Energizer has reached out to Martha Schreiber, chief executive of Cellstrom, an Austrian-based company that makes large-scale vanadium batteries, with the hopes of establishing a strategic alliance.

A possible partnership between a Canadian junior mining company drilling in Madagascar and a European clean-tech firm might appear to be an unholy alliance. As Ms. Harrs describes it: "It's like two worlds colliding."

Ms. Schreiber is taking a wait-and-see approach. "It's normal for a company like ours to want to secure resources," she says, adding talks are still early. "When they have something to offer us, we will be interested," Ms. Schreiber says.

Taking such a proactive strategy in the early stages of raising money is new for Mr. MacKinnon. In fact, it's new for most junior mining companies in Canada. The end user is not always factored in to their investor pitches. And few miners have reached out to the green power sector.

Part of Energizer's pitch is to show the potential growth in demand for this metal. Currently, the worldwide supply of the rare earth metal is 60,000 metric tonnes and the compound growth just from steel consumption is 6%, according to a November report issued by Toronto-based Byron Capital Markets. However, if potential growth of Vanadium batteries is factored in, that compound annual rate could rise to 11%, according to the Byron report.

What makes the vanadium battery even more interesting is that it is used in electric cars being produced by Subaru (its G4e prototype uses a lithium-vanadium-phosphate battery) and BYD, the Chinese-made car backed by Warren Buffett.

That's a narrative that Energizer is pushing. Whether the sales pitch works with investors is another story.

One veteran investor, who does not want to be named, calls Energizer's pitch just the latest flavour of the day. "No one knows what the future battery technology is going to be," says the Toronto financier. Besides, he says, there's plenty of vanadium out there.

But Ms. Lee Harrs believes this tale will not only resonate with mining investors, but investors interested in renewal energy. A strategic partnership might lead to the manufacturing and/or distribution of vanadium batteries in Canada.

"From a personal perspective, it's also fantastic," says Ms. Lee Harrs. "I've been in the mining industry for a decade. I have small children and I'm conscious of the legacy we are leaving behind for our children. ... This project lets a miner like me play a part in leaving a better place for them."