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Element 25 Limited (E25 or Company) (ASX:E25) is pleased to present its Quarterly Report.
Highlights
Battery Grade Manganese Feasibility Study Delivers Compelling Results
- Feasibility Study1 (FS) demonstrates compelling economics for the proposed first ever US based battery grade high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) facility in the U.S. (Facility).
- US Electric Vehicle (EV) demand is expected to grow 12x by 2030 (Benchmark Minerals).
- Industry commitments of over US$90 billion to build U.S. battery capacity to provide batteries for 10M electric vehicles (EVs) each year.
- HPMSM is required for the production of pre-cathode active materials (pCAM) used in EV batteries.
- Element 25 Limited (Element 25, E25 or Company) (ASX:E25) Facility is positioned to be the leading US source of HPMSM.
- Offtake and financing agreements in place with Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis) and General Motors LLC (GM) bringing US$115M in financing to the project via equity, pre-payment and debt.
- Industry leading ESG credentials - E25 HPMSM calculated to produce ~1.7kg of CO2 for every 1kg of HPMSM which is approximately ~ 67% lower than competitors in China and ~26% lower than closest non-China optimised case.
General Motors and Stellantis Offtake and Project Finance
- Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis) completes placement of A$21.5M in E25 at A$1 per share to fund ongoing works on the Louisiana Facility.
- Element 25 and General Motors LLC sign definitive agreement for the supply of battery grade HPMSM for GM’s electric vehicle battery requirements in their UltiumTM battery plants.
- E25 to supply GM with manganese sulfate required to scale EV capacity in North America beyond 1 million units annually.
- E25 plans to build its first manganese sulfate facility in the U.S. which will process manganese from its Butcherbird Manganese Mine in Western Australia (Butcherbird).
- GM to provide US$85 million (~A$128 million) loan to E25 to build the proposed Facility.
- Total funding commitments total US$115M from Stellantis and GM.
Butcherbird Manganese Operations, WA
- Appointment of Key Senior Operations Personnel to the Butcherbird Team as part of the Production Improvement Plan (PIP).
- Clint Moxham joins the Team as General Manager Operations (GMO). Clint’s key responsibilities include:
- Statutory and operational oversight of the Butcherbird Manganese Mine.
- Implementation and oversight of improved operational processes.
- Continued improvement in plant preventative maintenance targeting improved run times to increase production.
- Gideon van Wyk has joined the Team as General Manager (Manganese Ore Business). Gideon’s key responsibilities include:
- Process optimisation and improvement with the existing operations targeting tonnes, grade and recoveries.
- Technology selection for optimised expansion plant utilising improved comminution and dense media separation (DMS).
- Planning and execution of the Butcherbird Expansion Project to increase concentrate production volumes to a targeted 1Mtpa.
Butcherbird Expansion Planning
- General Manager (Manganese Ore Business) Gideon van Wyk is leading and managing the expansion project.
- The principle aim is to expand the production of manganese concentrate to a nominal target of 1Mtpa.
- Gideon has recently returned from South Africa where he made significant progress with equipment suppliers and engineering consultants to advance the project.
- Capital cost estimate to install the expanded facility and project schedule based on lead times as advised by key equipment vendors to be compiled and evaluated.
Corporate
- In June 2023 that Pricewaterhouse Coopers (PwC) were appointed as the Company’s auditors effective 23 June 2023 and this appointment will continue until the next annual general meeting of the Company2.
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This article includes content from Element 25 Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
E25:AU
Infill Drilling Completed at Butcherbird Targeting Reserve Extension to Support Expansion
Current reserves are based around mineral resources within granted mining lease M52/1074, of which less than half has been drilled to a sufficient density to meet the requirements for measured and indicated classifications. The balance is classified as inferred. The additional drilling will provide infill data to better define and potentially convert these areas to indicated or measured categories to support the re-estimation of mine reserves. The increase in the “reserve tail” will support project financing activities with NAIF and other potential financiers who are currently undertaking project expansion due diligence2.
HIGHLIGHTS
- 207 percussion drill holes have been completed for 6,202m targeting infill of existing inferred resources.
- All samples have been dispatched to Bureau Veritas for assay with results pending.
Figure 1: Aerial photograph of the resource infill drilling rig with support vehicles and personnel.
The Project hosts a global resource of over 260Mt of manganese ore3 however the current reserves are limited to the areas which have been drilled out to measured and indicated classifications which are required as the basis for a statement of reserves. The current drilling programme was designed to infill existing inferred resources to a sufficient data density, based on variographic analysis, to convert the inferred resources within granted mining lease M52/1074 to indicated and/or measured.
