In addition to Quebec’s world-class access to international shipping routes, the province is now emerging as a vanadium player.
In Q3 2018, the Government of Quebec announced a $185 million investment to support the construction of the privately-owned Black Rock Project iron, vanadium and titanium open pit mine roughly 370 miles (~600 km) due north of our Desgrobois Vanadium Project.
The government also announced a further $63 million investment toward ensuring the implementation of energy infrastructure related to the Black Rock Project, which could be favorable for the attraction of new businesses in the region.
Two months earlier, the owners of the Black Rock Project announced having raised $40 million in equity financing toward developing the project’s vanadium and titanium bearing magnetite (VTM) deposit.
From 80 to 85% of the world’s supply of vanadium is derived from VTM deposits, either directly from mined ore or from steelmaking slags produced by processing the ores.
The full extent of resources located in VTM deposits has not yet been fully evaluated, especially due to VTM deposits having been identified only recently in various locations, including Canada.
Venture Vanadium’s Desgrobois Vanadium Project claims are located in the mining-friendly, mineral-rich province of Quebec.
According to The Fraser Institute’s annual global survey of mining companies, Quebec is ranked number 6 in the world in terms of investment attractiveness.
In particular, the 2017 installment of the report describes how miners in Quebec expressed:
The survey of mining companies also confirms that Canada continues to outperform in terms of attractiveness for investment on the global stage, having surpassed Australia in 2017 to become the most attractive region in the world for investment.
Source references used for this section’s content include:
Fraser Institute Annual Survey of Mining Companies 2017