Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25) delivered a daily production record of 1,209 tonnes of concentrate in early January from its Butcherbird Manganese Project which comes on top of a robust December quarter.
E25’s Butcherbird Project is a world-class manganese resource with current JORC resources of more than 263 million tonnes of manganese ore.
In May 2020, the company completed a pre-feasibility study (PFS) with respect to developing the deposit to produce manganese concentrate for export to generate early cashflow with a modest capital requirement.
Stage 1 of the project development plan is complete and E25 has commenced shipping ore to offtake partners, which has led to several of its quarterly highlights.
Highlight overview
Another key highlight was the third shipment of 41,000 tonnes of high-quality manganese concentrate that departed Utah Point, Port Hedland, for delivery to offtake partner OM Materials, a subsidiary of ASX-listed OM Holdings Ltd (ASX:OMH) in December 2021.
Interestingly, revenue per tonne shipped increased by 36% in the December quarter through lower freight and the early impacts of process optimisation.
"Several key operational outcomes"
“Several key operational outcomes were achieved during the quarter, notwithstanding a period of production downtime due to unexpected repair requirements on the Butcherbird processing plant,” E25’s managing director Justin Brown said.
“Most pleasingly, we were able to complete our third shipment of high-quality manganese concentrate from Port Hedland on time which is a testament to our operational team.
“Key optimisation breakthroughs were also made during the quarter regarding simplifying the flowsheet and significantly reducing reagent consumption and residue production, both key drivers of production costs.”
HPMSM plant scoping study
E25 reported that a scoping study into the construction and operation of a High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HPMSM) plant returned strong financial results over a 20-year project life.
The project is supported by the up-and-coming electric vehicle (EV) industry as EVs typically use lithium-ion batteries for energy storage, and battery cathode materials contain HPMSM.
“Another key outcome for the quarter was the completion of the HPMSM plant scoping study which highlighted a low operating cost, long-life High Purity Manganese Sulphate Project with compelling economics,” Brown said.
E25 is investigating several locations in Southeast Asia for the initial construction of a HPMSM conversion plant, as well as administrative, packaging and laboratory facilities.
Battery-grade breakthrough
In October 2021, E25 confirmed that leaching optimisation tests using concentrate product from the Butcherbird project yielded several significant breakthroughs.
High extraction rates of up to 98% were achieved, in line with the company’s objective of becoming a low cost Zero Carbon Manganese™ producer.
An unusual setback
The processing plant at Butcherbird experienced a logwasher shaft failure on November 18, 2021. There were no injuries or damage to other parts of the plant, however, the logwasher is a crucial part of the plant and as a result, E25 was forced to bring the plant to a halt and rectify the issue.
The failure of the logwasher was described as ‘unusual’ and unexpected and as a result, spare parts were not held on site and had to be sourced from the original equipment manufacturer in Northern Ireland.
While this was a setback, it happened to line up with a period of planned downtime in December 2021 to improve plant performance.
The modifications included a range of tasks, such as:
- Improve noise and dust control;
- Improve plant access for maintenance; and
- Reduce wear on key components.
E25 reports that plant production volumes significantly improved since the plant was re-opened in December, with, a daily record production of 1,209 tonnes achieved on January 3, 2022.
“Concurrently with the repairs, our team expedited several planned processing plant modifications in December, which helped drive record daily production numbers in early January 2022,” Brown said.
What’s next
“Entering 2022, E25 remains firmly on track to achieve steady nameplate production from Butcherbird, before transitioning to our Stage 2 expansion operations later this year as we solidify our position as a globally significant producer of high-quality manganese concentrate,” Brown said.
- Written by Duncan Bailey