VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Private Quebec-focused speciality metals project developer BlackRock Metals has secured C$40-million in equity financing led by Orion Mine Finance Group.

The company, which intends to produce low-cost ferrovanadium, high-purity merchant pig iron (MPI) and titanium feedstocks for the US and European markets, will use the proceeds to complete technical designs, permitting, the placement of equipment orders, acceleration of early construction work and general working capital requirements for its Chibougamau-based BlackRock project.

The financing will be disbursed in two tranches, subject to certain milestones.

BlackRock said the equity financing marks a “major step” forward in the development of its C$950-million project, located on traditional Eeyou Istchee Territory, and significantly enhances the development of the company's transformation plant at the Grande-Anse Port Industrial Park, in Saguenay.

“BlackRock welcomes Orion as a major shareholder with its initial investment and looks forward to completing the construction financing package with Orion and our other partners later this year,” the company said in a statement.

BlackRock engaged Credit Suisse Securities as its global financial adviser regarding the BlackRock project.

The company bills the BlackRock project as having “best-in-class” vanadium-titanium-magnetite ores that it plans to process through its ‘EnviroGreen’ process to produce carbon neutral, high-purity metals and materials.

According to the company, the expected revenue per tonne from this project exceeds all other known operations worldwide, and the unit operating costs are projected to be lowest in the world for each product that will be produced owing to cost sharing over multiple revenue streams.

BlackRock has completed studies outlining 900 000 t of magnetite concentrate grading 62% iron, 1.4% vanadium pentoxide and 8% titanium dioxide (TiO₂).

The BlackRock studies demonstrate that it may be possible to add about 200 000 t of ilmenite concentrate (46% TiO₂) to the mill complex.

A second transformation of the materials can produce 500 000 t of high-quality MPI and 4 200 t of ferrovanadium.

BlackRock intends to distribute its products through established infrastructure and leveraging its geographical location near the US border to establish a sustainable competitive advantage over the current North American suppliers based in Brazil, Russia, Ukraine, South Africa, Australia and China.