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Euro Manganese extends Chvaletice development rights into 2026

Last updated: 22:56 20 Jul 2021 EDT, First published: 22:00 20 Jul 2021 EDT

Euro Manganese Inc - Euro Manganese extends Chvaletice development rights into 2026
Euro Manganese’s Chvaletice project (foreground) is located in the Czech Republic.

Euro Manganese Inc (ASX:EMN) (CVE:EMN) (OTCMKTS:EUMNF) (FRA:E06) has successfully extended its exclusive rights to explore and develop the cornerstone Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic into 2026.

The battery materials company’s wholly-owned Czech subsidiary, Mangan Chvaletice s.r.o., has secured an extension to its exploration licences and has been granted a new preliminary mining permit, both of which are valid to May 31, 2026.

These protracted exploration and development rights come as demand for high-purity manganese, used in the lithium-ion batteries powering the electric vehicle (EV) industry, increases across the European Union and around the world.

Euro Manganese’s Chvaletice asset, situated roughly 415 kilometres from where Tesla is building the world’s largest EV and battery plant, is expected to be Europe’s only primary producer of high-purity manganese and the only one in the world doing so by recycling waste.

Ultimately, in an era when greenfield resource development projects can face stiff opposition, the Chvaletice project has earned the support of governments, permitting agencies and local communities. 

Extensions align with production timeline

Speaking on the key extensions, Euro Manganese CEO Marco Romero said: “Our project team has worked diligently to develop strong lines of communication and earn the trust and cooperation of regulatory agencies, community stakeholders and all levels of government.”

“The extension of our mineral rights by the Ministry of the Environment is clear evidence of the strength of the relationships and reputation that we have built, and the respectful and collaborative approach that governs all our dealings with stakeholders. 

“Further, these extensions give us ample time to execute the project work against our ultimate goal of start-up, commissioning and commercial production in late 2024/early 2025.” 

Extended rights cover all development aspects

The Czech Republic’s Ministry of the Environment granted the rights extensions for EMN’s Chvaletice project.

Positively, throughout the regulatory process, permitting agencies consulted with local communities on the extensions, and there were no objections to the granting of these rights. 

Euro Manganese’s exploration licence extensions, which were granted on July 2, extend the development tenure at its flagship manganese play to May 31, 2026.

Essentially, the protraction allows work to continue on all aspects of the Chvaletice manganese resource development, including the tailings extraction for the project’s demonstration plant (DP), which is scheduled to begin operation in the first quarter of 2022.

In addition to exploration rights, the Czech ministry also granted EMN’s subsidiary a new preliminary mining permit,  extending the  existing tenures, set to expire in 2023, also to May 31, 2026

The new permit clears the way for Euro Manganese to facilitate the project’s final environmental and social impact assessment, slated for completion and filing in 2022’s first quarter.

Ultimately, the exploration licenses and preliminary mining permit are expected to be superseded by mining leases and permits for the project, contingent on approval of Chvaletice’s final environmental and social impact assessment. 

The manganese opportunity

Chvaletice’s exploration and development comes at a crucial time for the EV market.

According to a Deloitte Insights report, global EV sales are predicted to grow from 2.5 million in 2020 to 11.2 million in 2025 before reaching 31.1 million by 2030, bolstered by a 29% compound annual growth rate.

Demand for EVs continues to grow across the globe.

Based on the EV boom, it's expected these leaner, greener vehicles would capture 32 per cent of the total market share for new car sales roughly a decade from now.

However, in order to fuel the rise in EV demand, battery minerals must be in ready supply.

EMN is determined to become a key manganese supplier as EV leaders like Tesla, Volkswagen, Stellantis and BASF move to high manganese battery formulations to power their creations.

In fact, the proportion of batteries that require high-purity manganese is forecast to grow from 50% to 60% in 2023, with market forecasts for the battery mineral increasingly bullish.

There’s growing demand for high-purity manganese within the battery industry.

Chvaletice’s offering

Euro Manganese hopes to power the EV revolutions with “a manganese resource unlike any other”.

The ASX-lister is focused on tails reprocessing as opposed to mining, meaning it is recycling waste from a decommissioned Czechoslovakian mine to create high-purity manganese for the EV market.

Ultimately, EMN’s flagship development remediates a site that was previously polluted, solving a longstanding environmental issue in the region.

Chvaletice’s move to production involves no drilling, blasting, crushing or milling, with no new mining waste or tailings linked to the manganese operation.

More than 98% of Chvaletice’s current resource lies in the measured category, while extensive metallurgical testing and engineering is already complete.

As it progresses towards commissioning and commercialisation in 2024 and 2025, Euro Manganese aims to showcase its cornerstone project’s potential with a demonstration plant.

The new plant is a major scale-up of Chvalteice’s pilot operation, which was first constructed in 2018 and is being prepared for a restart to provide smaller high-purity manganese samples to prospective customers.

Deliveries from the manganese play’s demonstration plant are slated to kick off early next year. 

Euro Manganese speeds ahead with Chvaletice manganese project in the Czech...

Euro Manganese Inc (ASX:EMN, TSX-V:EMN, OTCQX:EUMNF) President and CEO Dr Matthew James joins Proactive's Stephen Gunnion with the latest on the Chvaletice Project in the Czech Republic as the company positions itself for the push towards manganese rich batteries for the electric vehicle...

on 20/12/22