Australian manganese mine developer Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB) has produced a battery grade manganese sulphate from the company’s Oakover Project in Western Australia.
The company reports this was achieved through a ‘high-purity’ manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) testwork program completed on manganese ore from Oakover, located 85km east of Newman in the East Pilbara region.
This maiden HPMSM metallurgical flowsheet development program has delivered a result of over 99.8% purity from hydrometallurgical testwork, and has also confirmed that Oakover manganese ore can be processed into battery grade HPMSM.
Firebird reports leaching testwork feed material was generated from diamond drill core collected from the Sixty Sixer, Jay-Eye, and Karen deposits within the Oakover project.
Multiple scouting leaching tests were completed on Oakover manganese feed, which had been crushed, screened, and scrubbed, but not beneficiated further. This material was then ground to below 0.5mm prior to leaching.
“This is an outstanding result and places Firebird and Oakover in a very strong position moving forward”
Commenting on the testwork, Firebird Metals Managing Director Peter Allen says: “This is an outstanding result and places Firebird and Oakover in a very strong position moving forward. To produce greater than 99.8% manganese sulphate purity from our first testwork program is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our tea and advisors.
It is highly encouraging that this result meets the requirements for battery grade specifications and highlights the high-quality nature of our flagship Oakover Project.
Importantly, we are developing Oakover at a time where demand for manganese within the lithium-ion battery sector continues to grow rapidly, as electric vehicle and battery cathode manufacturers have stated their desire to increase the amount of manganese within lithium-ion batteries, due to the cost benefits obtained whilst maintaining energy density.
We have taken a major step as a manganese developer and we will now focus our attention to rapidly progressing and completing our high-purity manganese sulphate Scoping Study, which we announced in October.”
Firebird reports the most recent scoping test program utilised combined selected pregnant leach solutions (PLS) obtained from earlier leaching testwork on Oakover ore.
The PLS was subjected to a sequence of ‘typical’ impurity removal steps, followed by crystallisation of crude manganese sulphate. The crude manganese sulphate was then redissolved and recrystallised and washed to produce HPMSM crystals.
High-precision trace element analyses for ‘typical’ impurity elements was conducted to determine impurity levels in the crystals and estimate the overall purity of over 99.8% manganese sulphate monohydrate by difference.
Levels of individual impurity elements listed in the Manganese Sulphate for Battery Materials Specification (HG/T 4823-2015) were all within specified limits.
Key results from the hydrometallurgical program include ore amenable to initial beneficiation and preparation; ore amenable to reductive acid leaching, 93% to 97% manganese leach extraction in 4 hours; and heat generated by the reaction.
Firebird reports it will now prioritise ongoing process flowsheet development and optimisation studies to further enhance process design and product quality, along with completing a ‘high-purity’ manganese sulphate Scoping Study.
The importance of manganese within the lithium-ion battery sector for use in electric vehicles (EVs) continues to grow. Manganese is an important element within the battery cathode industry and in particular, plays a critical role in NMC (Nickel, Manganese, Cobalt) batteries. It is estimated around 90kg of Manganese is used per average electric car (CPM Group).
EV and battery cathode manufacturers have expressed a desire to increase manganese content to improve battery and electric vehicle cost competitiveness, while maintaining energy density. The growing electrical vehicle market and battery cathode changes will lead to greater demand and growth for HPMSM.
Images: Firebird Metals Ltd
