Vanadium

Vanadium is a chemical element with symbol V and atomic number 23. It is a hard, silvery-grey, ductile, and malleable transition metal. It does not occur in native form but as a component of minerals.

Vanadium is mainly found in magnetite (iron oxide) deposits. It is also found in bauxite (aluminum ore), rocks with high concentrations of phosphorous-containing minerals, and high uranium content sandstones. Vanadium is also recovered from carbon-rich deposits such as coal, oil shale, crude oil, and tar sands.

The mineralisation style at Abenab is rare with the main mineral being descloizite, a lead-zinc vanadate (Pb,Zn)2(OH)VO4. The ore body is contained in a breccia pipe with the majority vanadium minerals contained within a red clay.