Advanced manganese developer Firebird Metals has signed an agreement for industrial land with the Jinshi local government, in Hunan, for its China battery-grade manganese sulphate plant.
The agreement, announced on Wednesday, covers land allocation, tax incentive structures, land rebates for the plant and options for future plant expansions.
“The completion of the land agreement and establishment of a pilot plant in the Jinshi area brings substantial value to the company, as we gain access and exposure to some of the world’s largest electric vehicle battery manufacturers and investors in lithium manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP) batteries. The location of our battery grade manganese sulphate plant in Hunan also places Firebird at the epicentre of manganese sulphate demand in China,” said Firebird MD Peter Allan.
Firebird expects its pilot plant to be operational by the first quarter. Once complete, the company will look to start key prequalification activities with cathode producers.
Firebird’s in-house China-based battery grade manganese sulphate scoping study looks to develop a plant with a total capacity of 72 000 t/y battery grade manganese sulphate equivalent from manganese concentrate.
The plant will be supplied with concentrate from the Oakover project, in Western Australia.