The Western Australian (WA) Government welcomes the announcement that Technology Metals Australia Limited and Tata Steel Limited have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The WA Development, Jobs and Trade Minister Roger Cook and the Minister of International Education David Templeman’s Invest and Trade WA journey to India in July hastened the MoU’s completion.
Minister Cook congratulates Technology Metals and Tata Steel on their MOU, which might be advantageous for both businesses, WA and India.
“It is a prime example of how our recent mission to India has opened doors, leading to greater investment and collaboration between WA and India,” Minister Cook stated.
Technology Metals representatives travelled with the WA’s largest business delegation, which toured four Indian cities over the course of eight days from 12 July to 19 July.
According to Minister Cook, with a comprehensive schedule of Government and corporate meetings, industry briefings, roundtable discussions, and one-on-one business matching, this successful trip was the largest to ever leave the beaches of Washington.
“The McGowan Government is committed to enhancing the State’s strong relationship with India, which is underpinned by common values, strong people-to-people connections, and substantial trade and investment links,” Minister Cook added.
The Gabanintha and Yarrabubba vanadium deposits are part of Technology Metals’ Murchison Technology Metals Project (MTMP), which is 50 kilometres south of Meekatharra and one of the highest-grade vanadium prospects in the world.
Technology Metals is also developing the MTMP to generate high-quality vanadium pentoxide. The company is also looking into prospects to proceed downstream and produce vanadium electrolyte, ferrovanadium, and vanadium nitride.
Tata Steel, a member of the international Tata Group, is the tenth-largest manufacturer of steel in the world, with an annual capacity of 34 million tonnes of crude steel.
Ferrovanadium and vanadium nitride are employed in the steel alloying process to improve the strength and wear resistance of Tata Steels’ steel products.
The MoU creates a framework for conversations regarding the offtake of downstream vanadium products, including vanadium pentoxide.
In order to jointly build ferrovanadium production facilities in WA and India, Technology Metals and Tata Steel will look at downstream technological collaboration.
Potential investments by Tata Steel into Technology Metals and/or the MTMP will also be discussed.
Minister for Mines and Petroleum Bill Johnston said the MoU is an excellent news for WA’s expanding battery and ket minerals industries.
“Beyond steel production, downstream vanadium products are an essential input for emerging energy technologies. Vanadium electrolyte is used in the manufacturing of vanadium redox flow batteries, which are used to provide long-term storage for electricity systems,” Minister Johnston stated.
Minister Johnston added the Murchison Technology Metals Project by Technology Metals is a fascinating illustration of the battery and critical minerals prospects that WA has to offer to international companies.
