Mine developers make push to use renewable energy

American Vanadium's plan to add small-scale solar and wind facilities to the mine site its developing just south of Eureka provides the perfect opportunity for the company to showcase a potential use of the vanadium mined at the site, says president Bill Radvak.

American Vanadium of Vancouver recently engaged Hanlon Engineering and Architecture of Tucson to evaluate the installation of small-scale renewable facilities that could generate about three megawatts of power.

Unlike many mine sites, the vanadium project won't require massive amounts of energy use, says Michael Doyle, executive vice president of operations. The mine is expected to average roughly 1.8 megawatts of energy use per day over the life of the project, mostly to power a small crusher, offices, maintenance shop and other site infrastructure.

"Compared to a Nevada gold mine, this site is really tiny," Doyle says. "But in the vanadium world, in terms of vanadium use, it is actually really significant."

Excess power generated by the solar and wind facilities could be stored in large vanadium flow batteries an ideal way to showcase a potential use of vanadium or be placed back onto the grid, Doyle says. The company would need to construct about 20 miles of transmission line to deliver excess or stored power to the grid.

"We are basically setting up a micro-grid onsite so we can generate power, use the power we generate or store it in a vanadium battery," Doyle says. "It is good for us in terms of the energy, and it demonstrates that you can use the vanadium batteries effectively to store and trade energy on and off the grid."

Vanadium electrolyte, housed in massive vats the size of the water storage tanks dotting the hillsides of the Truckee Meadows, is capable of storing and delivering large amounts of energy as needed.

The decision to design and implement a micro-grid solution would add about $3 million to $4 million or more to the proposed $95 million capital costs of the mine, Radvak says.

Vanadium flow batteries have a lifespan approaching 20 years, Radvak notes. The drawback, though, is that they require large amounts of vanadium. American Vanadium seeks to partner with renewable energy developers to help fund and advance the renewable energy portion of the project.

"We can provide them with a long term supply of vanadium at a stable price," Radvak says. "We think we can make this project work on its own, but it is a huge boost to actually do a demonstration micro-grid."

American Vanadium currently is working through the permitting phase of its Gibellini open-pit vanadium project and expects to bring the project online roughly 14 months after receiving final permitting, Doyle says.

The project has a lifespan of six to seven years, with the possibility of a maximum of 10 to 15 years as more resources are identified.

American Vanadium expects to mine about 3 million tons a year, Doyle says.

The proposed site would be the only domestic supply of vanadium, Radvak adds. The mineral primarily is used in steelmaking to strengthen structured beams and rebar, or as an alloy in the aerospace and defense industries.