Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25, OTCQX:ELMTF) has wrapped up resource infill drilling at its 100%-owned Butcherbird Manganese Project in Western Australia, where it is seeking to expand production capabilities.
Boost in target production
The company recently concluded a feasibility study to support the Butcherbird Expansion Project, which would boast a target production capacity of 1.1 million tonnes per annum of manganese concentrate.
It’s also commercialising proprietary technology to produce battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) for electric vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing.
Element 25 plans to build its first HPMSM refinery in Louisiana, US, in partnership with General Motors (NYSE:GM) and Stellantis, aiming to become a leading low-carbon battery materials manufacturer.
To recalculate reserves
Current reserves are based on mineral resources within the granted mining lease M52/1074 – but less than half of this area has been drilled to the density required for measured and indicated classifications, with the remainder classified as inferred.
The aim of the latest drilling campaign, consisting of 207 percussion drill holes totalling 6,202 metres, is to provide the infill data necessary to convert these inferred resources to indicated or measured categories.
Managing director Justin Brown said: “This drilling program will allow the global resource at Butcherbird to be recalculated with a higher degree of certainty which is expected to result in a signification conversion of inferred resources to measured and indicated classifications to increase the reserve tail in support of the planned ramp up to 1.1-million-tonne production rates.”
Supporting project financing
Reclassification will enable the re-estimation of mine reserves, thereby supporting project financing activities with the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) and other potential financiers currently conducting due diligence on the project expansion.
Samples from the drilling have been dispatched to Bureau Veritas for assay, with results pending.
Butcherbird Project hosts a global resource of more than 260 million tonnes of manganese ore.
The current reserves are limited to areas drilled to measured and indicated classifications, forming the basis for a statement of reserves.
Additional drilling data, combined with historical information, will support a recalculated resource base and facilitate the re-estimation of proved and probable reserves.
This extension in the "reserve tail" is crucial for securing project financing for the Butcherbird Expansion Project.