Australian company Firebird Metals is considering building a battery grade manganese sulphate plant in China, which will be supplied with concentrate from its Oakover project, in Western Australia.

Firebird on Tuesday announced the results of an in-house manganese sulphate scoping study for sulphate production in China, following the recently completed manganese concentrate scoping production study for Oakfield.

The concentrate scoping study followed an 80% uplift in the Oakover indicated mineral resource estimate, which now stands at 105.8-million tonnes at 10.1% manganese and combined with an inferred mineral resource of 10.9-million tonnes, the total Oakover resource stands at 176.7-million tonnes at 9.9% manganese.

The China study reinforced the next phase of Firebird’s strategy and demonstrated the true potential of Oakover, said MD Peter Allen.

“The past few months have been an exciting and transformative period for the company as we embark on becoming a near-term producer of battery grade manganese sulphate. The delivery of this study and the results generated mark the completion of another key milestone as we work through a busy 12 months ahead.

"Importantly, we continue to build on the strong platform we have created at Oakover and our vision is to become a global leader in the manganese industry, combining mining and downstream processing with a dedication to the advancement of the EV battery sector. We are developing and pushing ahead with Oakover at the right time, as the use of manganese in EV batteries continues to grow rapidly,” said Allen.

The in-house China-based battery grade manganese sulphate scoping study looks to develop a plant with a total capacity of 72 000 t/y battery grade manganese sulphate equivalent from manganese concentrate.

The study yielded a strong projected net present value of about $331-million, total capital expenditure of $82.3-million, an internal rate of return of 47% and a payback period of less than two years.

“LMFP batteries are forecast for the largest growth of all the manganese-based batteries, due to the fact it meets the key criteria of car manufacturers - cheap, safe and delivers good range. 2023 is seen by many industry participants as the beginning of the new era of Li-ion batteries by commercialising LMFP and we are well-positioned to benefit greatly from this demand,” said Allen.