Modern Mining February 2023

Reduction Act is expected to further support the growth of the VRFB supply chain in the US. We have invested over US$ 160 million in acquiring and refurbishing two of the world’s four operational pri mary processing vanadium plants, currently supplying >3% of the global market, and growing. Bushveld Minerals has positioned itself to sup port vanadium’s role in the energy transition and is excited to help steer the world towards a sustain able future. With some of the largest high-grade reserves, solid infrastructure, and existing brownfield process ing capacity, built decades ago, the company recog

Bushveld. This would grow the vanadium and VRFB industries in South Africa while producing local products to address our power system challenges. For example, while procurement for energy stor age is starting in South Africa, led by Eskom and the Independent Power Procurement Office (IPPO), it does not have any allocations targeting VRFBs spe cifically, as is done in China. A technology-specific procurement for energy storage would mimic what the IPPO does when it procures electricity genera tion, such as gas, solar or wind. In addition, more flexible delivery timelines for high local content technologies, such as VRFBs, could allow participa tion in larger tenders, as local supply chains, from mines to manufacturing plants, need more time to scale up than those already established overseas. Government entities have many powerful incen tive policies in their arsenal, from tax incentives to infrastructure investment, to R&D grants; however, none target vanadium or vanadium-based energy technologies. Providing explicit, short-term direc tion towards vanadium-based industries, as is being done for hydrogen, would support an enabling envi ronment for investment, innovation and employment. Bushveld Minerals is pleased to be able to support South Africa’s advancement by provid ing numerous jobs at its BELCO, Vanchem and Vametco facilities, while advancing innovation and creating an educated and highly skilled workforce. The company is pleased to be leading the charge to demonstrate the commercial viability of a local VRFB supply chain for the growing global stationary storage market. But for South Africa to maximise this new opportunity in vanadium, Bushveld’s efforts will not be sufficient – overt policy is needed to attract and direct further investment. 

nised South Africa’s unique position and opportunity to build a significant vanadium industry. Our vertical integration strategy has seen us combine upstream, primary vanadium mining, beneficiation, and down stream energy storage businesses to drive adoption of VRFBs. Bushveld, together with the Industrial Develop ment Corporation, has built an 8 million litre vanadium electrolyte plant in East London, South Africa, that will be the largest in the world outside of China. We also developed and rolled out an innovative vanadium electrolyte rental product to take advantage of the non-degradation of vanadium electrolyte and ensure its reusability once a battery is decommissioned. The company has further invested in VRFB manufactur ing capacity, through a 25% shareholding in Austrian based VRFB manufacturer, CellCube, and is currently constructing a hybrid mini grid comprising 3.5 MW solar plant and a 1 MW/4 MWh VRFB, the largest in Africa. This mini grid is structured as an independent power producer and thus did not require any fund ing from the mine to which it supplies electricity. In addition, it decarbonises operations and, unlike proj ects that only use solar PV, it reduces exposure to Eskom’s supply challenges and tariff changes. This first of its kind in South Africa project is an initial step in rolling out storage at Bushveld’s operations and will serve as a large scale VRFB reference site for the mining industry, utilities and other users. According to the US Geological Society, South Africa has 25% of the world’s vanadium resources, the second most; however, it produces only 7% of annual production. The potential to grow and benefi ciate vanadium in country, is massive. Greater overt policy support for the vanadium industry would build on work already undertaken by companies such as

Aerial view of Bushveld Minerals mine.

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