U3O8 Corp. Enhances its Battery Commodity Focus by Joining Vanitec – the Only Global Vanadium Organization – to Provide Access to Battery Research and Development
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Press release
U3O8 Corp. Enhances its Battery Commodity Focus by Joining Vanitec – the Only Global
Vanadium Organization – to Provide Access to Battery Research and Development
Toronto, Ontario – February 23, 2017 – U3O8 Corp. (TSX: UWE), (OTCQB: UWEFF) (“U3O8 Corp.” or
the “Company”) announces that it has become an associate member of Vanitec Limited (“Vanitec”).
Vanitec brings together research organizations and manufacturers of products that contain vanadium,
with companies involved in the mining and processing of the metal. The use of vanadium in batteries is
growing exponentially, not only for industrial-scale Va nadium Redox Flow Batteries (“VRB”), but also for
lithium ion batteries. U3O8 Corp. also has phosphate and nickel resources – commodities that are in
demand by the battery industry.
“One of the greatest challenges and opportunities related with renewable energy from solar or wind is its
inherent supply variability that need s to be regulated or smoothed in order to be a useful source of
electricity,” said Dr Richard Spencer, President and CEO of U3O8 Corp. “Batteries perform this function,
acting like shock-absorbers, stori ng energy when an excess is produced, and delivering electricity when
demand rises. Lithium-ion batteries are ideal for hi gh power output for a few hours, but when power is
needed for longer periods, other technologies, such as flow batteries, provide a better alternative.
Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries are a superior alte rnative when power is needed for more than four
hours – and these batteries can easily and cost-effectiv ely be scaled up for industrial applications. With
its vanadium resources of 63 million pounds indica ted and 118 million pounds inferred, U3O8 Corp.
represents a potential supplier to the battery industry. Vanitec provides a forum in which we may forge
closer ties with battery manufacture rs as well as research facilities that are working on wa ys of making
the batteries more efficient and cost-effective. This is an exciting time since, after years of weakening
markets, the vanadium price has rebounded sharply in response to increased demand.”
U3O8 Corp.’s Vanadium Resources
U3O8 Corp. has a significant vanadium resource of 63 million pounds indicated and 118 million pounds
inferred in its Berlin and Laguna Salada deposits. Vanadium would potentially be produced as a by-
product in both deposits, constituting approxim ately 14% of revenue from the Laguna Salada Deposit 1
and approximately 9% from Berlin2. At Laguna Salada, the removal of pebbles by screening results in the
uranium and vanadium being concentrated into the fi ne-grained component of the mineralized gravel.
Test work has shown that beneficiation by screening results in vanadium grades increasing over four
times in the fine-grained material compared with the gravel’s in situ grade1.
Table 1. Summary of U3O8 Corp.’s NI 43-101 vanadium resources (source: Preliminary Economic
Assessments on the Berlin and Laguna Salada deposits3,4).
Deposit
NI 43-101
Resource
Classification
Tonnes
(million)
Grade
V2O5
Beneficiated
Grade
Contained
V2O5 (Mlb)
Indicated 0.6 0.4% - 6.0
Inferred 8.1 0.5% - 91.0
Indicated 47.3 0.06% 0.24% 57.1
Inferred 20.8 0.06% 0.22% 26.9
Vanadium Resources
Laguna Salada,
Arge ntina
Berlin, Colombia
2
Vanadium in Batteries
Vanadium is used in flow batteries as well as some lithium ion types.
Flow Batteries:
Vanadium Redox Flow Batteries (“VRBs”) provide utility- or industrial– scale electrical storage capacity.
The battery consists essentially of two tanks of va nadium electrolyte separated by a membrane. Its
capacity to store energy can easily be scaled by increasing the size of the tanks. Vanadium represents
35-40% of the cost of VRBs.
What really sets these batteries apart is that t hey can be charged and discharged over and over again
without degradation or significant loss of capacity. Large VRBs with a megawatt capacity have been
through over 200,000 charge-discharge cycles, equivalent to over 250 years of operation assuming one
charge-discharge cycle per day, with no significant d egradation of the electrolyte. The operating life of
VRBs is considered to be around 20 years because of gradual degradation of the membrane; the actual
vanadium electrolyte does not degrade and can be recycled into a new battery. In contrast, most long-
lived lithium ion batteries last up to 10,000 charge-discharge cycles – and have a maximum life of about
seven years.
