For the Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic the Changsha Research Institute for Mining and Metallurgy (CRIMM) will build the plant, which is a seven-times scale-up of the pilot plant Euro Manganese EMN operated in 2018.
The system, made up of manually-operated interconnected modules, can be used either as a circuit or as stand-alone components. The plant is designed to fully replicate the entire flowsheet proposed in the project’s 2019 preliminary economic assessment. It will produce around 32 kilograms of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM) each day. The HPEMM can then be converted into around 100 kilograms per day of dry crystalline high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), to serve the lithium-ion battery industry as well as producers of specialty steel and aluminium alloys. The order for the plant has been placed, with procurement and fabrication to start immediately. Delivery is expected in mid-2021.
Euro Manganese President and CEO Marco Romero says offtake testing will begin as soon as the plant is up and running.
“Once commissioned, we expect to begin the test phase of the supply chain qualification process for our high-purity manganese products with multiple potential customer,” Marco said.
“We have also continued to make steady progress on the regulatory and permitting front, following our filing of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) notification in late June,” he added.
Around 55 per cent of the plant’s production of HPEMM and HPMSM has already been snapped up by five prospective customers for testing.
Almost all project permitting, including environmental approvals, has been ticked off. The only remaining hurdle is the building permit required for the demonstration plant. The company has also acquired three additional parcels of land to improve rail connectivity and streamline the plant’s layout and operation. Once the testing phase of the HPEMM and HPMSM is complete, Euro Manganese is hoping to lock in long-term commercial offtake arrangements with European chemical, battery and automotive companies. The company has also enlisted the services of U.K.-based investor relations company, The Armchair Trader, to help target the institutional investment community in the U.K., Europe and beyond.
Source: themarketherald.com.au
