MINING NEWS NORTH ARTICLE: Aussie junior eyes vanadium near Juneau
Northern Cobalt reported that a recently completed magnetic survey has confirmed the presence of a large magnetite body at its Snettisham vanadium-titanium project in Southeast Alaska.
Situated about 50 kilometers (32 miles) south of Juneau, Snettisham hosts a large outcropping body of magnetite with iron, titanium, vanadium, and possibly platinum-group elements. This intrusion extends for at least 3,800 meters along the coast of the Snettisham Peninsula and up to 1,500 meters inland.
Historical magnetite-rich rock chip samples show potential for high grade vanadium with values up to 0.56 percent vanadium pentoxide. These values are expected to increase significantly in magnetite concentrates.
Currently, vanadium is primarily used as an alloy metal. In this capacity, a small amount of vanadium adds strength and heat resistance to the metal it is alloyed with. Ferrovanadium, a vanadium-iron alloy, is used in high-stress auto parts such as gears, axles and crankshafts. Titanium-vanadium alloys are used in jet engines.
An emerging use of this critical metal is in vanadium redox batteries, also known as vanadium-flow batteries. Taking advantage of vanadium's ability to exist in solution in four different oxidation states, the vanadium redox battery uses one electroactive element instead of separate elements for the cathode and anode.
In its global search for magnetite-hosted vanadium occurrences, Northern Cobalt said Snettisham stood out as a prime opportunity that it could not pass up.
