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Investing Guides
Element 25 USA HPMSM Processing Facility Project Execution Update
October 03, 2023
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
21 April
Goldfields Exploration Update
Miramar Resources Limited (ASX:M2R, “Miramar” or “the Company”) is pleased to provide an update on gold exploration activities within the Company’s strategic Eastern Goldfields project portfolio.
- RC drill hole completed under high-grade Blackfriars gold prospect (Gidji JV)
- New Exploration Licence application expands land position along Randall Fault
The Company has completed a single RC drill hole at the high-priority Blackfriars Prospect, within the Gidji JV Project (“Gidji”) (Figure 1).
The Blackfriars Target is located at the contact between the Black Flag Group and mafic and ultramafic rocks within the Boorara Shear Zone and shares the same geological setting as the >2 million ounce Paddington gold deposit along strike to the north.
Given the apparent similarities to Paddington, Blackfriars is a high priority target within the Gidji JV Project.
The Blackfriars aircore gold footprint stretches for at least 1 kilometre at greater than 1g/t Au and remains open along strike to the northwest on the other side of the Goldfields Highway.
The recent RC hole, GJRC028, tested beneath the high-grade result in aircore hole GJAC627, which ended in black shale with quartz-carbonate veining and sulphides and returned a result of 1m @ 11.8g/t Au and 6g/t Ag (46-47m EOH) (see ASX Release dated 8 April 2022).
GJRC028 intersected black shale and silicified dolerite with sulphide mineralisation and quartz stringers but was terminated at 130m due to difficult drilling conditions associated with running sands in the overlying Gidji Paleochannel.
Miramar’s Executive Chairman, Mr Allan Kelly, said the Gidji JV Project had the potential to host a new gold camp with multiple deposits but was significantly underexplored.
“Gidji is in a fantastic location within a major mineralised structure, between two major gold camps, Kalgoorlie and Paddington,” Mr Kelly said.
“Despite this, and the record gold price, the Project has had minimal effective historic exploration, and virtually no deep drilling, as evidenced by our ability to discover high-grade bedrock gold mineralisation with shallow aircore drilling only 150 metres from a major highway,” he said.
Samples from the RC hole have been sent for analysis and further aircore and RC drilling is planned.
The Company is also working towards obtaining approvals for drilling of other high-priority targets at Gidji including:
- Marylebone – multiple high grade gold results including GJAC562 (6m @ 2.2g/t Au and up to 28g/t Ag) associated with massive sulphide mineralisation in black shale
- Roaster – 2m @ 3.3g/t Au in GJAC577 – open along strike
- Eight-mile – potential northern extension of Northern Star Resources Limited’s 300,000-ounce “Runway/8 Mile Dam” deposit
- The Jog – gravity anomaly and magnetic depletion within jog in the Boorara Shear Zone
New Application
The Company has also further expanded its strategic Eastern Goldfields tenement portfolio with a new Exploration Licence Application south of the recently acquired Lake Yindarlgooda Project (Figure 2).
The “Venetian” Target, E25/649, covers a package of mafic rocks immediately adjacent to the Randall Fault and contains historic RAB drill holes with anomalous gold results within and along strike of E25/649.
Miramar will compile all historical data and work towards grant of the tenement.
Click here for the full ASX Release
This article includes content from Miramar Resources 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.
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25 September
Element 25 Chosen for US$166 Million Grant from US Department of Energy
Element 25 (ASX:E25,OTCQX:ELMTF) has been selected to receive a US$166 million grant from the US Department of Energy, the company said in an announcement on Tuesday (September 24).
The funds will come from the Battery Materials Processing Grant Program, and will be used for the construction of the company’s proposed battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) facility in Louisiana.
The Battery Materials Processing Grant Program has a US$3 billion budget to distribute grants for endeavours that will help ensure that the US has a viable battery materials processing industry.
Element 25 has already secured US$115 million from offtake partners General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA). The US$166 million grant will go on top of this as part of the company’s financing strategy.
"The grant will fund up to half of the construction capital costs for the project and when combined with existing commitments, will propel the project towards financial close and commencement of construction," explained Justin Brown, managing director of Element 25. He added that HPMSM facility will create long-term jobs in the state.
Manganese ore will be shipped to Louisiana from the company’s Butcherbird manganese mine in Western Australia.
The company said it has developed an innovative, advanced processing flowsheet to convert manganese concentrate to HPMSM, honing in on lower energy consumption and the reduction of waste.
