American Manganese Focus on Lithium supply from Lithium Ion Battery Recycling Opportunity

American Manganese Inc. ( TSXV:AMY) announced the Company has submitted applications for government scientific research grants both in the United States and Canada to extend its patented technology for producing electrolytic products from low grade manganese resources located in the US Southwest by proof of concept testing for recycling and for upcycling lithium ion electric vehicle (EV) batteries.
As quoted in the press release:

Currently the lithium demand for electric vehicle battery cathode materials is outstripping available supply.  The price of the lithium carbonate feedstock in North America is currently about US $6400/tonne.  Recently reported Chinese spot prices have been up to triple this amount.
Successful application of the AMI Patented Process could result in the following benefits:

• Reducing the demand for new cathode materials, notably lithium and cobalt.
• Providing a source of lower cost recycled/upcycled cathode materials, potentially generating higher profit margins for battery manufacturers.
• Improving battery safety, as hydrometallurgical processing eliminates product crushing and grinding potentially lowering processing costs, while generating products with less extraneous metal contamination thereby lowering the chances of battery explosions or fires due to thermal run-away.

The AMI process offers other potential advantages:

• A hydrometallurgical process that is easily scalable.
• The potential to recycle all lithium and base metal matrix compounds.
• A process applicable to multiple lithium ion battery chemistries including Lithium Cobalt (LiCoO2), Lithium Aluminum Cobalt, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt (LiNixMnyCozO2), and Lithium Manganese (LiMn2O4).
• The ability to tailor treatment processes to precipitate cathode materials with tailored structures and chemistries for improved battery performance.

Subject to securing adequate funding, the Company intends to partner with Kemetco Research Inc. to demonstrate on a bench scale that the conceptual process can successfully treat spent lithium ion battery cathode materials, producing rejuvenated materials suitable for re-use in new lithium ion batteries.  The proposed testing program would be carried out at Kemetco Research Inc.’s laboratory located in Richmond, BC.