Vanadium Overview
Vanadium is grey-white metal that is a key ingredient in steel production. By adding vanadium to iron in the steel making process, high strength , corrosion-resistant alloys are created that are used in a wide variety of items including automobile parts, tools and surgical instruments. Vanadium is also used in the aerospace industry where it is mixed with aluminum in titanium alloys for use in jet engines and high-speed airframes.
Recently, interest in vanadium has increased since it has been recognized as vital to the creation of new battery technology for renewable energy applications. Vanadium redox batteries have a high storage capacity of on-demand energy which gives them the ability to balance the volatile energy production of solar and wind power generating plants.
Continental Precious Minerals has identified a significant vanadium resource at its Swedish properties. A National Instrument 43-101 technical report, released March 19, 2009, estimated an inferred resource at Viken and surrounding MMS licences of 2.8 billion tonnes containing approximately 16.7 billion pounds of vanadium pentoxide (5.36 lbs/ton).