Name of the Project
Gibellini vanadium project.

Location
The project is located in Eureka County, in Nevada, in the US.

Client
Prophecy Development Corp.

Project Description
The project comprises the Gibellini and Louie Hill vanadium deposits.

A preliminary economic assessment on the project envisages an openpit, heap-leach operation producing about 9.65-million pounds of vanadium pentoxide (V₂O₅) a year, at an average grade of 0.26% V₂O₅.

Average mine production during the 13.5-year mine life is 3.4-million tons of leach material at a strip ratio of 0.17 waste-to-leach material.

Processing will involve feeding leach material from the mine by loader to a hopper that supplies the crushing plant.

The leach material will be fed to the agglomerator, where sulphuric acid, flocculent and water will be added to achieve adequate agglomeration.

The agglomerated leach material will be transported to a stacker on the leach pad, which will stack the material to a height of about 5 m.

Once the material is stacked, the solution will be added to the leach heap.

The solution will be collected in a pond and this pregnant leach solution will be sent to the process building for metal recovery where it will go through solvent extraction and stripping processes to produce V₂O₅.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a net present value, at a 7% discount rate, of $338.3-million and an internal rate of return, with a payback of 1.72 years.

Value
Initial capital costs, including an 25% contingency, are estimated at $116.76-million.

Duration
The first consignment of V₂O₅ is expected to be delivered on site to 2022.

Latest Developments
Prophecy plans to complete the Gibellini permitting and environmental-impact statement (EIS) in 2020, paving the way for construction to start in 2021.

The company has appointed consulting firm NewField Companies to advance the EIS.

The companies will work with authorities to file all major permitting applications by the end of next year.

Meanwhile, Prophecy has secured a water supply licence for the project, making it the only primary V₂O₅ project in the US with a long-term water supply for its operation.

Prophecy intends to tender engineering, procurement and construction management contracts with detailed engineering design and cost estimates in 2018.

Key Contracts and Suppliers
Scotia International of Nevada Inc (basic engineering design drawings) and Nonferrous Metals Mining Group Co (metallurgy, process design and engineering).

On Budget and on Time?
Too early to state.

Contact Details for Project Information
Prophecy development Corp, tel +1604569 3661 or email info@prophecydev.com.