Element 25 Starts Infill Drilling at Butcherbird Manganese Project

Manganese explorer Element 25 (ASX:E25) has released its third quarter results for 2018, including an update on the ongoing prefeasibility study (PFS) that is underway at its Butcherbird manganese project in Australia.

After completing a scoping study earlier this year, the Australian manganese developer initiated the prefeasibility study. The ongoing positive performance of manganese prices paired with increasing demand of high purity manganese products also added to Element’s decision to move ahead with the report.

In order to bring the Butcherbird site to production, Element is looking at incorporating a variety of green energy solutions with a mix of traditional.

“E25 is aiming to implement a lower cost, low emissions solution as this will improve the project economics and potentially allow the company to produce a product which has a lower carbon footprint than conventionally produced EMM,” noted the company’s quarterly report.

After a three-phase process, which was first initiated during the scoping study, Element has decided on a mixed energy supply.

“The outcome of this study phase confirmed that the most economic energy mix for the Butcherbird high-purity manganese project is likely to include a combination of gas, wind and solar power to drive the electrowinning process,” the report continued.

The Butcherbird site has been designated by Element to produce high-purity manganese sulfate specifically for use in  lithium-ion battery cathodes, which are instrumental to the electric vehicle industry, as well as others.

During the scoping study, the resource at the Australian project was estimated to total 180 tonnes of both indicated and inferred resource, with an average grade of 10.8 percent.

While the majority of the critical metals company’s focus during Q3 was on advancing Butcherbird through its exploration phases, Element also completed the sale of its non-core Holleton gold project located in Perth, to Ramelius Resources (ASX:RMS).

The sale earned Element AU$1 million, capital needed so the company could focus on Butcherbird.

Presently, there is an infill drill campaign underway at Butcherbird to allow for a resource upgrade, which it’s expected to last for approximately four-weeks.

Element 25 shares sat flat on Wednesday (October 31), trading at AU$0.185.

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Securities Disclosure: I, Georgia Williams, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.