Euro Manganese Inc. (TSX-V and ASX: EMN; OTCQX: EUMNF; Frankfurt: E06), the Vancouver-based battery materials company, is making good progress at its Chvaletice Manganese Project site in the Czech Republic, where it aims to reprocess manganese from historic mine tailings and supply ultra-high-purity manganese products to the lithium-ion battery industry in Europe.
In an operational update, EMN said work on the project’s Demonstration Plant (DP) at the site is on schedule and on budget. The DP is designed to produce large-scale samples of high-purity manganese products, as part of the approval processes required for the use of battery raw materials in electric vehicles. The DP units are being pre-fabricated and assembled in China, with cold commissioning of the plant modules set to begin this month.
What next for Euro Manganese?
In September, EMN reached a significant milestone in the project’s development when it received the construction permit from the Czech authorities to upgrade and adapt buildings that will house the plant at the site. Site preparations for the installation of the DP modules are underway, ahead of the expected delivery of the modules to the Chvaletice site in the Czech Republic early in the New Year. Hot commissioning and start-up of the DP are targeted for the second quarter of 2022.
Meanwhile, EMN has restarted a pilot plant that originally operated in 2018. It will supply prospective customers with small-scale samples in advance of larger samples to be produced when DP production comes on stream.
All verification and testing work for the Project’s definitive feasibility study has been completed, with good progress being made on the engineering studies. As at the end of September 2021, about 60% of the physical progress is complete.
Work on the Final Environmental and Social Impact Assessment (FESIA) is under way and targeted to be completed and submitted to permitting authorities in early 2022. Recently completed work on the FESIA includes water well pump tests and expanded acoustic modelling studies.
EMN has also started recruiting for technical and administration roles for the DP, with plant workers to be hired closer to the start-up date.
Why manganese is important
Over the past year, news flow from the EV, battery and cathode manufacturing sector has accelerated, with numerous manufacturers deciding to use manganese-rich battery chemistries. Data from Bloomberg, NEF, CPM Group and other market research firms has highlighted the rapid rise in demand for high purity manganese and other essential battery metals such as lithium, nickel and cobalt.
However, while demand for battery grade manganese is set to increase, supply will likely remain constrained. Estimates from Cairn Energy Research Advisors and CPM Group suggest global production of high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate – the manganese product used by most lithium-ion battery cathode makers – will need to increase 24-fold compared to 2020 levels to meet anticipated 2030 demand.
Listen: Podcast with Marco Romero, CEO/Founder of Euro Manganese
What’s interesting about Euro Manganese
Euro Manganese’s Chvaletice Manganese Project has the potential to become Europe’s only primary producer of battery-grade manganese products, at a time when manganese is set to play a key role in the drive to develop high quality, affordable and sustainable EVs and batteries. Several major companies, among them Volkswagen, Stellantis (the Fiat-Chrysler and PSA group), Renault and BASF, have said they will be using manganese in their battery chemistries. In addition, a joint development agreement signed in October with cathode materials manufacturer Nano One to develop battery technology has the scope to position Euro Manganese as an emerging industry leader.
