Ferro-Alloy Resources is developing the Balasausqandiq vanadium deposit in Kazakhstan as demand for secure critical mineral supplies moves higher on government and corporate agendas.
Vanadium is used to strengthen steel for infrastructure, pipelines and defence applications. It is also used in vanadium redox flow batteries, which can provide long-duration electricity storage for power grids. This gives the metal exposure to both established industrial markets and the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure.
Supply remains heavily concentrated. China accounts for more than 72% of global vanadium production, while Russia supplies around 18.5%. Production outside these two countries has also faced pressure, increasing the importance of projects that could provide alternative sources of supply.
Kazakhstan is well positioned within this changing market. The country has an established mining industry, a history of attracting international capital and substantial critical mineral resources. Its experience with tungsten shows how deposits that remain undeveloped for decades can become strategically valuable when supply chains tighten.
Ferro-Alloy Resources holds the exploration and development rights to Balasausqandiq, the most advanced of Kazakhstan’s three known vanadium deposits. The UK-based company is listed in London and Astana and has operated in Kazakhstan for more than 20 years.
The current resource estimate covers 32.9 million tonnes at an average grade of 0.62% vanadium pentoxide. That estimate relates to only one of seven known ore bodies within the company’s licence area, leaving scope for a much larger operation if further sections are developed.
Balasausqandiq’s geology may provide an important cost advantage. Most vanadium is produced from vanadiferous titanomagnetite ore, which requires energy-intensive roasting. Balasausqandiq is a shale deposit that can be processed using whole-ore acid leaching. Ferro-Alloy Resources expects this route to support lower production costs and a less energy-intensive process.
Ferro-Alloy Resources Ltd (LON:FAR) is developing the giant Balasausqandiq vanadium deposit in Kyzylordinskaya oblast of southern Kazakhstan. The ore at this deposit is unlike that of nearly all other primary vanadium deposits and is capable of being treated by a much lower cost process.
