Summary
- Element 25 Limited has been on the path to transition from an explorer to a miner and aims to become a globally significant manganese producer.
- Demand for manganese is growing though supply has constraints. E25’s 100% owned Butcherbird Project is closer to the end users than its contemporaries.
- The Company is likely to gain massive traction, now that it has accomplished the final milestone towards grant of a Mining Lease.
Currently focussed on the development of world class and fully owned Butcherbird Manganese Project in the southern Pilbara region of Western Australia, Element 25 Limited (ASX:E25) has ultimately reached the mining lease application M52/1074 at its Project.
The Company has signed an Access Agreement with Ms Chandra Ridley, a step that marks an important milestone in what it hopes will be a long and mutually beneficial relationship paves the way for the grant of a Mining Lease over the planned production area and is a critical development step for the Company.
Access Agreement with Ms Chandra Ridley
About granting of mining lease application M52/1074, the Access Agreement was signed with the remaining stakeholder. Precisely, it was signed between Ms Ridley, who owns the Bulloo Downs Pastoral Lease and the Company.
It sets a structure for a mutually beneficial relationship and offers Ms Ridley with the opportunity to take benefit of appropriate contracting prospects. Further, it comprises of specific milestone cash payments and sets up a cooperative structure to nurture a strong working relationship in due course.
Moreover, the signing of this Agreement marks the final milestone that is needed for the mining lease application to be granted for the Project. In relation to the Company’s planned manganese ore production at the Project, the Agreement is expected to pave the path for submission of mining approval documentation, to be filed with the Dept. of Mines, Industry Regulation & Safety.
It should be noted that the Mining Lease Application was lodged in February 2018. It covers the planned mining and infrastructure areas for the proposed development of the Butcherbird Manganese Mine. It is a critical step in progressing the Project.
Casting Eye on Butcherbird Manganese Project
- Australia’s largest onshore manganese deposit
- Large resource- currently >260 Mt of manganese ore in Measured, Indicated and Inferred JORC resources
- Maiden Proved and Probable Reserve of 50.6M tonnes at 10.3% Mn for 5.22t of contained manganese
- Excellent local infrastructure, low risk mining jurisdiction
The Butcherbird Manganese Deposit is Australia’s largest onshore manganese resource and consists of large tonnages of near surface manganese oxide ore in seven deposits. The Butcherbird Project is host to an extensive large manganese resource that comprises of more than 260 million tonnes of resources.
This resource strengthens E25’s core strategy of producing Manganese Sulphate as well as high purity Electrolytic Manganese Metal (EMM) to be used in lithium ion battery cathodes and speciality metals.
Located in Western Australia, which is ranked as the top mining investment jurisdiction globally, the Project has outstanding infrastructure advantages with a gas pipeline and main bitumen highway passing directly adjacent to and through the mineralised envelope.
Moreover, detailed PFS affirms that Australia’s largest onshore manganese resource can produce near term cashflow from a low capital cost manganese concentrate mining operation.
Very simple geology, low strip ratio and free dig (no blasting) mining, Simple beneficiation process, measured and indicated resources underpinning the 42-year PFS are other advantages of the Project.
With approval processes well advanced, financing strategy defined and discussions underway with equipment suppliers for long lead time items, Project development timeline targets first production in Q1 2021.
Bottomline
It is no revelation that manganese is a critical raw material to a number of industries, and huge segments of the world economy depend on its persistent supply.
Demand for high purity manganese products- EMM, EMD and Manganese Sulphate is likely to sturdily rise in the near term, at the back of soared demand from conventional alkaline battery markets, Li-ion batteries, rapid expansion in EV production as well as grid storage devices capacity.
Through its globally significant, low cost, high purity manganese project turbocharged by early cashflow from a low capex concentrate export opportunity, the Company seems to be on track to produce clean, low cost, ethical manganese products for world markets.
E25 quoted $ 0.415 on 22 June 2020 and has delivered outstanding returns of 304.5 % in the past three months.
Disclaimer
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