After conversion, the HPMSM will be directed into the US electric vehicle supply chain.
The facility is expected to be 230,00 square feet with annual production of 71,650 tonnes of HPMSM. Element 25 said it will be one of the first HPMSM-producing commercial facilities in the US, reducing the country’s reliance on China.
Subject to grant finalisation, the execution team will work to finish the project schedule.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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24 September
E25’s High-Purity Manganese Project Selected for US$166M Grant Under U.S. DoE Grant Program
Element 25 Limited (E25 or Company) (ASX: E25; OTCQX: ELMTF) is pleased to announce it has been selected for award negotiations for a US$166 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) under the Battery Materials Processing Grant Programme. This funding will support the construction of its proposed battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) facility in Louisiana, USA. The grant award is in addition to the US$115 million already committed by offtake partners General Motors LLC (GM) and Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis).
HIGHLIGHTS:
- E25’s planned HPMSM facility in Louisiana selected for award negotiations for US$166 million grant from the U.S. DoE.
- Project selected under DoE’s Battery Materials Processing Grant Program.
- E25 and DoE expect to finalise a binding funding agreement for the grant as soon as practicable.
- E25 has previously secured financing and offtake from GM and Stellantis including US$115 million in project funding.
The grant application was submitted under the DoE’s Battery Materials Processing Grant Programme of the Office of Manufacturing and Energy Supply Chains, which is funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program is designed to provide grants for battery materials processing to ensure that the United States has a viable battery materials processing industry. The grant forms a key element of E25’s financing strategy, and the execution team will now work to finalise the project schedule, subject to grant finalisation.
E25 plans to produce HPMSM from manganese ore sourced from its Butcherbird mine in Western Australia and shipped to Louisiana. It has developed an innovative, advanced processing flowsheet to convert Butcherbird manganese concentrate into HPMSM, a critical raw material for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. The proprietary flowsheet reduces energy consumption, virtually eliminates waste and delivers the lowest reported carbon intensity HPMSM globally1.
Element 25 Managing Director Justin Brown said: “This grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, once finalised, represents a major milestone in our development of the Louisiana HPMSM Project and adds to the commitments already received from GM and Stellantis which include both offtake and financing agreements in support of the refinery. The grant will fund up to half of the construction capital costs for the project and when combined with existing commitments, will propel the project towards financial close and commencement of construction, creating long-term jobs for Louisiana and delivering ethically sourced, IRA compliant HPMSM to our customers.”
E25’s process offers a pathway to the delivery of expanding volumes of ethically sourced, traceable, transparent HPMSM supply to US markets. E25 plans to produce up to 135Kt per annum of HPMSM for US electric vehicle (EV) supply chains2 in a facility that is a first-of-its-kind processing facility in Louisiana.
PROJECT FINANCING STRATEGY
In mid-2023, E25 secured a US$85 million loan under an agreement with GM, whereby E25 will, in turn, supply up to 32,500 metric tons of manganese sulphate annually for GM’s Ultium battery plant requirements, which added to the commitments from Stellantis that include take-or-pay offtake commitments for 45ktpa of HPMSM over five years and U$30 million of project funding3.
The two transactions total U$115M in financing support for the project, providing an important cornerstone to the Company’s project financing activities. E25 has been co-ordinating a process to secure the balance of funding for the project’s construction costs, which were estimated in the Company’s April 2023 Feasibility Study at US$289 million2.
DoE’s Battery Materials Processing Grants Program is designed to provide up to US$3 billion in grants for battery materials processing to ensure that the United States has a viable battery materials processing industry. Funds can also be used to expand domestic capabilities in battery manufacturing and enhance processing capacity.
ABOUT THE HPMSM LOUISIANA PROJECT
Element 25 (Louisiana) LLC (E25LA) plans to build and operate a first-of-its-kind, environmentally sustainable refining facility in the Baton Rouge area, Louisiana, to produce HPMSM, a critical raw material in lithium-ion batteries.
Element 25 Louisiana will construct a 230,000 square-foot (~21,000m2) HPMSM refining facility that will employ an innovative process to produce approximately 71,650 tons (65,000 metric tonnes) of HPMSM annually from manganese ore sourced from Element 25’s Butcherbird manganese mine in Western Australia (Project). It will be one of the first commercial facilities to produce HPMSM in the U.S., reducing current dependency on Chinese sources. The project will create hundreds of highly-skilled, permanent jobs for Louisianans.
