In the dynamic landscape of electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing, the demand for high-purity manganese, a critical component for EV batteries, has skyrocketed. Euro Manganese Inc. (TSX-V and ASX: EMN; OTCQX: EUMNF; Frankfurt: E06), is positioning itself as a leading figure in this sector with its innovative business model and strategic initiatives.
China currently dominates the production of high purity electrolytic manganese metal and manganese sulphate monohydrate, essential for Li-ion battery production. Rising geo-political tensions between China and the western world impacts the security of this important supply chain. On top of that, the demand for high purity manganese is also anticipated to surge by over 900% between 2020 and 2030, leading to severe market shortages.
This escalating demand is being fueled by a paradigm shift in the EV battery industry. Manganese-bearing NCM cathodes are expected to see an increase in market share. Notably, companies like Samsung, Panasonic, and Tesla are moving towards integrating more manganese into their batteries, phasing out cobalt usage due to its higher cost and ethical concerns associated with its mining. This trend is evident with Tesla’s new battery model incorporating a higher percentage of manganese in its cathode.
Manganese offers several advantages over cobalt, including higher affordability, better supply options, and improved performance. Its affordability significantly reduces the overall cost of EV batteries, as cobalt is one of the most expensive components. Additionally, manganese’s mining and production processes are more ethical and environmentally sustainable compared to cobalt, which is often mined under problematic conditions. Importantly, manganese enhances the safety and performance of EV batteries by decreasing their combustibility and potentially boosting their capacity and power output significantly.
A Unique Business Model for a Booming Industry
Euro Manganese’s business model capitalizes on this need for high-purity manganese. The company’s key project, the Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic, is particularly noteworthy. This project focuses on reprocessing old tailings from a decommissioned mine, representing a novel waste-to-value recycling and remediation opportunity. Furthermore, as the only significant manganese resource in the European Union, it holds a strategic position in the market. The company is also exploring production possibilities in Bécancour, Québec, expanding its footprint in the global market.
Key Developments to Watch
The environmentally sensitive manganese explorer has secured US$100 million in non-dilutive financing from Orion to advance the Chvaletice Manganese Project, of which the company has closed an initial tranche of $20.0 million of the Orion financing. Orion Resource Partners Group is an $8.2 billion global asset management firm that focuses on the investment in precious and energy transition metals and mineral exploration and development. Euro must have done something right to garner their attention.
Euro Manganese also announced in the middle of November that it had successfully produced high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) from the dissolution and crystallization module at the Chvaletice Demonstration Plant with two independent external laboratories confirming that that samples sent have met the Demonstration Plant target specifications for HPMSM with low levels of impurities.
CEO and president, Dr. Matthew James commented on the milestone, “Producing high-purity manganese sulphate from our Demonstration Plant is a significant milestone for the Company. HPMSM is an almost pharmaceutical grade product and specification of impurities is tight. While this result has taken longer than planned, the insight gained is leading to engineering and operational process improvements and awareness, which is why having a Demonstration Plant is so important in project development. I am immensely proud of the Team for their hard work and dedication in reaching on-spec purity for manganese sulphate.
Euro Manganese continues to demonstrate it is a leader in developing western high-purity manganese processing capacity. I look forward to providing customers with high-purity manganese from our Demonstration Plant so they can either get started on, or continue with, their qualification process of our products.”
Here’s what we think:
Leave a Reply