Vanadium Resources Limited has secured a Right of First Refusal over portions of the Highveld Industrial Park in eMalahleni, South Africa, establishing a preferred brownfield location for its planned V-Iron Plant.

The agreement, signed through subsidiary VR8 Highveld Proprietary Limited with Highveld Industrial Park Proprietary Limited, runs through 31 July 2027. Under the terms, the company holds a 15-day pre-emptive right to acquire the property if third-party interest arises, alongside an option to conclude a retention agreement that secures site exclusivity for up to 12 months.

The arrangement transitions the company's planned processing facilities away from a conceptual layout onto an established industrial footprint. Previous announcements had progressed the accelerated V-Iron Plant Scoping Study on a conceptual basis, whereas the new term sheet anchors the development to specific heavy-industrial acreage equipped with established utility connections, transport corridors, and regional metallurgical expertise.

Securing the site supports the scheduled completion of the accelerated V-Iron Plant Scoping Study by 30 September 2026. That study evaluates the co-production of vanadium-bearing slag and pig iron using ore sourced from the Steelpoortdrift project, which hosts a total Mineral Resource of 680.13 million tonnes at 0.70% V2O5 and 22.76% Fe2O3.

The scoping study findings are expected to underpin ongoing funding discussions. Vanadium Resources is negotiating a potentially binding definitive offtake agreement with U.S. Vanadium for vanadium-bearing slag and is working alongside Rand Merchant Bank, appointed in April 2026 as exclusive financial advisor and capital sourcing agent to secure debt and equity financing for processing infrastructure.

“The identification and securement of the site on which the V-Iron Plant is planned to be constructed will enable the completion of feasibility studies towards the production of vanadium slag and pig iron as raw materials in the vanadium market for critical metal consumption and local steelmaking. Securing the site with the ability to move to exclusivity when we need it, is a capital-efficient way to de-risk the next phase of the Project and put in place another key building block in the Company's co-production strategy.”

— Nick Diack, Chief Executive Officer

Subject to positive scoping study results, the company intends to advance toward a definitive feasibility study, front-end engineering design, and final investment decision on a site-specific basis.

Read the full announcement: VR8 Secures Rights Over Preferred Site for V-IRON Plant