Element 25 Louisiana has secured offtake and funding agreements, including five and seven-year supply agreements with global automakers GM and Stellantis.
Element 25 Louisiana controls all intellectual property to develop and operate the HPMSM facility. It also has developed a proprietary process to remove solid waste residue as byproducts, which each have industrial applications, thus eliminating the need for a solid waste landform.
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.
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12 September
Trek Metals to Sell Pilbara-based Hendeka Manganese Project to AEFI
Trek Metals (ASX:TKM) announced on Tuesday (September 10) that it has signed a binding option and acquisition agreement to sell its Hendeka manganese project to private US-based company Advanced Energy Fuels (AEFI).
Under the agreement, AEFI has the option to acquire the project as part of a proposed US listing by paying AU$450,000 in cash; it will also issue Trek 8 million shares once it lists, or an amount of shares equal to not less than 20 percent of its total issued capital on a fully diluted basis. The maximum value of the shares will be AU$4 million.
In addition, AEFI will make certain payments, and will solely fund AU$2 million worth of exploration. Other conditions include an option fee of AU$50,000, AU$25,000 of which has already been paid by AEFI.
Trek said its subsidiaries Edge Minerals and Bellpiper hold the tenements that make up Hendeka, which is located in Western Australia's Pilbara region; AEFI will acquire these subsidiaries if it chooses to exercise its option.
The company acquired Hendeka in November 2022. A JORC-compliant inferred resource estimate outlines 11.3 million tonnes grading 15 percent manganese for the Contact and Contact North deposits.
AEFI can exercise its option any time until September 30, 2027, and will spend the AU$2 million on exploration at Hendeka leading up to that time, including minimum expenditures to maintain the tenements in good standing.
“The Hendeka Project offers significant optionality on the resurgence of the manganese sector following recent well-publicised global supply issues,” said Trek CEO Derek Marshall. “The deal is structured in a way that will give Trek significant exposure to future upside from the exploration and development of Hendeka via a 20 percent shareholding.”
He also explained that Hendeka has become a non-core project for the company given a major gold drilling program that is in the works at its Christmas Creek project, and momentum surrounding its McEwen Hills niobium project.
Trek and AEFI have also signed a separate investor rights agreement giving Trek the right “but not the obligation to appoint one Director to AEFI, as well as customary participation and information rights in AEFI.”
AEFI's listing is expected to occur on or before September 30, 2025.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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30 August
Top 5 Canadian Mining Stocks This Week: Euro Manganese Climbs on EU Application
Welcome to the Investing News Network's weekly look at the best-performing Canadian mining stocks on the TSX and TSX Venture Exchange, starting with a round-up of Canadian and US data impacting the resource sector.
The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) lost 10.12 points this week to close at 567.91. Meanwhile, the S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) was up by 60.1 points to finish at 23,346.18.
Statistics Canada shared real GDP figures on Friday (August 30) for the second quarter of 2024. The data shows the GDP saw a 0.5 percent quarterly gain in Q2, building on a 0.4 percent increase in the first quarter of the year.
The rise was attributed to higher government expenditures, business investments in engineering structures, machinery and equipment along with an increase in household spending on services. Gains were offset by softening exports, residential construction and household spending on goods.
South of the border, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis released personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index data for July on Friday. The data indicates that it grew 2.5 percent in July on a yearly basis and 0.2 percent compared to June. The figures align with analyst expectations and represent increasing stability in consumer pricing.
PCE is a favored inflation indicator used by the US Federal Reserve when making interest rate policy decisions. The broad consensus amongst economists is that the Fed will lower its benchmark rate when it next meets on September 17 and 18, with most predicting a 25 basis point cut over a 50 basis point reduction.
US markets were mixed this past week with the S&P 500 (INDEXSP:.INX) seeing a 0.15 percent gain to 5,648.39 points and the Nasdaq 100 (INDEXNASDAQ:NDX) dropping 0.53 percent to 19,574.64 points. Meanwhile, the Dow (INDEXDJX:.DJI) eked out a slight 0.88 percent gain to close the week at 41,563.09 points.
Commodities ended the week broadly down, with the S&P GSCI (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) losing 0.68 percent to US$536.76. After swinging in a range of US$2,500 and US$2,526 per ounce throughout the week, gold ultimately dropped 0.35 percent to end the week at US$2,503.21 per ounce. Silver moved above US$30 per ounce multiple times early in the week, but fell throughout the second half of the period, ending the week down 3.24 percent at US$28.85.
