Element25 Secures Key Approval for Butcherbird Manganese Mine Expansion

Element25 (ASX:E25) has secured approval for an expansion at its Butcherbird manganese mine.

The company said on Monday (January 13) that its mining proposal and mine closure plan have received a green light from Western Australia's Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.

“This is a key approval under the Western Australian regulatory framework and marks an important milestone for the Butcherbird project,” the company explained in a press release.

Located in the Pilbara region, Butcherbird is 100 percent owned by Element25 and hosts Australia’s largest onshore manganese resource. As per a January 2024 feasibility study, the proposed expansion would increase Butcherbird's manganese oxide concentrate production to 1.1 million tonnes per year over a mine life of 12 years.

The company is currently working toward the development of an expanded processing facility at Butcherbird that will allow it to reach that number. Some of the material will be directed to the downstream steel industry.

Element25 will also use the manganese oxide concentrate from Butcherbird as feedstock for its "first-of-its-kind" battery-grade, high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) processing facility. The facility will be constructed in Louisiana, US, in partnership with carmakers General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis (NYSE:STLA).

This past September, Element25 announced the receipt of a US$166 million grant from the US Department of Energy for the construction of the HPMSM. That was on top of US$115 million from General Motors and Stellantis.

The company said a works approval is now the only document it is still waiting for at Butcherbird. Element25 submitted its application in October 2024, and expects that it will be granted in the next few weeks.

A tails storage facility has been fully approved to support operations for the first six years of processing with stage lifts; the company intends to follow up with a longer-term plan.

All other required approvals and access agreements, such as water abstraction, heritage clearances, Native Title and pastoral agreements, are in place and established from Stage 1 operations at Butcherbird.

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