The company recently signed a 10-year water lease agreement with the owner of a private ranch about 14.5km away from the site that will give it approximately 262 million gallons/992 million litres annually.

The minimum flow rate from the year-round spring's surface water stream is 500 gallons per minute, well within the measured flow rate range of 1,000gpm to 3,900gpm and average flow rate of 2,690gpm.

It can extend the deal in seven-year increments up to a total of 99 years.

Company officials said that, because the deal sources water from a private surface spring and baseline studies of it are complete, it will be able to significantly expedite the permitting process since it will not need to secure Nevada Division of Water Resources (DWR) water rights.

Operations vice-president Michael Drozd said Gibellini is the only primary vanadium project in the US with a secured long-term water supply for construction and operation activities.

"The water at the ranch has been approved for irrigation use by the DWR, which will require a change to the use by the project's mine and processing facilities. We expect to file a water usage change application with the DWR by the end of 2018," he said.

Prophecy is targeting 2019 to submit Gibellini's environmental impact statement (EIS) and 2020 for full permits.

Gibellini, which will employ heap leaching at its site south of Eureka, has a production goal of 9.65 million pounds (4.4 million kilograms) annually. Its estimated mine life is 13.5 years.