TSX-V-listed Euro Manganese says the Czech Ministry of Environment has completed a six-month screening of the company’s preliminary environmental impact assessment for the Chvaletice manganese project.
The project is intended to recycle waste from a decommissioned mine in Czech Republic to produce ultrahigh-purity manganese products, particularly for electric vehicle batteries.
Based on feedback from the Ministry, Euro Manganese can now start the next stages of the permitting process of the project.
The company considered the screening procedure important for remaining on the right side of regulation and generating stakeholder input, which will inform the final design and planning phases of the Chvaletice project.
Input on the assessment was received from various government bodies, public agencies and regional and local authorities, as well as community members, since it was open to the public.
The stakeholders’ main concerns have been around the management of increased vehicle traffic and noise, impacts to air and water quality, and the preservation of sight lines to a nearby historic site.
CEO Marco Romero is confident that the company can address these concerns in forthcoming detailed plans.
“Following more than four years of environmental baseline and impact studies, process design and engineering, we purposely provided much more detailed information to the public and regulators about our project than is normally required at this stage of the permitting process. In the end we were provided with useful feedback.”
Euro Manganese targets publishing a definitive feasibility study on the project by the end of the year, while work on the final environmental impact assessment will start mid-year, also targeting completion by the end of the year.
Meanwhile, Romero says procurement and fabrication of the project’s demonstration plant remains on schedule, with delivery to site expected in July. The demonstration plant will provide high purity manganese materials for supply chain qualification by the company’s potential customers.