PERTH (miningweekly.com) – ASX-listed Firebird Metals on Friday revealed downstream aspirations, telling shareholders that an in-house scoping study on assessing potential processing and location requirements for a plant in China, was well advanced.

The company said it had developed a strategy to establish Firebird as a near-term producer of battery-grade high purity magnesium sulphate, which is a cathode material in lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP) batteries.

“We are very pleased to reveal our plans for the company’s next phase of major growth. We have delivered strong progress on the ground at Oakover, which included the production of battery grade manganese sulphate through metallurgical test work programmes,” said Firebird MD Peter Allen.

“We have been assessing the forecasted growth trajectory of LMFP batteries for several months now and have developed the LMFP growth strategy to ensure Firebird is positioned to benefit from the growing demand for this new-generation battery. We have a vision of becoming a global leader in the manganese industry by seamlessly combining mining and downstream processing, with a profound dedication to the advancement of the battery sector.

“Execution of this strategy is the next step in this pursuit,” Allen said.

“We have spent a lot of time doing our due diligence on the LMFP strategy, which has included several trips to China to assess plant locations and meeting with potential team members. We look forward to completing a Chinese sulphate scoping study and sharing our findings with our shareholders in the coming months.

“LMFP demand is expected to explode over the next decade and delivery of this strategy will see Firebird become a key producer, while we continue to develop our flagship Oakover project into Western Australia’s next major manganese operation to further expand into the manganese sulphate production.”

Firebird recently updated its dense media separation manganese concentrate scoping study at Oakover, which estimated that the project would require a capital investment of A$123-million and could support a four-million-tonne-a-year project to deliver 1.2-million tonnes a year of manganese concentrate, grading between 30% to 40%, over a mine life of 18 years.