Toronto-based vanadium producer Largo Resources said this week it hasn’t being impacted by Covid-19 in Brazil.
It operates a vanadium site out of Maracás, Bahia state.
“The company is continuing to monitor the rapidly developing impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and will take all possible actions to help minimize the impact on the company and its people,” CEO Paulo Minsk said.
“To date, there has been no impact on our production or on our shipment of product out of Maracás. At this time, there has been no significant disruption to the company's supply chain for its operations and the level of critical consumables continues to be at normal levels,” he said, adding “not a single” employee or contractor has tested positive for the virus.
Minsk said the risk to its operating team in Maracás “remains relatively low.”
Largo said vanadium output in Q4 2019 reached 3,011 mt, a 16 percent year-on-year increase from Q4 2018.
The company said it reached a “record” vanadium production in December 2019, by producing 1,162 mt.
Despite increased vanadium output, Largo said posted a net loss of $36.2 million in 2019 due to lower vanadium prices and “the re-measurement of trade receivables / payables as part of its offtake agreement which expires on April 30, 2020.”
Vanadium is used as an additive for steel. It is used to produce rust resistant, as well as high-speed tool steels.