Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25) has commenced mining 30-35 tonnes of ore from seven pits within its flagship Butcherbird Manganese Project in WA.
The ore will provide 25 bulk samples to be used as feedstock in the upcoming metallurgical pilot plant test work program scheduled for 2020.
Ore is being collected from seven trenches that are being excavated to a minimum depth of 5 metres below the surface.
Test program to provide key data
E25’s managing director Justin Brown said: “This is a key component of the metallurgical test programme.
“It will provide the detailed data for the flowsheet implementation required for the bankable feasibility study to follow the pre-feasibility which is currently being undertaken.
“Butcherbird is the foundation of the company’s ambition to become a long life, low cost producer of sustainable, high quality, low carbon intensity manganese products for traditional and New Energy markets.”
PFS due in 2020
Earlier this week, E25 identified a number of potential modifications to the flowsheet which are expected to have a positive impact on capital and operating costs.
As a result, the company has decided to undertake this additional work prior to finalising the pre-feasibility study (PFS) in 2020, representing an extension of the PFS timeline.
The potential improvements to both operating and capital costs are potentially significant and therefore the decision has been taken to undertake this work prior to finalising the PFS.
A more detailed timeline to completion will be provided once the schedule for this optimisation work is finalised.