American Manganese Inc has announced the conclusion of its stockpile project at Wenden, Arizona, moving the site a step closer to producing strategically important electrolytic manganese metal from unwanted, low-grade material.
The Wenden Stockpile reclamation and advanced material processing project began in late 2020 and concluded in September this year with electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) production.
The project was funded by an award from the United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to perform work on the US government's 322,000 metric ton manganese stockpile and assess the viability of production using American Manganese's ground-breaking recovery process.
American Manganese has now submitted its final report to the DLA, which stated: "The patented American Manganese process represents a significant opportunity for producing electrolytic manganese metal, electrolytic manganese dioxide, and potentially battery-grade manganese sulfate using as feedstock the 350,000 short dry tons of National Defense Stockpile material grading about 22% manganese located just outside Wenden, Arizona."
READ: American Manganese updates on progress of its demonstration plant; major equipment expected to arrive throughout rest of 2021
Larry Reaugh, CEO of American Manganese, told investors he was proud that the company had "successfully completed all identified milestones within the project timeline, including an advanced material processing flowsheet that we tested on a lab scale".
"I believe there is value in processing the Wenden Stockpile material with AMY's (American Manganese's) patented process, and we are actively seeking continued collaboration on advanced materials reclamation with the DLA."
He also quoted BHP Billiton's former CEO Brian Gilbertson, as saying: "You cannot make steel without manganese. And if you cannot make steel - the world stops."
Arizona Congressman Paul Gosar added: "At each step in the process, American Manganese has been open and transparent on their work and is presenting a solution to transform the unwanted stockpile of low-grade material, long ago paid for by the U.S. taxpayer, into modern National Defense Stockpile material (EMM).
"The U.S. remains 100% dependent on foreign EMM and we simply cannot remain dependent on foreign supply when electrolytic manganese metal is a designated strategic defense mineral. Advancing this project is a strong first step towards securing a durable American source of supply."
American Manganese's patented manganese process is also the cornerstone tech in its lithium-ion battery cathode recycling process, which extracts lithium, nickel, manganese, and cobalt from lithium-ion battery cathode materials.
Contact the author at giles@proactiveinvestors