Montezuma Releases Scoping Study Results for Butcherbird Manganese Project

A scoping study initiated by Montezuma (ASX:MZM) into its Butcherbird manganese asset has proven the project to be both technically and economically viable, the company said.

The Butcherbird project, located in Western Australia, is Montezuma’s flagship endeavor and reportedly hosts Australia’s largest onshore manganese resource. The recently concluded scoping study aimed to assess the options for mine development and the potential capital and operating cost requirements for project advancement.

The company’s goal at Butcherbird is to produce a range of high-value manganese products on a commercial scale.

The study was focused on both the processing of the Yanneri Ridge deposit and the development of an open pit mine based on a mineral resource of 180.8 million tonnes at 10.8 percent manganese in the inferred and indicated categories.

According to Montezuma, the results indicate that Butcherbird would be technically viable and economically lucrative, boasting low operating costs, simple logistics and prudent capital requirements.

“The results were encouraging and a clearer pathway to the project’s development has been mapped out,” said executive director, Justin Brown in a press release. “We see great potential at the Butcherbird for increasing the resource and rapid mine development leading to Montezuma becoming a manganese producer in the near-term.”

The company will now begin the implementation of a pre-feasibility study (PFS) and apply for regulatory consents in 2018/19, with development targeted to take place in 2020/21. Montezuma has sufficient capital to fund the completion of the PFS and definitive feasibility study as currently budgeted.

It has been a busy few weeks at the Australian-based manganese explorer. In early April, the company announced it was seeking shareholder approval to formally change the company name to Element 25, a reference to the symbol for manganese on the periodic table of elements.

Trading of company stock was briefly halted earlier this week, at the company’s behest pending the release of the pre-feasibility results of Butcherbird.

On Friday (May 11), the company’s share price took a slight tumble, down 3.45 percent for the week to close at AU$0.28. As of Monday (May 14) 1:30 p.m. EST, Montezuma’s share price was down 7.14 percent, trading at AU$0.26.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.