Name of the Project
Butcherbird Stage 2 manganese expansion project.

Location
The project comprises eight known manganese mineral resources in an estimated 600 km² of the southern Pilbara region, in Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Manganese developer Element 25 (E25).

Project Description
A feasibility study completed in January 2024 to investigate the potential to expand the production of manganese concentrate demonstrated strong economics with robust economic returns and rapid capital payback.

The study proposes an expansion to 1.1-million tonnes a year of manganese concentrate production over a 7.2-year mine life using expanded opencut mining methods, a modified primary comminution circuit and a dense-media separation (DMS) back-end solution to optimise grade and recoveries.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$228-million and an internal rate of return of 113%, with a payback of 1.2 years.

Capital Expenditure
A$49.8-million.

Planned Start/End Date
The total time required for project delivery from contract signature to the start of commissioning is estimated at 11 months from the final investment decision, followed by a two-month commissioning period.

Latest Developments
The Western Australian Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety has approved E25’s planned expansion.

The final approval required to start construction of the expanded processing facility is a works approval, which E25 submitted in October. The company expects the approval to be granted in the coming weeks.

The company aims to increase manganese concentrate production at Butcherbird to 1.1-million tonnes a year through the expanded facility. This output will serve customers in the downstream steel industry and provide feedstock for E25’s battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) processing facility, planned for construction in Louisiana. The Louisiana facility will be developed in partnership with automotive giants General Motors and Stellantis.

The HPMSM project has strong support from the US Department of Energy, and has been selected to negotiate for the award of $166-million in grant funding for the project.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Element25, tel +61 8 6375 2525 or email admin@e25.com.au.