ASX-listed Firebird Metals has successfully produced a 99.99% ultra-pure manganese sulphate from an in-line impurity extraction process.

The company developed a manganese-specific extractant and associated processing technology through its ongoing research and development programme at the Hunan pilot plant and research facility.

The plant's technical lead, Dr Chris Passmore, has started with a second technical programme to process ore from the company's Oakover manganese project into high-purity manganese sulphate.

Firebird believes it is the first Western company to have successfully manufactured 5N manganese sulphate, which positions the company at the forefront of high-purity battery material innovation. 

Key features of Firebird's technology include fluoride-free processing, which eliminates the need for specialised fluoride-resistant equipment and avoids the generation of fluorine-containing waste residues. The process can also treat a broad range of manganese-containing feedstocks, including low-grade ores, waste materials and wastewater.

Additionally, the process is designed to support continuous, automated operation, with Firebird due to develop a commercialisation pathway for the technology through 2027.

The company explains that manganese producers' margins are often eroded by processing costs and technical complexities related to contamination mitigation, which is not the case with fluoride-free processing, while ultra-high purity manganese sulphate commands a 33% price premium over standard battery-grade material owing to its structural scarcity within the advanced battery materials value chain.

Firebird's immediate focus is the delivery of its Australian demonstration plant, in Perth, which will be the country's first demonstration-scale facility processing manganese concentrate into high-purity manganese sulphate and downstream battery materials. The plant will build on Firebird's operating pilot facility, which is the one that demonstrated the full flowsheet from manganese ore to high-performance cathode active materials.

The larger demonstration facility will validate the process under Australian conditions using Oakover ore while delivering high-purity manganese sulphate and cathode samples for customer qualification.

Firebird holds about 234-million tonnes of manganese resources in Western Australia, led by the Oakover project with 176-million tonnes grading 9.9% manganese.