell products for markets such as heavy-duty motive, portable power, material handling and transportation. In addition to its production and development of fuel cell products, Ballard also holds over 2,000 patents/applications.At the end of August, Ballard announced a huge divestment agreement, releasing non-core assets to Revision Military Ltd., for up to $16 million in cash to provide a hefty boost to its fuel cell business. CEO Randy MacEwen noted, “This divestiture is consistent with our strategy of continuous portfolio optimization.”