Horizon, Richmond seal Qld vanadium demerger

Explorer Horizon Minerals has completed the restructure and demerger of its 25 per cent interest in the Richmond vanadium project in central north Queensland with joint venture partner Richmond Vanadium Technology. The move comes after the pair’s decision that Perth-based Richmond will be the dedicated IPO vehicle to drive the 1.8 billion-tonne project into completion.

Richmond is now eyeing an end-of-year ASX listing.

According to Horizon. the deal’s conclusion will permit its shareholders to an in-specie distribution of a portion of its share in the IPO vehicle in addition to a priority offering in the looming IPO.

Earlier this year, the duo crunched the numbers on a pre-feasibility study, or “PFS” for the operation that led to management declaring it “a technically viable and financially attractive development project”.

Findings from the PFS indicated the shallow open pit mine could churn out more than 80 million tonnes of vanadium pentoxide ore with a diluted head grade of almost 0.50 per cent and with on-site concentration potentially scrubbing the grade up to 1.82 per cent, the economics appear solid.

The PFS also suggested the mine could punch out over 251,000 tonnes of 98 per cent commercial-grade vanadium pentoxide with an average annual production of 12,700 tonnes.

Interestingly, the PFS was based on a 20-year mine life that only accounts for about 18 per cent of the operation’s initial ore reserve.

Richmond says it now lays claim to the project’s total rights and has commenced the IPO process with industry stalwarts Bell Potter Securities and Euroz Hartleys helming the process.

Following the deal’s conclusion, Richmond’s new boardroom will comprise former Western Australia Member of Parliament Brendon Grylls, serving as independent non-executive chairman. Current Chief Executive Officer, Shaun Ren, will take the reigns as managing director and Horizon’s Managing Director, Jon Price, will take up a non-executive directorship role.

Vanadium is listed on the Australian Government’s critical minerals list, pushing the commodity among a slew of resources deemed critical to the country’s economic or national security.

The material is primarily employed in the creation of high-strength steel, that is used in a variety of defence and aerospace applications however it has also been used in green technology in the form of vanadium redox flow batteries, or “VRFBs,” in recent years. It is used to manufacture electrolytes for master alloys and titanium oxide pigments and is also seen as a critical component in the global push towards low-carbon energy production.

VRFBs are often used to store energy generated by solar and wind-powered systems, in addition to supply power to utility networks, commercial sites, and other applications.

Horizon has flagged Richmond as one of the world’s largest undeveloped vanadium projects and given its immense scale could serve as a crucial component in providing large-scale energy storage solutions.

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