American Manganese Inc. (TSX-V:AMY, OTCQB:AMYZF) has said it is well placed to respond to US President Joe Biden’s decision to invoke the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950 to accelerate the development of essential battery materials, including manganese.
"President Biden's official DPA statement recognizes recycling as an essential means of meeting rising demand," Larry Reaugh, the company's CEO said in a statement. "American Manganese, with its RecycLiCo process, is well-positioned to deliver sustainable, high-purity supply of four of the five materials the US Government is now prioritizing as essential to its national defense."
The company noted that the presidential action carries the force of US federal law, opening up funding authorities ranging from federal loans and loan guarantees to grants financing production facilities, material purchases, and futures contracts.
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American Manganese's patented RecycLiCo process focuses on recycling and upcycling lithium-ion battery waste into high-value battery cathode materials. RecycLiCo has minimal processing steps and up to 99% extraction of lithium, cobalt, nickel, and manganese to create high-value lithium-ion battery materials for reintegration into new lithium-ion battery manufacturing.
The company announced on March 15, 2022, that its RecycLiCo demonstration plant in Vancouver, Canada is ready for commissioning and is scheduled to demonstrate continuous operating conditions with a processing capacity of 500 kg/day of lithium-ion battery waste once commissioning is complete.
Biden’s presidential determination states that to promote the national defense, the US must secure a reliable and sustainable supply of strategic and critical materials instead of depending on unreliable foreign sources necessary for clean energy transition - such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese.
Contact the author at jon.hopkins@proactiveinvestors.com