Name of the Project
Butcherbird manganese project.

Location
The project comprises eight known manganese mineral resources in an estimated 600 km² of the southern Pilbara region, in Western Australia.

Project Owner/s
Manganese developer Element 25 (E25).

Project Description
The project has proven and probable ore reserves of 50.55-million tonnes at 10.3% manganese containing 5.22-million tonnes manganese (4.28-million tonnes recoverable manganese).

The May 2020 prefeasibility study (PFS) presented a compelling base case and expansion case economics. The base case assumes the production and sale of 312 000 t/y of medium-grade lump manganese concentrate grading 30% to 35% manganese.

The proposed 1.3-million-ton-a-year processing facility includes crushing, screening, scrubbing, sizing and ore sorting.

The project has a 42-year mine life.

The PFS also highlighted that the project has the potential for significant growth beyond the initial Stage 1 production volumes. The studies examined the potential for an expansion to Stage 1 within 12 months of initial commissioning. The company expects to expedite the expansion of the project once Stage 1 is fully operational.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
In the base case, the project has an estimated pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of A$441-million and an internal rate of return of 255%, with a payback of six months from the start of operations.

Capital Expenditure
The project has a low capital requirement of $14.5-million, plus $9.2-million in working capital.

Planned Start/End Date
The project construction and start of commissioning were completed within 11 months from the delivery of the prefeasibility published in May 2020.

Latest Developments
E25 is still assessing opportunities to place additional conventional and nonconventional material into the market while commodity prices are strong.

The company recently shipped 35 002 t of manganese concentrate from its Butcherbird operation through Port Hedland, telling shareholders that the contract price received had been higher than previous shipments, owing to the buoyant prevailing manganese market.

This higher price offset the higher-than-forecast diesel and shipping costs, which remain above long-term trends, owing to ongoing geopolitical and Covid-19-related issues.

Meanwhile, the company is also working on process plant optimisation to address throughput bottlenecks caused by materials handling challenges, owing to the high clay content feed at Butcherbird.

As part of optimisation studies being undertaken at the plant, E25 is also conducting engineering design work on the Stage 2 expansion of the Butcherbird project, focusing initially on the primary comminution stage and the final beneficiation step, which uses optical ore sorters.

As part of the review process, dense-media separation is being assessed as an alternative to ore sorters to provide more consistent results in terms of manganese recovery and grade.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
E25, tel +61 8 6315 1400 or email admin@e25.com.au.