Australian Vanadium Ltd (ASX:AVL) has closed the book on an option conversion, boosting its bank balance along the way.
Overall, the option exercise delivered a $12.03 million boost to AVL’s reserves, while just 77.9 million options remained unexercised by the expiry date.
Investors exercised more than 254 million AVLOA options (set for expiry on December 18) over the last three months, adding $6.35 million to the company’s bottom line.
The ASX-lister now has $27.3 million on hand — enough to progress the next phase of development at its namesake vanadium project in WA.
On the last trading day before Christmas, managing director Vincent Algar said the company was excited to head into 2023 with “many milestones” under its belt.
“AVL’s technically strong team is well funded to significantly progress the development of the Australian Vanadium Project,” he stated.
About the project
AVL’s eponymous camp is considered one of the world’s most advanced vanadium projects in development.
It hosts a 239-million-tonne resource (grading at 0.73% vanadium pentoxide) and a 30.9-million-tonne ore reserve.
Australian Vanadium’s overarching mission is to expose investors to all aspects of the vanadium value chain – from resource through to steel and energy storage opportunities.
In the latest development news, the company recently appointed Primero Group and GR Engineering Services to undertake early contractor involvement work for the project’s rushing, milling and beneficiation plant.
The collaboration will run into the second quarter of 2023, when each contractor will present an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) proposal, designed to take the plant into the next stage of development.
Beyond the Australian Vanadium Project, the company is also on the hunt for base and precious metals at the Coates nickel-copper-platinum group element (PGE) project, near Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX:CHN, OTCQB:CGMLF)’s famed Julimar project in WA.