Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN) has progressed to the formal appraisal stage for debt financing its Chvaletice Manganese Project, with the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The $34.22 million market capitalisation company, which is also listed on the TSX-V, says the EIB funding would complement a broader financing package to support development of its high purity battery-grade manganese plant in the Czech Republic.
Chief Executive Officer and President Matthew James says advancing the project to a formal under appraisal level signals the EIB’s commitment to support sustainable opportunities in the battery supply chain.
“Chvaletice remains the only sizable proven and probable reserve of manganese in the European Union and through the project, Euro Manganese will be uniquely positioned to provide a secure, traceable, and responsible produced supply of high-purity manganese products to the European electric vehicle market.
With the European Bank of Reconstruction and Development already as a key shareholder, today’s announcement is another key step towards achieving project funding. We look forward to obtaining EIB’s continued support for this strategic project.”
The EIB notes that the European Commission has identified battery-grade manganese and manganese as a strategic and critical raw material, being highly relevant not only for the green and digital transitions, but also for strategic technologies and sectors.
Further, the EIB says the project will include multiple environmental benefits from the remediation of the historic tailings area, particularly in terms of soil quality and freshwater quality.
Euro Manganese is a battery materials-focused company that aims to become a ‘leading’ producer of high purity manganese.
The Chvaletice project lies 90km east of Prague in the Czech Republic.
In October 2023, the Chvaletice Project was named as a project to be supported under the inter-governmental MSP, a collection of 13 countries and the European Union, representing over 50% of global GDP. The MSP aims to catalyze public and private sector investment to build diverse, secure, and responsible critical mineral supply chains globally.
As of 31 December 2023, the company had about $24.292 million cash and cash equivalents at hand, according to its latest interim financial statement.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Euro Manganese
