Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25) has completed a bulk dense media separation (DMS) trial on manganese from the Butcherbird project in WA, finding it can produce a higher-grader, lower-cost ore.
The manganese stock processed around 280 tonnes of Butcherbird ore during the trial, which took place mid-last month at the Bootu Creek Manganese Mine’s DMS plant in the Northern Territory.
To complete the trial, E25 carted six separate manganese ore parcels to the Bootu Creek mine, which is owned by offtake partner OM Holdings.
A road train transported each parcel (weighing between 44 and 49 tonnes) to the DMS facility, where ore was processed using three different media densities to help determine the best fit for Butcherbird material.
Study says …
Overall, E25 considers its program a success: results indicate using a DMS drum can meaningfully improve manganese product grades by improving the elimination of waste and gangue materials from the product stream.
In fact, the findings show that DMS work can improve the product grade between 9% and 30%.
The bottom line? Thanks to the higher grades that can be produced, E25 can fetch a better price for its product.
What’s more, removing the sub-grade waste material also reduces the haulage and shipping costs, meaning E25 can pay less to get the manganese to market.
About Butcherbird
E25’s Butcherbird Manganese Project is described as a world-class manganese resource — it currently hosts more than 263 million tonnes of manganese ore in JORC-compliant resources and a 50.55 million tonne reserve in the proved and probable categories.
In May 2020, the company completed a pre-feasibility study (PFS), which considered how it could develop the deposit to produce manganese concentrate for export. E25 hopes this can generate early cash flow with a modest capital requirement.
Fast forward to today, and stage one of the project development plan is complete, and E25 has started shipping ore to offtake partners.
The PFS also highlighted the project’s potential for significant growth beyond the initial stage one production volumes, and the company plans to expedite expansion work once it dots the I’s and crosses the T’s on optimisation studies and secures key approvals.
More to the story
In addition to the concentrate export business, Element 25 has completed extensive research and development and laboratory test work into the production of high-purity manganese products, including battery-grade manganese sulphate (HPMSM) and High Purity Electrolytic Manganese Metal (HPEMM).
The work has highlighted that the Butcherbird ores are highly amenable to an ambient temperature, atmospheric pressure leach process, resulting in a very efficient extraction of the manganese into solution — the key requirement for the cost-effective and sustainable production of HPMSM and HPEMM.
For E25, location is a strong suit: Butcherbird straddles the Great Northern Highway and the Goldfields Gas Pipeline, providing turnkey logistics and energy solutions.
The company plans to integrate renewable energy into the power solution over time to target a zero-carbon footprint for the project, which is expected to also reduce energy costs.
Ultimately, Element 25 believes a cleaner, lower carbon flowsheet and high penetration renewable energy will place Butcherbird at the forefront of sustainable high purity manganese production.