Euro Manganese Inc. (EMN), listed on both the TSX-V and ASX, has published a favorable Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for its Chvaletice Manganese Project located in the Czech Republic. The project is projected to yield a pre-tax Net Present Value (NPV) of US$740 million and a post-tax NPV of US$492 million, with a pre-tax internal rate of return calculated at 16%, supported by an operating margin of 48%.
This development arrives amidst increasing institutional and governmental focus on high-purity manganese, a vital component for electric vehicle batteries that is anticipated to face a supply shortage post-2027. Presently, China dominates the high-purity manganese refining industry, accounting for approximately 95% of global production, which leaves battery manufacturers in Western countries significantly vulnerable. The Chvaletice project by EMN is the sole integrated high-purity manganese initiative currently being developed in Europe, situating it strategically at the forefront of the energy transition and supply chain resilience efforts.
Key highlights of the project include its position as the only integrated high-purity manganese project under development across Europe and North America. The PEA underscores the project’s robust economic viability, with a commendable 48% operating margin sustained even at conservative pricing levels of US$2,888 per tonne for high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), marking it as a resilient investment in a fluctuating market. Moreover, the project has achieved improved recovery rates, with HPMSM recovery reaching 60% and high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM) at 61%, thanks to enhancements from EMN’s demonstration plant and metallurgical test campaigns.
The Chvaletice Manganese Project is designed to reprocess historic mine tailings to produce both HPEMM and HPMSM, thus establishing a fully traceable, low-carbon supply chain within the European Union. The project promises a 26-year asset life with an annual nominal production capacity of 150,000 tonnes per annum of HPMSM, offering complete flexibility to switch between producing HPEMM and HPMSM to meet changing customer demands.
Euro Manganese Inc., trading under the symbols EMN on the TSX-V and ASX, and E06 on the FSE, is poised to become Europe’s first domestic supplier of high-purity manganese. This aligns with the growing demand for sustainable and strategic battery materials, while supporting Europe’s clean-energy ambitions and supply-chain autonomy objectives.