Alliance to drill for vanadium on Nevada project
From left to right, the late Paul Burkett, Roy Davis, Tom Geswic
Alliance Mining Corp. [ALM-TSXV] on Thursday November 1 said recent analysis of the 2006 drill logs from its Tonopah uranium project in Nevada has revealed the presence of vanadium in both the oxidized and non-oxidized clastic sediments.
Alliance Mining shares rallied on the news, rising 40% or $0.01 to 3.5 cents.
Alliance said vanadium is growing in importance for key industrial manufacturing sectors, notably in steel and renewable energy. More than 85% of the world’s vanadium is used in steel manufacturing applications, the company said. Its importance to the energy sector is also growing rapidly with more than 10% of vanadium production used in energy storage where its substantial cost and performance benefits make it an alternative choice to lithium ion in several areas.
In the last three years, vanadium prices for 98% flake V2O5 have steadily risen from under US$2 a pound to the current approximate price of US$27.45.
Alliance Mining said it recently signed a letter of intent with Jadestone Energy LLC to acquire a 100% interest in Jadestone’s Tonopah uranium project. The two companies are working finalize the agreement, Alliance said in a press release, Thursday.
The Tonopah project consists of 160 contiguous Bureau of Land Management claims covering an area of 3,200 acres. The property is accessible via Highway 95, which runs through the southern portion of the claims.
The initial claims in the Tonopah Project were staked in the 1950s by Paul Burkett, the founder of Uranium Exploration Corp., a predecessor of Jadestone Energy.
Based on the ICP multi-element analyses from the 2006 drill logs, Alliance said the Seibert formation host section in the northern and southern claims appears to contain very high background levels of vanadium in both oxidized and non-oxidized clastic sediments.
In the unoxidized Seibet host in both areas, uranium and vanadium occur, and appear to vary more or less in direct proportion to each other, Alliance said.
“One of the major objectives of our proposed drilling program will be to establish the location and viability of any vanadium deposits, particularly in the northern and southern systems,” the company said. “At present, there are several advanced vanadium projects underway in the state of Nevada, most notably First Vanadium Corp. [FVAN-TSXV] and Prophecy Development Corp. [PCY-TSXV].
Alliance notes in its press release that exploration since the 1950s focused only on uranium, not vanadium, gold or silver. Prior to 2006, 25 reverse circulation drill holes were completed on the property. Of the 25, 14 exhibited uranium mineralization.
In 2006, the company undertook to complete further geological mapping, scintillometer prospect prospecting and drilling, with 10 holes exhibiting uranium mineralization. These results are summarized in a NI 43-101 compliant technical report completed in 2011.