Against that backdrop, which TSX- and TSXV-listed mining and energy stocks saw the biggest share price gains? Read on to learn about the five best-performing Canadian mining stocks this week.
1. Superior Mining International (TSXV:SUI)
Weekly gain: 55.17 percent; market cap: C$16.75 million; share price: C$0.225
Superior Mining International is a lithium exploration company that owns the Vieux Comptoir property, which is located in the Eeyou Istchee-James Bay region of Québec, Canada. The project is composed of 544 mineral exploration claims that cover 27,400 hectares, and is situated along the La Grande Greenstone Belt. The company describes the project as an early stage exploration opportunity, and says it is located along strike from lithium projects owned by Patriot Battery Metals (TSX:PMET,OTCQX:PMETF) and Winsome Resources (ASX:WR1,OTCQB:WRSLF).
The most recent update from the project came in August 2023, when Superior Mining announced Vieux Comptoir had been expanded by nearly 8,000 hectares. The company also shared that hyperspectral and remote sensing data had confirmed nine anomalous target trends with 126 pegmatite observations.
The company has not released further news related to the project, but announced the appointment of Jacob Hagedorn to its board of directors on Wednesday (August 28). Hagedorn has spent the past eight years as a consultant for multiple TSXV-listed resource companies with a focus on property acquisitions and development.
2. Euro Manganese (TSXV:EMN)
Weekly gain: 50 percent; market cap: C$20.13 million; share price: C$0.06
Euro Manganese is a manganese development company working to advance its Chvaletice waste recycling project. The operation is focused on extracting manganese from tailings that are part of a decommissioned mine site near Prague, Czechia. As part of the project's scope, the company says it will carry out remediation and reclamation work to bring the site into compliance with environmental regulations.
A 2022 feasibility study for the Chvaletice project indicates that it will produce 48,000 metric tons of manganese per year and is expected to have a project life of 25 years. In the study, the company reports a post-tax net present value of US$1.3 billion with an internal rate of return of 22 percent and a payback period of 4 years.
Euro Manganese saw gains this week after the company announced on Wednesday that it had submitted an application for strategic project status under the European Union’s Critical Raw Material Act. If the application is successful, it will provide for a more streamlined permitting process and access to new avenues for funding.
The company also announced on Monday (August 26) that it has entered into an offtake term sheet agreement with Blue Grass Chemical Specialties for the sale of high-purity manganese from Chvaletice. The announcement does not include the volume or pricing of the deal, but once finalized the agreement will become binding.
3. Avanti Helium (TSXV:AVN)
Weekly gain: 40 percent; market cap: C$21.76 million; share price: C$0.245
Avanti Helium is an exploration and development company focused on advancing helium assets in Canada and the US toward production. Its Greater Knappen projects are composed of several project areas in Southern Alberta, Canada, and Northern Montana, US. The combined land packages cover approximately 74,000 acres with multiple targets.
According to the project page, Avanti has drilled three exploration wells in Montana, with two testing for a combined 18.5 million cubic feet per day gas rate with 1.1 percent helium concentration.
The company’s Leader project consists of a combined land package of 91,000 acres in Southern Saskatchewan. The surrounding region has seen 84 wells drilled by other companies since 2016, and as of September 2023, it hosted approximately 25 wells producing 450,000 cubic feet of helium per day.
Shares of Avanti climbed this week, although the company hasn’t released news in August.
4. Sage Potash (TSXV:SAGE)
Weekly gain: 38.71 percent; market cap: C$10.24 million; share price: C$0.215
Sage Potash is a potash explorer working to advance its portfolio of mineral holdings in Utah’s Paradox Basin. Historic oil and gas exploration in the basin dating back a century discovered the potential for the potash beds, but they were too deep for mining methods at the time. Sage has since confirmed their presence through its own exploration.
In February 2023, the company outlined an inferred resource of up to 159.3 million metric tons of in-place sylvinite for the upper potash bed, and up to 120.2 million metric tons of sylvinite from the lower potash bed.
Sage Potash hasn't released news in August, but its share price performed strongly this week.
5. Group Eleven Resources (TSXV:ZNG)
Weekly gain: 31.25 percent; market cap: C$41.15 million; share price: C$0.21
Group Eleven Resources is an exploration company working to advance its flagship PG West zinc, lead, copper and silver project in the Republic of Ireland. The wholly owned asset consists of 22 prospecting licenses covering 650 square kilometers and hosts the main Ballywire prospect discovered in 2022.
