This week on the podcast we speak with Dr Matt James, CEO of Euro Manganese [TSXV/ASX:EMN]. Euro Manganese is a publicly traded battery materials company whose principal focus is advancing the development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project, in which it holds a 100% interest. The proposed project entails re-processing a significant manganese deposit hosted in tailings from a decommissioned mine, strategically located in the Czech Republic.
Located approximately 90 km east of Prague in the Czech Republic, the Chvaletice Manganese Project entails re-processing a significant manganese deposit contained in waste (tailings) from a decommissioned mine that operated between 1951 and 1975. The Chvaletice resource is the only sizeable, classified resource of manganese in the European Union.
Innovative waste recycling initative
Chvaletice is not a mining project. It is a unique and innovative waste recycling initiative that avoids the negative impacts of traditional hard rock mining. As the project recycles historic mine tailings, it will clean up the contaminated site and eliminate a longstanding source of water pollution. Over the 25-year life of the project, remediation and reclamation work will be conducted to bring the entire Chvaletice site into compliance with the Czech Republic’s stringent environmental regulations and standards.
As a source of an important battery raw material, the project is well positioned to support the EU and the Czech Republic’s green goals of reducing the region’s carbon footprint and working towards a more sustainable, circular economy. Chvaletice has the potential to reduce Europe’s reliance on imports of raw battery materials by providing up to 20% of projected 2030 European demand for high-purity manganese.
Investment from the EBRD
Last year Euro Manganese closed a CAD$8,499,500 strategic equity investment by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The investment was made by way of a private placement. The EBRD holds approximately 4.4% of the company’s shares on a non-diluted basis.
We also discuss on the podcast the announcement from Euro Manganese that it is exploring an opportunity to develop a project to produce high-purity manganese products in Canada for the North American market. The demand for North American high purity manganese is expected to rise to approximately 200,000 tonnes per annum (“tpa”) metal equivalent by 2031, yet there is no current processing capacity and production of battery-grade manganese in North America.
A scoping study is underway to evaluate a site in Bécancour, Québec, for production of high-purity manganese products following discussions with cathode and battery manufacturers, and automotive OEMs in North America.
Our guest Dr Matt James
Euro Manganese CEO Dr Matt James joined the company as President and CEO in December 2021. He has extensive leadership experience in both established global industrials and small growth companies across the natural resources, chemicals and environmental services sectors. His previous executive roles include: Vice President, Strategy & Corporate Communications at Lynas Corporation; founding Managing Director of Rutila Resources; and Vice President, Strategy and Business Development, Harsco Corporation.
At Lynas Corporation, a specialty metals company, Matt played an instrumental role in raising over A$1 billion in equity and debt funding, and over US$800 million of long-term offtake agreements across the automative, chemical and engineering sectors. Under his leadership, Lynas grew from a junior miner with a market capitalisation of A$12 million in 2002 to an ASX100 company with a market capitalisation of over A$3 billion in 2011.
