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MINING | Bushveld Minerals
BUSHVELD
At the forefront of the burg
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MINERALS
geoning vanadium market
MINING | Bushveld Minerals
2019 was another busy year for South African vanadium producer Bushveld Minerals. The London-listed company cemented its position as one of the world’s largest vertically integrated primary producers of vanadium – a unique metal with properties that have traditionally fed the steel manufacturing sector, but more recently its applications have been realised in the emerging energy storage sector. Bushveld added a fourth vanadium asset to its diversified resource base in South Africa’s Bushveld Complex with the acquisition of Vanchem in November 2019. Bushveld also undertook a Transformation Programme at its operational Vametco mine which resulted in record production outcomes in 2019. The company also made progress towards its goals in the exciting vanadium-based energy storage industry, in the shape of investments in Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) redT-Avalon and Enerox.
Integrating Vanchem In November, Bushveld announced it had completed the acquisition of Vanchem – a primary vanadium processing facility with
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MINING | Bushveld Minerals chemical plant at Vanchem provides
“Research from Navigant forecasts that the
additional feedstock options for vanadium
size of the energy storage market will reach
electrolyte manufacturing, the most
US$50 billion within the next 10 years, which
expensive component in vanadium redox
represents a growth rate of 58% a year to
flow batteries (VRFBs).
exceed 100GWh of capacity by 2027.
Plugging in to energy storage
“While multiple technologies are expected to be successful due to their unique technical
Through the Bushveld Energy platform that
and cost advantages and suitability to local
was launched in 2016, the company aims
conditions, Navigant expects flow batteries
to capture a share of the rapidly emerging
to capture approximately 18% of the market,
energy storage market, where VRFB’s present
which equates to approximately 20GWh of
a compelling proposition in providing long
demand and nearly $10 billion in revenue in
duration storage solutions.
the coming decade.
“VRFBs are well positioned to take a
“In addition, approximately 5.5 tonnes of
significant share of the stationary energy
vanadium is used for per MWh, which means
storage market, on account of their unique
that in 2027 vanadium use in VRFBs could be
features that give them an edge in large
between 50 and 80,000 mtV.”
scale, stationary and long-duration energy storage a beneficiation applications,” plant capable explainsofMojapelo. producing
Bushveld In addition, is Bushveld well positioned has embarked to capitalise on a five-
various vanadium oxides, ferrovanadium and
on this year refurbishment huge projected andvanadium ramp-up demand programme
These advantages vanadium chemicals. include: Long lifespan
from at Vanchem the VRFB which sector willthanks eventually to itsboost globally
cycles with the ability to repeatedly charge/
significant steady state resource production basetoof4,200 550 million mtV per
discharge “The acquisition over 20 is years consistent with minimal with the
tonnes (100% annum, supporting basis)the grading company’s 1.58-2.0% long-term
degradation, company’s long-term low cost strategy per kWhof when acquiring fully
V205of goal inan magnetite 8,400 mtV and annual its lowproduction cost, flexible rate.
used at least existing, low-cost oncescalable daily, scalable brownfield capacity to
and scalable primary vanadium processing
store four assets operating to 10 hours in South of energy Africa to daily expedite and
facilities The Vanchem at Vametco acquisition and Vanchem. serves to diversify
flexibility the development that allows of the for company’s capturing the significant multi-
Bushveld’s mining and processing footprint in
stacked and highvalues gradeof resource energy base,” storagesays in grid
“Bushveld’s South Africa,vertical while also integration creatingstrategy operational
applications. Bushveld’s CEO Fortune Mojapelo.
and business synergiescase across synergies its assets between providethe flexibility for Vametco, Vanchem the group andto Mokopane deliver onfacilities, the
While VRFBs Vanchem adds notaround only benefit 960 metric the burgeoning tonnes of
entire all of which vanadium are located value suite within byrelative being able to
renewable(mtV) vanadium energy to sector, the group’s perhaps current more annual
produce various proximity and connected vanadium byfeedstocks road and rail. that
significantly,from production the technology the Vametco helps mine, make which
can be converted into electrolytes for VRFBs.”
existing power produced a record systems 2,833more mtV in efficient 2019.
