Discounted Cash Flow Analysis of a Process for Vanadium Extraction from Titaniferous Slag

Vanadium (V) is a strategically important metal commonly recovered from titaniferous magnetite ores. Its principal application is in steel production, where it enhances mechanical properties, while smaller quantities are utilized in chemical processing, catalysis, and emerging energy storage technologies. It is expected that the demand for vanadium in the steel industry will increase by a compound annual growth rate of approximately 2.7% by 2029, and demand in energy storage will increase by an additional 6%. The growing demand for V has triggered global concerns regarding the supply risks of this critical metal. Industrial recovery of vanadium from magnetite deposits is carried out either through dedicated primary vanadium extraction routes or integrated processes that co-produce vanadium alongside steel. The latter accounted for approximately 73% of global vanadium output in 2021. These co-production operations generate significant volumes of by-product slag, often referred to as titaniferous slag, which can still contain notable concentrations of vanadium. In this study, a modified primary vanadium extraction route is proposed to recover V from such slag, using material containing approximately 0.9% V2O5 sourced from the former Evraz Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation in South Africa as a representative case. The work focuses on assessing the economic feasibility of the proposed process through a Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis. Key financial metrics including net present value (NPV), internal rate of return (IRR), and payback period were calculated to evaluate viability and to identify process stages requiring further optimization.