Manganese X Energy prepares to scale mining operations

Canadian mining company Manganese X Energy Corp (Manganese X Energy Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:MN) is preparing for the release of a new market report, one that should highlight the growing demand for manganese as the electrification of the vehicles worldwide pushes manganese mining further into the spotlight.

Montreal-based Manganese X Energy, which is developing a high-purity manganese project in New Brunswick aimed at the lithium-ion battery and alternative energy industries, announced on Tuesday that it has commissioned a second report on the North American and world manganese markets, to be released within a few days. The company says the report will take into consideration changing global dynamics which are impacting manganese production and it will pave the way for the upcoming Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) of its Battery Hill Manganese Project, currently being conducted by engineering and consultancy firm Wood PLC and expected to be completed over the near term.

“We anticipate this technical study will validate our new cost-saving metallurgical processes to economically produce a competitive, safe, sustainable, high grade and EV compliant manganese product,” said Manganese X CEO Martin Kepman in a press release. “With the demand for the creation of a USA-Canada supply chain lessening the need for foreign imports, along with the continuing of EV and back up energy storage units utilizing manganese, we are very optimistic for the future.”

“At one time, manganese was known as the ‘forgotten mineral’ but these days it’s certainly getting a lot of attention,” Kepman said. “The recent announcement of Stellantis’ $5-billion battery cell plant planned for Windsor, Ontario, is expected to increase interest in manganese. Also, on March 22, Tesla’s Elon Musk commented that there was ‘interesting potential for manganese.’ We are all aware that Tesla has been exploring using more manganese in its battery cells.” 

Manganese X’s share price has been bumping higher in recent trading sessions and getting closer to its 52-week high set last April. Last month, the company announced completion of the third and final processing metallurgical phase as part of the Battery Hill PEA.

With the Tuesday press release, Manganese X also announced the formation of an advisory board to guide the company on future strategies with an eye towards scaling the business. As well, Manganese X announced the granting of stock options to acquire an aggregate of 5.5 million common shares at an exercise price of $0.40 per share as part of its ten per cent rolling stock option plan and exercisable for a five-year term expiring March 25, 2027. 

Tesla CEO Musk spoke at the opening of Tesla’s new Gigafactory in Germany last week, saying that manganese represents “an interesting potential” for battery production and that the securing of a supply chain for battery materials is essential to the long-term development of the electric vehicle industry.

Disclosure: Manganese X Energy Corp is an annual sponsor of Cantech Letter.