Euro Manganese Inc (ASX:EMN, TSX-V:EMN, OTCQX:EUMNF) has secured the third and final investment tranche from European Union-backed EIT InnoEnergy.
The €62,500 cash injection will accelerate work on the flagship Chvaletice project in the Czech Republic, where EMN is focused on becoming a leading, competitive and environmentally superior high-purity manganese producer.
By reprocessing old tailings from a decommissioned mine, Euro Manganese plans to harness its waste-to-recycling mandate to supply high-purity manganese products to the electric vehicle industry and other high-technology applications.
Project represents “unique opportunity”
Speaking to the community’s investment in March 2021, EIT InnoEnergy CEO Diego Pavia said Euro Manganese’s proposed development was the only sizeable manganese resource in the European Union.
“It represents a unique opportunity for Europe to secure a measure of self-sufficiency in manganese, which is a critical battery raw material.
“The Chvaletice Manganese Project has the potential to provide up to 50% of projected 2025 European demand for high-purity manganese and around 28% of anticipated 2030 requirements.”
The backstory
Euro Manganese shook hands on a project support agreement with InnoEnergy back in February 2021, outlining a three-tranche investment valued at €250,000.
So far, funding has supported work in two key areas: on the definitive feasibility study, released in July this year, and on the Chvaletice demonstration plant, which is designed to produce large-scale samples of high-purity manganese for prospective customers, including European electric vehicle makers and battery manufacturers.
The first two InnoEnergy investment tranches — totalling €187,500 — were advanced in 2021, for which the company issued 478,027 common shares in early 2022.
With the final investment tranche in hand, EMN plans to issue another 237,077 shares to InnoEnergy, priced at C$0.34 each.
While those new shares won’t hit InnoEnergy’s pocket until January 2023, its €62,500 investment marks the third and final tranche of the €250,000 project support agreement.