Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25, OTCQX:ELMTF) welcomes the completion by the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) of a strategic assessment of the Butcherbird Stage 2 Expansion Project in Western Australia.
E25 aims to increase annual production at Butcherbird to 1.1 million tonnes per annum of manganese oxide concentrate, in line with the feasibility study announced in January 2024.
The expansion project is now proceeding to the detailed due diligence phase of the NAIF assessment process before a decision can be made to offer financial support.
NAIF is a Commonwealth Government financier that provides concessional loans for the development of infrastructure projects in northern Australia and the Australian Indian Ocean Territories to deliver economic and social growth.
“Our Butcherbird Project hosts a world-class manganese deposit with more than 260 million tonnes in resources, which has the ability to underpin a long life producing asset,” said Element 25 managing director Justin Brown.
“The results of our feasibility study for the expansion project show the potential for this asset to deliver over 1 million tonnes of manganese concentrate per year to market, generating strong returns for shareholders and providing feedstock for the company’s planned HPMSM facility in Louisiana.
"Having NAIF involved in the project is a positive step towards financing its expansion.”
Butcherbird Expansion Project
E25 plans to expand its Butcherbird operations to 1.1 million tonnes per annum manganese concentrate production using expanded open-cut mining methods, a modified primary comminution circuit and a dense media separation (DMS) back-end solution to optimise grade and recoveries.
Expansion would establish Butcherbird as a low-cost manganese operator (estimated US$2.76/dmtu C1 FOB cost) able to produce at a cost lower than the low manganese sale price points seen within the manganese market.
Mineral resources used to support the project’s 7.2-year mine life from 2024 to 2031 represent 36% of the total mineral resource inventory within the granted mining lease M52/1074.
The company’s expanded production strategy complements and enhances its plan to develop a high-purity manganese sulphate (HPMSM) plant in Louisiana, USA to supply offtake partners General Motors LLC and Stellantis NV with HPMSM to manufacture EV batteries.