Bushveld’s lofty ambitions in the global
through load balancing and other forms of
energy storage space are also well served
grid savings.
Downstream by the Vanchem acquisition. The existing investments
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Bushveld further underlined its ambitions
The interim funding creates an investment
in the downstream vanadium-based energy
into a scaled-up VRFB OEM with the potential
storage sector by establishing a VRFB
to become a leading, global battery energy
Investment Platform to lead investments
storage systems supplier, and gives Bushveld
in this space. The platform will allow the
preferential supply rights to the new
company to mobilise additional third-party
company for at least two years.
financing to support VRFB manufacturers’ efforts to scale up their capacity.
In addition to the redT-Avalon investment, Bushveld joined a consortium for the
The first action made by Bushveld under the
acquisition of another VRFB OEM before the
VRFB Investment Platform was to provide
end of 2019, in the shape of Austrian firm
a US$5 million loan to support the merger
Enerox – a pioneering company with over 10
of UK energy storage provider redT with US
years’ experience in the production of VRFBs.
VRFB manufacturer Avalon Battery Corp. “Bushveld’s participation in this investment “This investment is in line with the company’s
expands our VRFB investment platform,
strategy of building a leading downstream
demonstrates our belief in VRFB technology,
vanadium-based energy storage platform.”
and helps grow both the VRFB and the overall vanadium market,” says Mojapelo.
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MINING | Bushveld Minerals In addition, Bushveld is building a 200MWh vanadium electrolyte production facility in the East London Industrial Development Zone, together with the Industrial Development Corporation to supply local and international VRFB projects. In 2019, the EIA for the site was completed and tendering for its construction is now in process. Bushveld is also adding a financial product to the electrolyte and rolled out the first vanadium electrolyte rental contract in June 2019 in the US with Avalon.
Project development with energy storage With its dedicated project development team, Bushveld Energy aims to address Africa’s greatest obstacle to faster growth and industrialisation: Reliable electricity supply. In 2019, Bushveld Energy announced the development of a 1MW mini-grid at the Vametco mining and processing facility. The mini-grid combines 2.5MW of solar PV generation and 1MWh/4MWh of energy storage using VRFB technology, co-located at the Vametco mine and processing facility. The project will demonstrate the technical and commercial capability of hybrid minigrids using solar PV and VRFB technology, while reducing the mine’s dependence on the power grid and cutting its CO2 emissions. The project could also be scaled up further to provide a larger amount of energy in future.
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MINING | Bushveld Minerals The opportunity for energy storage in South
World Bank Energy Storage initiative. On
Africa is even more significant. The country’s
top of that, significant opportunities exist in
Integrated Resource Plan 2019 specifically
the soon to be restarted Renewable Energy
seeks novel ways to improve grid reliability
Independent Power Procurement (REIPP)
and access to power over the long-term, with
programme.
a dedicated allocation of over 2,000MW for new energy storage.
A bright future Despite vanadium prices retreating from
This includes the recently announced
an astronomical three-year run in 2019,
350MW/1400MWh Eskom battery
Bushveld believes the long-term outlook for
programme that is part of an even larger
the market remains strong.
Resource Global Network With its unrivalled asset base in South Africa and its rapidly expanding interests in the stationary energy storage sector, Bushveld finds itself in an excellent position to continue building a fully integrated vanadium company in 2020 and beyond. Over the next 12 months, the company plans to unlock multiple synergies across the Vametco, Vanchem and Mokopane assets, and will continue advancing Bushveld Energy’s position in the growing VRFB market.
AIM:BMN
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Published by Anderson Murray Media Ltd
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