The Conversation (0)
Element 25 Limited (E25 or Company) (ASX:E25) is pleased to provide an update in relation to the planned construction of the first North American commercial scale battery grade high purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM) processing facility to produce key raw materials for electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacture in the USA. The facility is targeting commissioning in 2025 to produce the first low carbon, ethically sourced HPMSM in the USA (Project or Facility), processing manganese oxide ore from the Company’s 100%-owned Butcherbird Manganese Project in Western Australia (Butcherbird).
Highlights:
- Front-end Engineering and Design (FEED) completed to optimise HPMSM plant design for preferred Louisiana site.
- Cost reduction opportunities identified for further assessment during detailed design phase.
- Detailed project execution schedule finalised with mechanical completion on track for 2025 target.
- Local engineering and construction firms CDI Engineering Solutions and Universal Plant Services to continue engineering activities.
- CSRS Inc and subsidiary Fides Consulting to continue to support E25 as the owners engineer/strategic consultant.
- Local legal firm Roedel Parsons has been engaged to represent E25 as Louisiana legal advisor.
- Key utility and reagent supply agreements in negotiation.
- Preferred site offers significant strategic advantage including over the fence supply of sulphuric acid, steam and other key inputs.
- Site assessments including cultural, environmental and geotechnical surveys completed with no issues or concerns.
- Project execution plan advancing in line with project development timelines outlined in the FS.
- All contractual milestones under the General Motors LLC (GM) and Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis) offtake and funding packages on track.
- Final approvals for Louisiana state government subsidy package received.
- Industrial Tax Exemption Plan (ITEP) has been submitted.
Element 25 Managing Director Justin Brown said: “E25 aims to be a leading source of high quality, vertically integrated, traceable and ESG and IRA-compliant battery material to the global electric vehicle industry . The construction of our first HPMSM facility in the USA – the first of its kind there – is a key pillar to the strategic plan which aims to position E25 as the industry leading provider of high quality ethically sourced battery grade manganese to support global electrification efforts. The team has made extraordinary progress to date and we will continue to push hard to achieve the project execution plans which are rapidly taking shape for a 2025 commissioning date.”
Project Execution Update
In April 2023, E25 published the detailed Feasibility Study (FS) for the construction of an integrated battery grade high purity manganese sulphate facility in Louisiana USA to produce HPMSM1. HPMSM is a critical raw material used in the construction of various lithium-ion battery cathode precursor materials to power the electrification of the global vehicle fleet. The HPMSM produced in Louisiana will be used in the manufacture of electric vehicle Pre-Cathode Active Materials (pCAM).
The Project is supported by key offtake and funding agreements in place with General Motors LLC (GM) and Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis) which are contributing a combined US$115M in project funding through a combination of equity, pre-payment and senior debt alongside offtake for approximately 65% of the planned HPMSM production from the first production train.
Subsequent to the release of the FS, E25 has continued to engage local engineering firms CSRS Inc (CSRS) and FIDES (a CSRS subsidiary) as owners engineers and CDI Engineering Solutions (CDI) and Universal Plant Services (UPS) as design and construction engineers to continue to refine the engineering and design of the facility prior to commencement of construction targeted for first half 2024. Key focus areas include:
- Front end Engineering and Design (FEED).
- Site Assessments and permitting.
- Inbound and outbound logistics and reagent supply.
- Project financing.
Engineering/Procurement Services
CSRS, FIDES, CDI and UPS are experienced local engineering contractors in Louisiana a track record of chemical plant design and construction in the Louisiana region. Subsequent to the publication of the FS, E25 engaged CDI (with the support of UPS) to execute front end engineering and design (FEED) for the Project. The FEED programme began in early May 2023 and is now complete.
Figure 1.Plant design based on updated detailed engineering 3D model developed as part of FEED studies.
Figure 2. Render showing plant internal layout – product packaging and distribution warehouse.
FEED work programme covers engineering which is conducted to a greater level of rigor and detail compared to a Feasibility Study. It is an important engineering phase which provides additional engineering and cost estimation detail as a project transitions from conceptual design to an Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contract.
The FEED study typically precedes a final investment decision phase of a large project such as E25’s planned HPMSM facility in Louisiana. The scope of the study covers a range of engineering disciplines including:
- Site layout optimisation.
- Civil and Structural design and layout.
- Process flow diagrams.
- Process and instrumentation diagrams.
- Electrical design.
- Piping and mechanical design.
- Material take-offs to inform cost estimation activities.
E25 have commissioned FIDES, CDI and UPS to undertake the next phase of detailed engineering and design which will advance the project through to FID and commencement of construction targeted for Quarter 1, calendar 2024.
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.”
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.
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
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.
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.
