Mining firm VanadiumCorp Resource has become the sole owner of a vanadium recovery process following a patent purchase agreement (PPA) with fellow Canada based Electrochem Technologies and Materials.
The PPA sees VanadiumCorp take control of all patent rights for the VanadiumCorp-Electrochem Processing Technology (VEPT), including the entire intellectual property portfolio.
VanadiumCorp’s chief executive officer, Adriaan Bakker said the acquisition reinforced its plan to commercialise the VEPT technology.
Under an original agreement with Electrochem signed 14 February 2017, Vanadiumcorp had the option to purchase the 50% remaining interest in VEPT, a novel chemical process that consists of digesting vanadiferous feedstock into concentrated sulphuric acid.
The technology addresses the recovery of vanadium pentoxide, vanadyl sulfate, ferrous sulfate, titanium hydrolysate, and silica from feedstocks such as vanadiferous titano-magnetite, iron ores and concentrates such as magnetite and hematite, vanadium industrial wastes such as BOF-slags, and other industrial by-products also containing vanadium.
Pursuant to the completed PPA, signed 10 November, Electrochem received a cash payment of CAD $350,000 ($269,000) for its interest in VEPT.
Electrochem will also be entitled to royalties on production equivalent to 3.0% for every plant using the VEPT worldwide. Vanadiumcorp will have the option to buy-back each 0.5% for $1 million up to the full 3.0% for $6 million.
Electrochem will remain the exclusive contractor/consultant for the continued development of VEPT subject to standard work agreements, budgets, and approvals. It will also undertake test work for other companies wishing to use the VEPT process.
Electrochem’s president and owner, Dr. Francois Cardarelli, inventor of the VEPT said: “Electrochem will continue to work with Vanadiumcorp to speed up the commercialisation of the technology especially in Quebec but also abroad.”
Jurisdictions where patent protection for VEPT is filed and pending: European Union [EP 18757453.8]; Canada [CA 3032329 A1]; US [US 2020/0157696 A1]; Australia [AU 2018/225820]; India [IN 2019/17004662] and South Africa [ZA 2019/00743].
