some interesting facts

The project was held by Pinnacle resources, here is a description of the project from the company's website. Interesting to see that they only view the magnetite as a co-product to the vanadium.. Given the current price of both commodities this is a very robust project.


In June 2000 Pinnacle Resources announced that it had acquired a 100% ownership of Vanadium and Magnetite Exploration and Development (Pty) Ltd. (V-MED). V-MED, a South African corporation that holds an exclusive 30-year mineral lease on five contiguous farms near Potgietersrus, South Africa. The farms cover 17,188 acres within the Bushveld Complex, a region that accounts for 50 percent of the world's vanadium supply. They host a 6-meter thick main layer magnetite, approximately 17 kilometers in strike length, which is believed to be the largest underdeveloped resource of vanadium in the world. The indicated size of the mineralized body in the main magnetite layer to a depth of only 80 meters is estimated to be 100 million tones of magnetite containing 1.67 million tons of vanadium pentoxide. Assays from diamond core drilling show that the "run-of-mine ore" contains an average of 1.24% vanadium pentoxide and 11.88% titanium dioxide. The outcropping and shallow magnetite layer constitutes a low cost open pit proposition.
Beneath the main magnetite layer lies a 20-meter thick horizon averaging 35% magnetite containing 1.71% vanadium pentoxide. Inferred resources to a depth of 200 meters are estimated to be 320 million tones of magnetite and 2.69 million tons of vanadium. Total resources on the properties to a depth of 200 meters are therefore on the order of 570 million tons of magnetite containing 6.87 million tons of vanadium pentoxide.
In March 1997 a techno-economic study to beneficiate the ore from the main magnetite layer on V-MED's properties was conducted by the Council for Mineral Technology (Mintek), world-renowned specialists in mineral and metallurgical technology. The Department of Mining Engineering, University of Witwatersrand also undertook mining studies. Ross Glanville & Associates of Vancouver, Canada used the results of these investigations for an economic valuation of the properties. They concluded that over a 20-year project life at an annual production rate of 4,120 tons of ferrovanadium (FeV) and a price of $17/kg FeV, the operation showed a net present value (NPV) of $70 million. In May 1998 with increased vanadium prices, Glanville repeated the study using $22/kg FeV that returned an NPV of $111 million.
Recent research and development into the beneficiation of vanadiferous titano-magnetite ores indicates that it may now be economically feasible to extract not only vanadium from the deposits, but also titanium and iron. V-MED is investigating two breakthrough processes utilizing the expertise of Bateman Minerals and Metals subsidiary Bateman Titaco (Pty) Ltd. and Mintek.




and this from a company overview found on the web



Pinnacle Resources, Inc (PINKSHEETS: PNRR) announced today that the Company is seeking to place its 95-percent owned South African subsidiary, Vanadium and Magnetite Exploration and Development (Pty) Limited ("VanMag"), into a joint venture with a major mine developer. VanMag holds a 19,100-acre mineral lease covering a 17-kilometer outcrop of magnetite containing vanadium, titanium, and iron minerals in the Northern Province of South Africa. This body of mineralization has recently been licensed by the South African Department of Minerals to initiate mining operations.
The drill-indicated tonnage of the magnetite mineralization was estimated at 419 million tons to a depth of 200 meters containing 6.4 million tons of vanadium pentoxide. The primary value of the mineralization is vanadium with iron and titanium constituting valuable co-products. Vanadium's main industrial use is in the production of high-strength steel and other metallurgical applications. The current price of vanadium pentoxide is $10 per pound.
A preliminary feasibility study projected a capital investment of US$106,000,000 to build a plant and mine to process 2,100 tons of magnetite ore per day to produce 6,000 tons per year of vanadium pentoxide. Because of the magnitude of the project, Pinnacle's management is convinced that finding an industry joint venture partner is necessary to advance the project to the production stage in the shortest time possible. From such a joint venture relationship Pinnacle expects to realize some immediate cash and a carried shareholding in a public company that will serve as the operating company for VanMag.