The additional drilling information, combined with historical data, will be used to recalculate the resource base to support a recalculation of the proved and probable reserves to support project financing activities for the Butcherbird Expansion Project by increasing the “reserve tail”. Samples have been submitted for assay with results pending.
Figure 2: Drillhole collar location plan summarising existing and proposed drillhole collar locations.
Element 25 Managing Director Justin Brown said:
“This drilling programme will allow the global resource at Butcherbird to be recalculated with a higher degree of certainty which is expected to result in a signification conversion of inferred resources to measured and indicated classifications to increase the reserve tail in support of the planned ramp up to 1.1Mt production rates.”
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This article includes content from Element 25 Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
Element 25 Extends Share Purchase Plan
- Extension of Element 25 Share Purchase Plan with revised closing date, Wednesday, 26 June 2024 at 5:00pm AWST.
- Funds raised from the Share Purchase Plan will enable the Company to progress its current prime projects at the Butcherbird mine site (located in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia), as part of the Butcherbird Stage 2 Expansion Project, as well as continuing to support the high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) project to be built in Louisiana, USA in partnership with General Motors LLC and Stellantis NV.
- Shareholders can request an electronic copy of their personalised Share Purchase Plan form via Element 25’s share registry, Automic Group.
Element 25 has been made aware by shareholders that postal deliveries relating to the SPP have taken longer than anticipated. The extension of the SPP will allow eligible shareholders additional time to consider their position and provide sufficient time to submit their applications and payment.
Under the SPP, the Company will offer eligible shareholders, who were registered shareholders as at 5:00pm (AWST) on Monday, 20 May 2024 (Record Date) the opportunity to apply for up to $30,000 of new fully paid ordinary shares (New Shares). New Shares will be issued at $0.27 per share, equivalent to a 14% discount to the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of Element 25 shares over the last five trading days prior to the announcement of the SPP1.
A revised indicative timetable with the new closing date for the SPP is as follows:
REVISED SPP TIMETABLE
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This article includes content from Element 25 Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
E25 Investigates Butcherbird Restart Options Amid Record High Manganese Ore Prices
HIGHLIGHTS
- Manganese ore prices rise to four-year highs to U$8.30/dmtu for 44% cif Tianjin, China1.
- E25 operations team and Board investigating opportunities to process ROM and low-grade stockpiles at Butcherbird.
- If operationally feasible, ore production at current prices presents an opportunity to generate short-term cash flow.
GEMCO’s Groote Eylandt Mine typically produces more than 6M tonnes of high-grade manganese ore a year, and damage to the mine’s haul road and ship loading facilities from Tropical Cyclone Megan in March 2024 has resulted in a forecast supply disruption of up to twelve months. GEMCO is currently targeting a production restart in Q3 2025.2
Figure 1: Manganese ore index – Yuan/dmtu Tianjin Port1. Butcherbird Expansion Feasibility Study parameters also shown3.
The loss of GEMCO supply coupled with political instability in South Africa has resulted in a significant and rapid increase in manganese ore prices due to increased competition for available supply. This presents an opportunity to potentially sell stockpiles that are of a lower grade, preventing their previous sale at lower prices but which may be profitable to ship now.
Additionally, ROM stockpiles that have been mined but not yet processed are available at site. The cost structure of a restart is not currently defined, however E25’s Board recognises the potential opportunity of selling existing product stockpiles and/or recommencing the processing of ROM stockpiles at Butcherbird to produce material for sale at current elevated prices. If viable, these activities will occur in parallel with and will not impact the expansion plans for the Butcherbird Project. E25 suspended Butcherbird production in early 2024 during a period of depressed ore prices while readying for an upgrade of facilities to achieve a nominal 1.1Mpta manganese concentrate production, as outlined in a Feasibility Study completed on January 20243.
The expansion of Butcherbird production aligns with E25’s strategy to produce high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) at a facility planned to be built in Louisiana, USA, in partnership with global automakers General Motors LLC and Stellantis NV4.
Element 25 Managing Director Justin Brown said:
“A potential restart of Butcherbird’s processing operations at these increased manganese ore prices on a de-risked basis may be an ideal opportunity to monetise existing stockpiles and generate short-term cashflow. E25 looks forward to updating the market further as these investigations are completed and we will continue to monitor ore markets in the meantime to optimise any potential opportunities that may arise.”
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Element 25 Limited, licensed for the purpose of publishing on Investing News Australia. This article does not constitute financial product advice. It is your responsibility to perform proper due diligence before acting upon any information provided here. Please refer to our full disclaimer here.
