Manganese X Energy readies for commercial production

The numbers are lining up very well for Manganese X Energy (Manganese X Energy Stock Quote, Charts, News, Analysts, Financials TSXV:MN), which just announced positive results from a Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for its manganese production facility in New Brunswick. A key mineral for the lithium-ion battery market, the manganese produced at Manganese X’s Battery Hill project promises to be high-purity quality and ready for use in the rapidly expanding electric vehicle market. 

Montreal-based Manganese X Energy announced positive results from an independent PEA at its Battery Hill project near Woodstock, NB. The company’s novel purification process produces battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) crystallization. The PEA determined the project to have an after-tax net present value using a ten per cent discount rate of $486 million, with a 25 per cent internal rate of return, capital costs of $350 million with a payback of 2.8 years, average annual gross revenue of $220 million per year over the first seven years and an average of $177 million per year over the 47 years of the project’s estimated life.

“We are extremely pleased with the positive economics demonstrated by our PEA,” said Manganese X CEO Martin Kepman in a May 12 press release. “Our Battery Hill Mineral Resource has the potential to be the most impressive manganese properties in North America and has several attributes that make it attractive for development and commercialization.”

“Battery Hill has robust economics, strong value metrics and a short payback period for a relatively low capital investment. The PEA represents the most significant milestone to date for Manganese X and makes us the forerunner of becoming the first publicly traded company in Canada and the US to commercialize high-purity electric vehicle (EV) quality compliant manganese,” Kepman said.

In addition to the economics, the PEA determined an HPMSM base case market price of $2,900 per tonne which is well below the long-term forecast price of $4,200 per tonne, with an average annual HPMSM production of 84,000 tonnes in the first seven years of production. The project also comes in with a projected low environmental impact as the flowsheet produces a filtered residue leach product with initial test results showing no acid drainage risk.

Manganese X’s share price spiked in March before sliding over the past month. The stock remains up about 30 per cent year-to-date.

“[Manganese X] has been working diligently on corporate development beyond the PEA and is currently in discussion with a number of interested parties,” Kepman said. “This is a very exciting time in history for manganese as it relates to battery chemistry and the EV revolution, making it an equally exciting time for Manganese X. We intend to be at the forefront of a domestic supply as well as meeting the expectations of North American battery manufacturers.”

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