Name of the Project
Butcherbird manganese project.

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

Project Owner/s
Element 25.

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).

An updated prefeasibility study has presented a compelling base case and expansion case economics.

The base case involves the production and sale of about 366 000 t/y of lump manganese ore grading 30% to 35% manganese over a mine life of 40 years.

Geotechnical studies supported by trial mining have identified that the orebody will mostly be mineable using free dig techniques not requiring drilling and blasting to loosen the ore. Mining will entail loaders mining 1-m- to 2-m-tall benches and delivering the ore into a mobile crusher feed-hopper through a grizzly. To enable the loaders to efficiently extract the ore, the ore will be cross-ripped using a dozer before mining.

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

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 a 5% discount rate, of A$583-million and the internal rate of return of 387%, inclusive of inferred resources, with a payback of six months from the start of operations.

Capital Expenditure
The project has a low capital requirement of A$15.1-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Beneficial production is scheduled to start in the first quarter of 2021.

Latest Developments
Precommissioning activities have started at the Butcherbird manganese project.

Electrical systems and instrument loop checking are under way, with power station installation and power-up scheduled shortly.

First ore processing is planned for the second half of March.

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
None stated.

Contact Details for Project Information
Element 25, tel +61 8 6315 1400 or email admin@e25.com.au.