Element 25 Secures AU$50 Million Debt Facility for Butcherbird Manganese Project

The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility is providing a senior debt facility of up to AU$50 million for Element 25’s (ASX:E25,OTCQX:ELMTF) Butcherbird manganese expansion project.

Element 25 announced on Tuesday (June 17) that it will receive AU$42.5 million in senior debt funding, with an additional AU$7.5 million set aside for cost overruns. The money will support the company’s plans to expand Butcherbird's manganese oxide concentrate production capacity to 1.1 million tonnes per annum.

“Securing this support from the Federal Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility reaffirms the government’s commitment to developing Australia’s critical minerals sector and Butcherbird’s importance to Australia and the Pilbara region of Western Australia,” said Element 25 Managing Director Justin Brown.

In November 2024, Element 25 reported a 142 percent increase in the measured and indicated resources at Butcherbird. The total now stands at 130 million tonnes grading 10.23 percent manganese.

Based on data presented at the time, the site hosts a total resource of 274 million tonnes at 10 percent manganese, marking a 6 percent increase from its 263 million tonne resource estimate from April 2019.

Butcherbird is located approximately 130 kilometres south of Newman in Western Australia, and according to Element 25 is the country’s largest onshore manganese resource.

Element 25 is also planning to build a battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate refinery in Louisiana, US. It received a US$166 million grant for the refinery from the US Department of Energy last September.

The company has received all necessary approvals for Butcherbird, with final statuary approval given by Western Australia’s Department of Water and Environmental Regulation this past March.

The company secured works approval for the project's mining proposal and mine closure plan from Western Australia’s Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety in January.

The AU$50 million senior debt facility is subject to customary legal due diligence and the execution of formal contracts.

Element 25 is working on a detailed project execution plan and aims to deliver Butcherbird in 2026.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.