Australian Vanadium Limited receive milestone payment of $14.7m to boost Mid West vanadium production industry

A Commonwealth payment of $14.7 million to Australian Vanadium Limited symbolises another milestone in the development of critical mineral production in the Mid West. A vanadium deposit south of Meekatharra is set to be processed at a site in Tenindewa, between Geraldton and Mullewa, which will become the processing hub for the region. The payment made by the Federal Government under the Commonwealth Grant Agreement is part of the manufacturing initiative stream, which will help AVL establish an Australian vanadium battery industry and will help push production in the Mid West. Australian Vanadium Limited CEO Graham Arvidson said the funding was a testament to the benefits of the project, which will be felt directly by the Mid West. Mr Arvidson said the project was expected to “create hundreds of jobs in mining and processing”. The grant will go towards activities required to construct and commission a crushing, milling and beneficiation plant and a high-purity vanadium processing facility capable of using green hydrogen to partly fuel the extraction process for the project. The critical mineral extraction process is a precursor for vanadium electrolyte manufacturing which AVL is undertaking at its facility in Perth. AVL has now received a total of $24.5m in milestone payments related to the grant, with the first payment of $9.8m made in June 2023.