Euro Manganese Inc (ASX:EMN, TSX-V:EMN, OTCQX:EUMNF) has welcomed the European Commission’s proposed Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) published on March 16, 2023, which outlines how the European Union (EU) intends to ensure a secure and sustainable supply of critical raw materials that are essential in supporting the energy transition.
The company supports this proposed legislation and believes its Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic is likely to benefit from it.
Euro Manganese president and CEO Dr Matthew James said: “Securing access to critical raw materials to support the energy transition has never been more important.
“We welcome the European Commission’s proposed Critical Raw Materials Act and the opportunities it presents for the Chvaletice Manganese Project.
“We remain focused on advancing the Chvaletice Project in order to provide the European battery value chain with a low-carbon, secure source of supply of high purity manganese.”
Strategic raw material
“Manganese – Battery Grade” was added to the list of critical raw materials identified in the Act, which are those considered to be of high economic importance and high supply risk to the EU.
“Manganese – Battery Grade” was also identified as a strategic raw material, which recognizes its importance in meeting Europe’s decarbonization efforts and in defence and space applications.
Europe currently relies on imports of high-purity manganese to meet 90% of its demand.
The company’s Chvaletice Project expects to deliver almost 50,000 tonnes of high-purity manganese metal per year when in full production, meeting ~25% of European demand and helping the EU reduce its trade reliance on this strategic raw material.
The Act sets out clear benchmarks for domestic mining, processing and recycling. By 2030, of all critical raw materials consumed in the EU each year:
- 10% are to be mined from European Union sources;
- 40% are to be processed within the European Union; and
- 15% are to come from recycled materials.
Euro Manganese believes the Chvaletice Project satisfies all three of these requirements.
The project’s high-purity manganese products will be extracted and refined in the Czech Republic.
Furthermore, as the project involves reprocessing manganese contained in historical mine waste to produce high-purity manganese for the EV battery supply chain, the project’s products may also qualify as recycled materials.
In addition, the company has begun evaluation of re-purification of manganese rich by-products from battery recycling.
Meets criteria for recognition as a Strategic Project
To strengthen the EU’s raw materials value chain, CRMA has established the concept of Strategic Projects, which are those that will make a meaningful contribution to the security of the EU’s supply of strategic raw materials.
A European Critical Raw Materials Board will be established to evaluate applications for recognition as a Strategic Project.
The board will submit an opinion to the commission who will then issue a decision on the recognition of a project as a Strategic Project within 60 days.
Of note for Euro Manganese, the commission may prioritise the processing of applications for projects active on specific stages of the value chain to ensure a balanced representation of Strategic Projects for all strategic raw materials and to achieve the mining and processing benchmarks identified in the Act.
As the only known manganese resource in the EU at this time, the company believes the Chvaletice Project should be prioritised.
Euro Manganese intends to submit an application for recognition of the Chvaletice Project as a Strategic Project as soon as the application process opens.
Strategic Projects to qualify for priority permitting status
The CRMA outlines a “one stop shop” where member states will designate a single national authority responsible for facilitating and coordinating the permit-granting process.
Priority status will be given for both Strategic Projects and for projects that entered the permitting process before being designated as Strategic Projects.
Support for access to funding
The CRMA proposes to bring member states and the commission together with relevant financial institutions and InvestEU to discuss and help coordinate access to funding for Strategic Projects and to facilitate offtake agreements.
Of note is the commission has recently adapted State Aid rules to allow further flexibility for member states to grant aid, including for the production of critical raw materials related to key net-zero technologies.