Proactive Investors: Element 25 kicks off 2021 in style as it...

Proactive Investors: Element 25 kicks off 2021 in style as it aims to become a world-class zero-carbon manganese business

Element 25 Ltd (ASX:E25) (FRA:QFP) shares were trading an equal all-time high on Tuesday of $1.85, on the back of strong recent news flow and improving manganese prices.

Shares soared to $1.85 in late January following the release of its quarterly report, highlighted by an updated pre-feasibility study outlining the impressive potential of the Butcherbird Manganese Project.

Following a slight tail off in share price in late January and early February, shares hit $1.85 again on February 9, following the release of a new investor presentation.

Stronger manganese prices are also driving optimism. After falling to a low of ¥30.06 per tonne in early December, prices have recovered to ¥31.25/tonne.

Manganese for new and old purposes

Element 25 told investors in its latest presentation that it is serving both new and old manganese markets.

Traditionally manganese is used in steel, specialty alloys and aluminium products, predominately in steel and alkaline batteries, but is also finding increased demand due to the rise in electric vehicle usage, as higher manganese content provides safety and cost-efficiency benefits over traditional lithium-ion batteries.

“Element 25 will service both of these markets, our manganese concentrate and electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) for the old and high-purity manganese for the new,” the company said.

Butcherbird project


Targeting first manganese production this calendar year, Element 25’s fully-owned Butcherbird project will produce high-quality manganese for the aforementioned global markets.

The company has begun constructing the processing plant, while site infrastructure works including processing plant, offices, roads, civil engineering and bore field are on schedule for commissioning in the current quarter.

An updated pre-feasibility study, released in December, returned strong economics for the Stage 1 base case and highlighted the significant economic potential of expanding the production profile beyond Stage 1.

It examined 2X and 3X production volumes over the base case, commencing at the start of the second year of production.

Environmentally sustainable production

Element 25 has also committed to a zero-carbon footprint as it embarks on its journey towards production.

Through sustainable extraction, processing powered by renewables, and the end-use of manganese in electric vehicles, the company has stated it will produce zero carbon manganese.

It aims to have a net present value of $1.14 billion by the end of 2022 and become the global benchmark for zero-carbon manganese production within five years.