Ferro-Alloy Resources Limited (LON:FAR), the vanadium producer and developer of the large Balasausqandiq vanadium deposit in Southern Kazakhstan, has announced it has made its first commercial sale of ferro-molybdenum and has completed testing of the production of ferro-vanadium.
As announced on 22 September 2021, the Company had started conversion of its calcium molybdate product into the higher value ferro-molybdenum. FAR are now pleased to announce that the first commercial contract for sale has been signed.
The Company is now recovering around 4.5 tonnes per month of ferro-molybdenum as a by-product from its recovery of vanadium from bought-in concentrates and this is expected to grow as throughput of the plant increases. The molybdenum is initially recovered as calcium molybdate which was previously sold at a discount to prevailing molybdenum prices, but this is now being converted and sold as ferro-molybdenum, avoiding the discount.
In addition, the Company is pleased to announce that testing of the production of ferro-vanadium using a similar process to ferro-molybdenum has been successfully completed, allowing the Company to choose in future whether to sell its vanadium production as vanadium pentoxide or ferro-vanadium, depending on which is the most profitable taking account of pricing and costs. Ferro-vanadium typically sells for some US$3-$4 per kilogramme more than for the same quantity of vanadium in vanadium pentoxide, roughly reflecting conversion costs, but the ability to make ferro-vanadium opens up a wider range of customers and, in particular, customers in Kazakhstan which minimise transport costs and provide other fiscal advantages.
www.ferroalloynet.com
