Location - Carlin, Nevada USA
Ownership - 100% EMC Metals Corp.
Property Highlights- Largest known primary vanadium resource in the USA,
- NI 43-101 Resource on SEDAR, showing an inferred resource of 25.4 million tonnes, grading 0.51% V2O5, containing 289 million pounds of V2O5, at 0.3% cut-off grade,
- Vanadium hosted in a black shale, and
- Low strip ratio on potentially surface-mineable resource to 150 meters.
The Carlin Vanadium project consists of 72 unpatented mineral claims, in a single contiguous claim, covering 1,149 acres (~578 hectares). The property is located along the Carlin gold trend 10 km southwest of Newmont's Carlin Operations, approximately 10 km west of Newmont's Rain Deposit (gold), and 15 miles from the community of Carlin, Nevada. Mineralization is hosted within 50 ft thick horizon of black shales within the Devonian Woodruff Formation, which consists of dark grey to black siliceous mudstones, and chert with lesser amounts of shale, siltstone, dolomitic siltstone, and calcareous sandstone. The Woodruff formation is unconformably overlain by shallow dipping Permian-Pennsylvanian siltstones, shales, conglomerates, and carbonates of the Chainman and Diamond Peak Formations.
In 2010, EMC metals commissioned SRK Consulting to prepare a Canadian National Instruments 43-101 (NI 43-101) compliant Technical Report and to produce a current resource estimation for the Carlin Vanadium Project. Results of that estimate are as follows:
Carlin Vanadium Project NI 43-101 Resource Estimation |
||||
Resource Category |
Cut-off |
Total |
Grade |
Contained |
Inferred |
0.30 |
25,400,000 |
0.51 |
289,000,000 |
Click here for the 43-101 Technical Report for the Carlin Vanadium Project
Historical Exploration Work
The Carlin Vanadium resource was discovered in the 1960s by Union Carbide Corp. (UCC) when vanadium was found in samples collected by UCC geologists, probably looking for uranium. UCC then conducted follow-up exploration work including geological mapping, trenching, and drilling (112 holes totaling 30,500 feet). This work outlined a significant 300 by 1000m zone of vanadium mineralization within the current claim boundary. In 1968 UCC used this work to complete a historical resource estimate that can be found in our NI 43-101 Technical Report.
In 1998, Cambior and Sante Fe Pacific Mining Inc. explored for gold on the property. The work identified a 550 ft northeast trending (>100 ppb) gold anomaly which led to a drill program (20 holes and 1,600 meters). The best result reportedly iintersected 0.01 oz. per ton gold from 5 to 70 feet within the Woodruff Formation, immediately below the unconformity.
Metallurgical Test Work
UCC conducted extensive metallurgical testing in the 1960s and at the time could not produce an economic process for extracting the vanadium. Developments in heap leaching technologies in the 1970s have shown economic recoveries of vanadium from geologically similar projects. EMC plans to review several possible process ideas to economically extract the vanadium from the Carlin resource, one of which is to determine the portion of the resource suitable to heap leach versus other likely higher cost methods of recovery.
Vanadium Markets
Carlin's resource is suitable for making vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), in pure form as a dry powder. This product sells for approximately $6/lb today (as of Jan. '12), although it has sold historically for higher values. Most oxide is used as a catalyst in the manufacture of sulfuric acid. Pure vanadium in oxide form has some new and exciting possibilities in REDOX batteries, as it can accept and discharge electrical energy rapidly in that application. Emerging battery technologies could dramatically change the demand and desirability of pure vanadium in these applications.
Pure vanadium oxides should not be confused with ferro-vanadium, which is used as an alloying agent in steel products, and very high performance alloys such as titanium-aluminum-vanadium. Approximately 85% of all vanadium products used today are used as steel hardening and alloying agents.