As a result of the charged ions being in a liquid, VRBs charge in a very short time, and conversely, the
stored energy can be released almost instantaneo usly when required. VRBs also have excellent
charge retention; they can be left for up to a year and still retain 98% of their charge. New generation
VRBs operate efficiently over a wide temperature range of -40°C to +50°C. VRBs are also non-
flammable.
The energy capacity of current VRB models is relati vely low (Figure 1). This means that for a given
amount of energy storage, a VRB will be signific antly larger than a lithium ion battery. Ongoing
development is focused on increasing the energy ca pacity of VRBs and the most recent work shows
that the addition of phosphate to the electrolyte doubles its energy capacity.
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The up-front cost of a VRB is curr ently more than double that of a lithium ion battery system of similar
energy storage capacity. This is counterbalanced by two things: longer battery life (20 years for a VRB
versus 7 years for a lithium ion battery), and the fact that the VRB electrolyte can be reused indefinitely
in new batteries.
Lithium Vanadium Phosphate Batteries:
Lithium vanadium phosphate (“LVP”) batteries are attr acting attention because of their higher energy
capacity (their capacity to store a large amount of energy for thei r weight). LVPs have an energy
capacity almost double that of ot her mainstream lithium ion batteries (490Wh/kg versus 200Wh/kg for
lithium cobalt oxide (“LCO”) and 250Wh/kg for lithium nickel cobalt aluminium oxide (“NCA”) batteries –
Figure 1). LVPs also have a slightly higher voltage (3.8V) in comparison to the 3.6V of the LCO and
NCA batteries, which allows for faster acceleration in electric vehicles. The greater thermal and
electrochemical stability of phosphate also makes the batteries safer t han many other types of lithium
ion battery.
Japan’s GS Yuasa Corp., which has joint ventures with Mitsubishi and Honda, is manufacturing LVP
batteries, as is Valence Technology Inc. in the US A. BYD, a large Chinese battery manufacturer, is
currently producing a lithium iron phosphate (“LFP”) battery for the electric bus market that it’s
concentrating on, but is reported to be evaluating the L VP battery. LVP is also the battery of choice for
Subaru’s G4e electric car.
The growing attractiveness of phosphate in batteries is extremely interesting to U3O8 Corp. because of
the phosphate resource in its Berlin Deposit in Colombia (Table 2). Originally the Company had
considered the phosphate in terms of the agricultural fertilizer ma rket only, but the emergence of
phosphate as a key component of batteries is driving the Company to focus more on the battery market,
especially since the Berlin Deposit also contains a resource of nickel, another commodity used in some
lithium ion batteries.
Table 2. U3O8 Corp.’s NI 43-101 phosphate and nickel resource in the Berlin Deposit4.
Vanadium Market & Outlook
The vanadium market is predicted to slip into deficit later this year, with demand outstripping supply for
the foreseeable future (Figure 2). Prices have reacted by rising sharply after almost a decade of decline
(Figure 3).
Over 90% of current vanadium demand is from the steel industry, and is growing at a steady rate of 3%-
4% per year. Demand is driven by vanadium-steel having one of the highest strength to weight ratios
of any steel alloy. Adding only 2 pounds of vanadium to a tonne of steel doubles its strength, and rebar
made from vanadium steel alloy is a key component to improving the resistance of buildings to
earthquakes.
Grade
P2O5
Contained P 2O5
(tonnes)
Grade
Nickel
Contained
Nickel
(Mlbs)
Indicated 0.6 8.4% 50,000 0.2% 3.1
Inferred 8.1 9.4% 800,000 0.2% 42.1
Nickel
Other Battery Commodity Resources, Berlin Deposit
NI 43-101
Resource
Classification
Tonnes
(million)
Phosphate
4
Demand for vanadium from the battery industry is st arting to grow exponentially; batteries are expected
to make up 25% of vanadium demand in 2020 from 6% in 2016 (Figure 2).
5
Technical Information
Dr. Richard Spencer, P.Geo., C.Geol., President and CEO of U3O8 Corp. and a Qualified Person as
defined by National Instrument 43-101, has approved the technical information in this news release
relating to the Laguna Salada Deposit and the related PEA.
About U3O8 Corp.
