Largo Vanadium reports lower production in Q3, restates 2023 guidance
Vanadium producer Largo has reported Q3 2023 production of 2,163 tonnes of V2O5 (4.8 million lbs), which is a decline of 26% from the 2,906 tonnes produced in Q3 2022.
The company said that despite higher mining throughput in Q3 2023 (447,165 tonnes) compared with Q3 2022 (351,450 tonnes), V2O5 production from the Maracás Menchen mine was impacted in July and August as a result of the accident at the chemical plant in July, while production in September was affected by the lack of availability of the crushing circuit in September.
Largo added that mitigative measures to increase production levels in future quarters, including increasing crusher availability and recommissioning evaporation sections of the chemical plant are underway.
“Largo remains steadfast in its commitment to rectifying operations in the fourth quarter and has maintained its production, cost and capex guidance for 2023,” the company said.
The company also reported V2O5 equivalent sales of 2,385 tonnes (inclusive of 256 tonnes of purchase material) in Q3 2023, which were in line with expectations for the quarter but represented a 17% decrease in tonnes sold over Q3 2022.
Largo said that spot demand was “soft” in Q3 2023, primarily due to “adverse conditions” in the Chinese and European steel industries. However, strong demand for high purity vanadium products continued, it added.
The company noted that on the Largo Clean Energy (LCE) front, Largo is pleased that hot commissioning and provisional acceptance of its Enel Green Power España (EGPE) 6.1 MWh vanadium redox flow battery (VRFB) deployment are in the final stages of completion, “marking an exciting step towards the conclusion of LCE’s inaugural vanadium battery project.” Largo is a vanadium producing company operating its Maracás Menchen mine in Brazil. The company said its strategic business plan centers on maintaining its position as a leading vanadium supplier with a growth strategy to support a low-carbon future.
