VanadiumCorp resumes trading, aims for growth

VanadiumCorp. Resource Inc. said Thursday it has received approval to resume trading on the TSX Venture Exchange

The announcement comes just days after the company said the British Columbia Securities Commission had granted it a full revocation order of a failure to file cease trade order issued on March 8, 2021.

The cease trading order was issued as a result of the company’s failure to file its annual audited financial statements for the year ended October 31, 2020 and the accompanying management’s discussion and analysis.

In mid-morning trading, Thursday, the shares were unchanged at $0.06 on volume of 2.34 million. The shares had previously traded in a 52-week range of 13 cents and $0.075.

VanadiumCorp is a mining and technology company which aims to become a primary producer of vanadium and specialty metals. It is focused on exploring and developing critical and strategic minerals in partnership with local and indigenous communities in Eeyou Istchee, James Bay.

“We would like to thank our shareholders for their support while the company worked to comply with its reporting requirements,’’ said VanadiumCorp President and CEO Adriaan Bakker. “VanadiumCorp is now well-positioned to embark on a new phase of growth through exploration and development of its battery metals properties in the Nord du Quebec region,’’ he said.

Vanadium is a ductile and malleable transition metal that is widely used to strengthen steel and titanium. More than 85% of the world’s vanadium is used in steel manufacturing applications. About half of that amount is used to produce steel reinforcement bars (rebar).

In recent years, prices were driven by a change in steel reinforcement standards in China, which sparked an increased in demand.

However, aside from developing its Quebec properties, VanadiumCorp has focused on new processing methods to address some of the key challenges facing in the industry. It also wanted to explore opportunities to use vanadium for energy storage.

“The ugly secret in the vanadium industry is that vanadium is produced with a similar carbon footprint to steel, producing two tonnes of carbon for one tonne of product, and it’s incredibly expensive and inefficient [to process],” Bakker has said.

VanadiumCorp formed a partnership with privately-owned Quebec company Electrochem Technologies & Materials Inc. that resulted in the development of a chemical process, also called VanadiumCorp. Electrochem Processing Technology (VEPT).

The company has said VEPT is a breakthrough process that can replace smelting and roasting processes that have traditionally been used to recover Vanadium. It said VEPT eliminates the cost of producing vanadium because it can recover the additional metals such as titanium and iron from magnetites, steel slags, calcine and other waste feedstocks.

VanadiumCorp said VEPT is capable of producing vanadium electrolyte directly and sustainably from virtually any source for perpetual use in vanadium batteries. By making the production of vanadium less costly and more efficient, the hope is that vanadium batteries will become a more popular source of backup power, replacing traditional backup power sources such as coal generation and natural gas.