The most recent exploration results from Ballywire, assays from two step-out holes, were released on August 1. One hole encountere 25.6 meters grading 2.8 percent zinc, 2.6 percent lead, 72 grams per metric ton (g/t) silver and 0.12 percent copper, including 3.1 meters grading 8.6 percent zinc, 2.7 percent lead, 353 g/t silver and 0.78 percent copper.
Shares of Group Eleven saw gains this week after it reported on Wednesday that it has received C$600,000 from the exercise of warrants by Michael Gentile, founding partner and senior portfolio manager at Bastion Asset Management. Gentile increased his holdings in Group Eleven to 16.96 percent of company shares.
Group Eleven said it would use the funds to significantly expand its 2024 drill program at Ballywire.
Data for this 5 Top Canadian Mining Stocks article was retrieved at 1:00 p.m PST on August 30, 2024, using TradingView's stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX and TSXVwith market capitalizations greater than C$10 million are included. Companies within the non-energy minerals and energy minerals sectors were considered.
Don't forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Dean Belder, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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21 August
Euro Manganese Enters 7 Year Offtake Deal with Wildcat Discovery
Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN,TSXV:EMN,OTCQB:EUMNF) has entered an offtake term sheet with Wildcat Discovery for the sale of high-purity manganese product from its Chvaletice project in the Czech Republic.
The deal, dated August 15 and announced on Monday (August 19), is non-binding and subject to Wildcat completing its planned cathode materials plant in the US. It has an initial term of seven years with the potential for renewal.
Euro Manganese said the news is a major milestone for itself, as well as the west's battery supply chain. President and CEO Dr. Matthew James added that the agreement accounts for a "significant percentage" of Chvaletice's output.
“An important value proposition is our product does not originate from, or is processed by, a foreign entity of concern, a key purchasing criteria for North American customers,” James emphasised in the company's release.
Meanwhile, Wildcat said the arrangement is an important step as it looks to develop high-quality, low-cost, reliable and localised sources of cathode pre-cursor materials that are compliant with the US Inflation Reduction Act.
“We view the Euro Manganese partnership as an important piece to our supply chain strategy, and look forward to working with them in the coming years,” said Mark Gresser, CEO of Wildcat.
Euro Manganese notes on its website that Chvaletice is unique in that it is not a mining project. Instead, the company is looking to recycle waste by reprocessing tailings from a manganese deposit contained in tailings from a decommissioned mine that operated between 1951 and 1975. According to the company, Chvaletice is the only sizeable, classified resource of manganese in the EU, potentially allowing the area to reduce reliance on raw material imports from China.
The project’s July 2022 feasibility study outlines an after-tax net present value of US$1.34 billion using an 8 percent discount rate, and an approximately 22 percent after-tax internal rate of return.
Deliveries from Chvaletice are to begin at the time of first production, although the start of the offtake deal will depend on Wildcat’s qualification of Euro Manganese’s high-purity manganese product.
Although the term sheet is non-binding and is contingent on Wildcat setting up its US plant, both parties intend to enter a binding offtake agreement where they will finalise a pricing mechanism and tonnages, plus other conditions.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Australia for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Gabrielle de la Cruz, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
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13 August
How to Invest in Manganese Stocks (Updated 2024)
Manganese is an important industrial metal. More than 90 percent of global consumption is closely tied to the steel and construction sectors, and China is a major consumer of the commodity.
The metal is also used in the most common form of lithium-ion batteries, ones using nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) cathodes.
Despite its solid demand base, the manganese price has been a victim of volatility in the past few years. COVID-19 lockdowns, extreme weather events and Russia's war in Ukraine slowed manganese production, leading to price surges. However, more recently China's slower economic recovery has tamped down on steel demand, placing downward pressure on manganese prices.
Moving forward, analysts are expecting China to see a strong infrastructure-focused economic rebound, alongside increasing demand from government-funded infrastructure projects in India and the US, presenting a more positive outlook for manganese.
Read on for a closer look at manganese supply and demand dynamics, an overview of why the metal could be a compelling investment choice in the coming years, and manganese mining companies and junior stocks to consider.
What factors impact manganese supply and demand?
As mentioned, the steel sector accounts for most manganese demand, using it as a deoxidizing and desulfurizing additive and as an alloy constituent. Among other things, manganese can improve the strength, toughness and stiffness of steel. In turn, the steel sector is a key driver of the manganese price.
