Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN) has completed a five-day continuous operation program at Chvaletice Manganese Project’s demonstration plant for the production of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal.
From 7 October to 12 October 2024, the company says the qualified solution preparation and electrowinning module conducted the program 24-hours-a-day for five days, with no more than eight hours stoppage time. It was targeting to produce a minimum of 132 kgs high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM).
Euro Manganese says the plant achieved 100% reliability over the entirety of the program. Overall, 172 kgs of HPEMM was produced, exceeding the target production by over 30%.
CEO Matthew James says completing the 120 hour operation while exceeding the target production by 30% is an “important technical milestone.”
“This key step enhances our technological maturity,” James says.
“With the only new high-purity manganese project outside of China to have a fully operational demonstration plant, the Chvaletice Project and Euro Manganese are positioned to benefit significantly from the growing demand for high-purity manganese as battery chemistries move to lower cost, higher manganese formulations.”
The plant achieved key technical targets, which form part of the necessary conditions for assessing the next draw-down from the Orion financial package, which was announced in November last year.
Euro Manganese, which has a market capitalisation of $19.32 million, says the electrowinning stage can be operated on a continuous basis with the qualified solution feedstock provided from the leaching and purification process stage. The process produces selenium-free, HPEMM flakes.
Other key process stages operate on a batch basis and include ore to slurry preparation, beneficiation via magnetic separation to produce an ore concentrate, leaching and purification of concentrate, control and removal of magnesium, and HPEMM dissolution.
The HPEMM dissolution process involves purification, drying and crystallisation to produce high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) product.
The Chvaletice Project sits 90km east of Prague in the Czech Republic. The project entails re-processing a significant manganese deposit contained in waste from a decommissioned mine that operated between 1951 and 1975.
Euro Manganese is a battery materials company focused on becoming a producer of high-purity manganese for the EV industry and other high technology applications.
Write to Aaliyah Rogan at Mining.com.au
Images: Euro Manganese
