Manganese X Energy closer to commercialization

High tech minerals company Manganese X Energy Corp (Manganese X Energy Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:MN) continues its journey towards commercializing production of high-grade manganese, with the aim of supplying the in-demand element for the still-expanding lithium ion battery industry.

Quebec-based Manganese X provided on Tuesday an update on metallurgical work being conducted at its Battery Hill project near Woodstock, New Brunswick, saying that flowsheet improvements are being recorded which will amount to significant cost reductions in manganese production used in the lithium ion battery, electric vehicle and stored energy material sectors.

“We continue to improve the economics of our flowsheet,” said Manganese X Energy’s CEO Martin Kepman CEO in a press release. “Manganese will be a high demand commodity for battery chemistry going forward as more and more manufacturers shift from cobalt.”

“The key will be to ensure cost effective production that will allow scalability. We are well positioned for supplying the North American supply chain given our strategic location in New Brunswick close to the US border,” Kepman said.

The company said its Phase 3 processing and metallurgical work at the Battery Hill site should be completed around October 25, 2021, part of a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) at Battery Hill. 

Manganese X, which is carrying out the PEA with Kemetco Research, said the Phase 3 metallurgical program focuses on an innovative purification process to maximize recovery of the extracted manganese to the high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate, (HPMSM) product, thus reducing costs and environmental impact.

Micro cap stock Manganese X Energy saw its share price spike twice over the past 12 months, the latest coming in early February where MN went from $0.26 per share to as high as $0.89. Overall, Manganese X is currently flat for the year but down about 25 per cent over the past 12 months.

The company had been working on spinning out graphite mining company Graphano Energy (Graphano Energy Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:GEL), a task which saw its completion last month with GEL making it onto the TSX Venture Exchange. Graphano will use its mining tech at its Quebec site for the production of graphite, another key element in lithium ion batteries.

“While the delays were disappointing and frustrating, the end result is the right one,” said Luisa Moreno, CEO of Graphano, in a September 28 press release. “Graphano will be trading as a Tier 2 mining company of the Exchange, and we look forward to making our many shareholders very happy with the rapid progress that we have planned on the LAB Project. We also intend to be reviewing other possible acquisition opportunities as we are able to identify them with a view to becoming a significant exploration and development company of technology minerals.”

Earlier this year, Manganese X completed a non-brokered private placement of about five million shares at $0.33 per share for gross proceeds of about $1.6 million, with the company saying the proceeds would go towards business development and general working capital.