Exploration over the past year has shown clear evidence that Energizer Resources’ Green Giant Project in southern Madagascar contains a massive vanadium deposit that easily could be valued in the multi-billions of dollars. Based on conservative estimates, a 200 million tonne deposit with average widths of 50 meters, grades of 0.5% and a price of $4/lb of vanadium would be worth more than $11 billion. Incredibly, the Green Giant deposit appears to be much larger than that. Clear geophysical, geochemical and geological evidence suggests the Green Giant Project is, in fact, a giant vanadium deposit. Major and minor trends, especially near-surface, appear to define vanadium mineralization that stretches for more than 18 km. Exploration has identified extraordinary widths extending 200-plus meters at surface.
       Energizer Resources recently completed a total of 85 drill holes totalling 13,004 meters deep and excavated 120 mechanical trenches totalling 16,520 meters long, as well as metallurgical sampling over the company’s 18 km-long vanadium trend within two zones – the Jaky zone (850 metres of strike length) and the Manga zone (500 metres of strike length).
       Assay results from the Manga Zone ranged as high as 1.55% V2O5 over 33 metres (Hole M-20), 1.20% V2O5 over 6 metres (Hole J-13), and 1.11% V2O5 over 22.5 metres (Hole M-37). Generally it becomes economic to mine for vanadium when grades fall in the 0.3% to 0.5% V2O5 range – or between 6.6 and 11 pounds of vanadium per tonne. Assay grades at the Green Giant fall well on the high-end of that range.
       “This latest phase of our exploration program continues to improve our understanding of the main zone of vanadium mineralization and its configuration,” says Ms. Lee Harrs. “These additional assay results continue to validate the potential of the zone to contain significant vanadium mineralization. As a result, we plan to initiate a resource calculation on the Manga Zone.”
       The company’s 2010 resource definition drill program will focus on the Manga zone which has a high-grade core that is open along strike and at depth, and has been defined over a strike length of 500 metres. The 2010 program is expected to commence in May after the end of rainy season, and will focus on expanding the zone over a strike length of 3,000 metres
       The results are expected to provide a framework for Energizer Resources to complete an NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate. Baseline environmental and socioeconomic studies are also underway. Meanwhile, the company is talking with two Thai-based companies that are developing a very large coal project close to the Green Giant that will include a new port facility, a road and railroad between the coast and the coalfield, a coal-fired power plant, and a major water pipeline. Energizer Resources believes there are strong potential infrastructure synergies between the two projects that would provide significant cost savings for both capital and operating components of a commercial vanadium operation at the Green Giant.
       The project encompasses a 194 square kilometer property in an active mining area where international companies are investing billions of dollars. The Green Giant property’s topography could not be more advantageous for Energizer Resources. The 22.5 km-long, rolling, savanna-like terrain offers easy access over seasonal roads. Because the property is located in the savannah, there is no environmental impact on or concern for local wildlife, flora and fauna. A licensed airstrip on the property can handle heavy aircraft. The Green Giant base camp, located in a low-density populated area just outside the village of Fotadrevo, provides quarters, washrooms, showers and generated power for up to 30 people – allowing the company’s exploration team to remain comfortably on-site for extended periods.
       Energizer Resources works closely with the Madagascar government to ensure that all necessary permitting is in place and current, and all regulations are understood and complied with. Armed with approved land and environmental permits, a preliminary metallurgical study, the latest on-site exploration technologies, and a $12-million exploration budget, Energizer Resources’ exploration team plans to conduct environmental, geotechnical, metallurgical and marketing studies, and complete a pre-feasibility study over the next 18-24 months.
       Initial metallurgical testing of core samples indicates minimum recoveries of 70%-80%. Additional metallurgical work is expected to produce even higher recovery rates. Using an open pit mine production rate of 25,000 tpd at an 80% recovery rate at an on-site acid plant, and a minimum 200 million tonne targeted deposit, consulting engineers predict the Green Giant Project could pay back capital costs of about $450 million in a little over two years and continue to provide Energizer Resources a substantial profit over a 20-year mine life.

       So, just why is vanadium so special? Vanadium is added to steel to create a product that is lightweight but extremely high in tensile strength and wear resistance – the fastest growing segment of the steel market. One of the first industrial uses of vanadium was to lighten steel used in the Ford Model T chassis. Today, vanadium is used to create steel and titanium alloys for the construction, automotive, tool-making, shipbuilding, pipeline, aviation and aerospace industries. In fact, vanadium-titanium alloys are irreplaceable in aerospace because they offer the best strength-to-weight ratio of any comparable material. According to BHP Billiton, “more steel will be consumed in the next 20 years than was consumed during the entire 20th Century.”

       With a growing emphasis on “green” technologies, there is increasing demand for vanadium in this sector as well. Vanadium’s unique qualities are prized in battery applications, particularly for the efficient storage of solar, wind and geothermal power generated electricity, as well as in extending the range (energy) of hybrid & electric cars. Rechargeable vanadium batteries have the unique ability to store and release huge amounts of electricity instantaneously. Vanadium is becoming an essential additive to lithium-ion batteries.
       Discover Magazine calls vanadium “the element that could change the world”. The U.S. government is investing $2 billion to develop advanced batteries, particularly for storage of renewable energy and for battery-powered vehicles. A research partnership involving leading industry and universities is investigating high-performance steel-vanadium alloys for the U.S. Army. The metal also has health applications – it removes toxins from effluents and natural gas and has even been found to be effective in helping control the effects of Type 2 diabetes.
       World consumption of vanadium is expected to rise significantly in the coming years. According to the CPM Group, vanadium demand “increased at a robust rate” over the past five years and the future outlook for vanadium prices is “positive”. However, many vanadium sources require a relatively high market price to extract the metal profitably. Not so at the Green Giant Project where the size, grade and simplified processing should enable Energizer Resources to operate at half the typical industry cost.
       “The scale, grade and unique geology of our Green Giant Project makes this a game-changer,” says Kirk McKinnon, Energizer Resources’ Chairman and CEO. “We have the ability to be a significant barrier to entry in the vanadium market.”

       Energizer Resources’ seasoned management team is led by its Chairman and CEO Kirk McKinnon, who has over 25 years senior management experience. He also serves as President and CEO of MacDonald Mines Exploration Ltd. (named by the TSX Venture in 2008 as #2 among Canada’s top 10 mining companies), Red Pine Exploration Inc., and HoneyBadger Exploration Inc. Previously he served with several high-profile Canadian corporations, including Nestlé Canada. Other members of the management team include President and COO Julie Lee Harrs, VP and CFO Richard Schler, VP of Business Development Brent Nykoliation, and Craig Scherba, P.Geol., V.P. of Exploration.
       “We are positioning the Green Giant Mine to capitalize on the developing “green” market and the need for efficient battery storage and to ultimately compete as a significant supplier of vanadium to the steel and renewable energy industry,” says Ms. Lee Harrs. In actuality, because of the incredible magnitude of Energizer Resources’ Madagascar deposit, the Green Giant could well meet all the world’s vanadium needs for the next century.

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