According to a report from Maximize Market Research, the global manganese alloy market is projected to reach US$29.21 billion by 2030; its growth will be driven largely by rising demand from the automotive industry and growing usage of manganese alloys in the Asia Pacific region.
The electric vehicle (EV) battery industry is the second largest consumer of manganese today, and many market watchers believe that demand from this sector could be set to increase in the future.
Manganese dioxide has long been used as a depolarizer in alkaline batteries, but this is not the manganese battery market that is now the most interesting. Attention is being drawn to lithium-ion battery chemistries that require manganese — such as lithium-manganese oxide batteries and nickel-manganese-cobalt oxide batteries.
“Several high-manganese rechargeable battery chemistries have been developed in recent years, but many will only enter mass production in Q4 2023 and 2024,” Andrew Zemek of CPM Group told INN. “This should reduce the current surplus of high-purity manganese sulfate and lift the prices from their doldrums.”
In these batteries, electrolytic manganese dioxide is used as a cathode material. Many investors who believe that battery sector demand for manganese will increase are optimistic that lithium-ion batteries that require manganese will become more common in the future.
“Project Blue foresees sustained growth in demand for manganese in EVs over the medium term, as sales of EVs are projected to increase significantly due to governmental pressure to transition to low-emission fleets,” the team told INN in an email.
While the steel and EV battery industries are the top consumers of manganese, other uses of manganese exist as well, with the metal turning up in chemicals and more.
Looking at supply, major producers have manganese-mining operations in Australia, Gabon, Ghana and China, as well as South Africa, which holds 37 percent of the world’s reserves. Global manganese production reached 20 million metric tons in 2023, a slight decrease of 200,000 metric tons from 2022, as per the US Geological Survey.
Manganese mining companies and junior manganese stocks
As the manganese story has picked up speed in recent years with its necessity to popular electric vehicle cathodes, more publicly traded companies are focused on manganese, offering investors more choices for exposure to the metal.
While a number of large companies are involved in manganese production, many of them are private. These are some of the major mining companies that produce manganese:
- Eramet (EPA:ERA) produces manganese ore from the Moanda mines in Gabon. Eramet is the largest producer of manganese worldwide and also produces manganese alloy at its plants in four countries.
- South32( ASX:S32,OTC Pink:SHTLF) operates the South Africa Manganese operation in South Africa's Kalahari Basin and has a 60 percent stake in the GEMCO manganese operations in Australia's Northern Territory.
- Anglo American (LSE:AAL,OTCQX:AAUKF) owns the remaining 40 percent of the GEMCO manganese joint venture in Australia.
Investors interested in smaller manganese companies may want to look at junior manganese stocks trading on Canadian, American and Australian exchanges. These are some of the options available to investors:
- ChemX Materials (ASX:CMX)is developing its Jamieson Tank high-purity manganese project in South Australia.
- Element 25 (ASX:E25,OTC Pink:ELMTF) is considering restarting operations at its Butcherbird manganese project in Western Australia.
- Euro Manganese (TSXV:EMN,OTCQX:EUMNF) is developing its Chvaletice manganese project in Czechia, which aims to recycle tailings from a past-producing mine to produce manganese and decontaminate the site.
- Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB) aims to produce high-purity manganese from its Oakover project in Western Australia, and to process it into battery-grade manganese sulfate.
- Giyani Metals (TSXV:EMM) has a portfolio of manganese oxide projects in Botswana, including its flagship K.Hill project, from which it plans to produce high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate.
- Jupiter Mines (ASX:JMS) operates the Tshipi Borwa manganese mine in South Africa.
- Manganese X Energy (TSXV:MN,OTC Pink:MNXXF) is exploring its Battery Hill manganese project in New Brunswick with the goal of producing high-purity manganese for the North American market.
- OM Holdings (ASX:OMH,OTCQX:OMHI) is a vertically integrated manganese ore and ferroalloys company based in Singapore with global operations.
- RecycLiCo Battery Materials (TSX:AMY,OTCQB:AMYZF) recycles cathode materials from battery waste and upcycles them into lithium and battery cathode precursors.
This is an updated version of an article originally published by the Investing News Network in 2017.
Don’t forget to follow us @INN_Resource for real-time news updates!
Securities Disclosure: I, Melissa Pistilli, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.
Editorial Disclosure: ChemX Materials and RecycLiCo Battery Materials are clients of the Investing News Network. This article is not paid-for content.
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