Element 25 has reported significant progress in the expansion of its Butcherbird manganese mine in Western Australia (WA), aiming to boost production capacity to 1.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of manganese concentrate.
The Butcherbird expansion project (BBX) is supported by updated feasibility studies.
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Altris Engineering, serving as lead engineer, has begun work on the expansion project as part of an integrated project team, collaborating closely with Element 25 engineers.
Process improvement studies are ongoing, with the goal of delivering potential cost savings and execution flexibility options for the project.
The tender process for the mining services contract is nearing final selection.
In addition, procurement of essential equipment including mineral sizers and a log washer has been secured.
Offtake negotiations are also progressing, with several term sheets currently under review.
Element 25 has raised A$10m ($6.45m) through a placement and secured a A$50m senior debt facility from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility to fund the BBX.
The company is currently negotiating several term sheets to secure the remaining funds needed for the construction.
The updated ore reserve at the Butcherbird mine has risen by 107% to 101.4mt at 10.4% manganese, containing 10.54mt of manganese.
This underpins a more than 18-year life-of-mine operation at the planned 1.1mtpa production rate.
Additionally, the latest Butcherbird mineral resource estimate (MRE) increased by 6% to 274mt at 10% manganese.
Measured and indicated resources are up by 142%, reaching 130mt at a grade of 10.23% manganese.
These updates align with Element 25’s strategic objective to expand production capacity and supply manganese concentrate to traditional steel markets, as well as provide feedstock for its planned battery-grade, high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate processing plant in Louisiana, US.
The BBX project is approved under the WA Regulatory Framework, including approvals from the WA Department of Water and Environmental Regulation and the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety.