U3O8 Corp. is focused on exploration and developm ent of deposits of uranium and associated
commodities in South America. Potential by-products from uranium production include commodities used
in the energy storage industry – in the manufacture of batteries - such as nickel, vanadium and
phosphate. The Company’s mineral resources estimates were made in accordance with National
Instrument 43-101, and are contained in three deposits:
Laguna Salada Deposit, Argentina – a PEA shows this near surf ace, free-digging uranium -
vanadium deposit has low production-cost potential;
Berlin Deposit, Colombia – a PEA shows that Berlin also has low-cost uranium production potential
due to revenue that would be generated from by-products of phosphate, vanadium, nickel, rare earths
(yttrium and neodymium) and other metals that occur within the deposit; and
Kurupung Deposit, Guyana – a uranium resource has been estimated in four veins within a
uranium-zirconium vein system. Resources have been estimated on four veins, while consistent
mineralization of the same type has been intersected in scout drilling of an additional six veins, while
yet other veins require first-time exploration drilling.
Information on U3O8 Corp., its resources and technical reports are available at www.u3o8corp.com and
on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Follow U3O8 Corp. on Facebook: www.facebook.com/u3o8corp, Twitter:
www.twitter.com/u3o8corp and Youtube: www.youtube.com/u3o8corp.
Forward-Looking Statements
This news release includes certain “forward lookin g statements” related with the development plans,
economic potential and growth targets of U3O8 Corp ’s projects. Forward-looking statements consist of
statements that are not purely historical, including st atements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or
intensions for the future, and include, but not limited to, statements with respect to: (a) the low-cost and
near-term development of Laguna Salada, (b) the Laguna Salada and Berlin PEAs, (c) the potential of the
Kurupung district in Guyana, (d) impact of the U- pgradeTM process on expected capital and operating
expenditures, and (e) the price and market for uranium. These statements are based on assumptions,
including that: (i) actual results of our exploration, re source goals, metallurgical testing, economic studies
and development activities will continue to be posit ive and proceed as planned, and assumptions in the
Laguna Salada and Berlin PEAs prove to be accurate, (ii) a joint venture will be formed with the provincial
petroleum and mining company on the Argentina proj ect, (iii) requisite regulatory and governmental
approvals will be received on a timely basis on terms acceptable to U3O8 Corp., (iv) economic, political
and industry market conditions will be favourable, a nd (v) financial markets and the market for uranium
will improve for junior resource companies in the sh ort-term. Such statements are subject to risks and
uncertainties that may cause actual results, perform ance or developments to differ materially from those
contained in such statements, including, but not limited to: (1) changes in general economic and financial
market conditions, (2) changes in demand and prices for minerals, (3) the Company’s ability to establish
appropriate joint venture partnerships, (4) litigation, regulatory, and legislative developments, dependence
on regulatory approvals, and changes in environmental compliance requirements, community support and
the political and economic climate, (5) the inherent uncertainties and speculative nature associated with
exploration results, resource estimates, potential re source growth, fu ture metallurgical test results,
changes in project parameters as pl ans evolve, (6) competitive developm ents, (7) availability of future
financing, (8) exploration risks, and other factor s beyond the control of U3O8 Corp. including those
factors set out in the “Risk Factors” in our Annual Information Form available on SEDAR at
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www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such
information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and,
as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forw ard-looking statements. U3O8 Corp. assumes no
obligation to update such information, except as ma y be required by law. For more information on the
above-noted PEAs, refer to the S eptember 18, 2014 techni cal report titled “P reliminary Economic
Assessment of the Laguna Salada Uranium-Vanadi um Deposit, Chubut Province, Argentina” and the
January 18, 2013 technical report titled “U3O8 Corp . Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Berlin
Deposit, Colombia.”
For further information, please contact:
Richard Spencer
President & CEO
U3O8 Corp.
Tel.: (416) 868-1491
1 September 18, 2014 Technical Report: “Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Laguna Salada
Uranium Vanadium Deposit, Chubut Province, Argentina.
2 January 18, 2013 technical report: “Berlin Project, Colombia – Preliminary Economic Assessment, NI
43-101 Report.”
3 May 20, 2011: “Laguna Salada Project, Chubut Pr ovince, Argentina, NI 43-101 Technical Report on
Laguna Salada: Initial Resource Estimate”.
4 March 2, 2012: “Berlin Project, Colombia – National Instrument NI 43-101 Report”.