The PEA set out an after-tax NPV (7% discount) of US$338.3 million, an IRR of 50.8%, a payback period of 1.72 years, with an initial capex of $116.76 million including a 25% contingency.

It outlined a 13.5-year mine life producing an average 9.65 million pounds of vanadium pentoxide at an all-in sustaining cost of $6.28/lb and estimated an average selling price of $12.73/lb.

Monday's V2O5 price was $14.20/lb, the company said.

"This comprehensive 249-page PEA presents exceptional project economics and positions Gibellini as the most important vanadium mineral deposit in North America in terms of project viability and time to market," executive chairman John Lee said.

He anticipated a streamlined environmental review process after vanadium was named a critical mineral by the US Geological Survey in December. 

Coupled with the fact Prophecy had filed its plan of operations earlier this month, Lee said the company was on "firm footing to deliver the first primary vanadium producing mine in North America" that would exceed customer requirements for applications from traditional re-enforcement bars to grid-scale batteries and use in the aerospace industry.

The company said it had received unsolicited expressions of interest from various potential investment sources, and was engaged in discussions with potential cornerstone investors, off-takers and banks on potential equity, debt and prepaid off-take financing possibilities.

Propehcy is preparing to tender engineering, procurement, construction management contracts and said it was fine-tuning metallurgy, process design and engineering with its technology partner China's Northwest Nonferrous Metals Mining Group.

The company had C$1.5 million in working capital at the end of March and believed it had sufficient capital to meet its cash needs for the next 12 months.

Its shares rose 4.93% yesterday to C$2.98, capitalising it around $22.3 million.