Element 25 soars on efficiency upgrades

Element 25 (ASX: E25) has soared today after the company announced improved production volumes at the company’s Butcherbird Manganese Project.

The boosted efficiency comes after significant performance improvements and repairs. Investors clearly appreciated the news, with the company 4.16% higher at the open and up 16.25% at the close. 

^ E25's share price today, with trading volume shown in the lower chart.

Managing Director Justin Brown commented:

“The record daily production of 1,209 tonnes achieved on 3 January is equivalent to annualised production of over 400 Kt per annum which exceeds our 365 Ktpa nameplate capability.”

The company has produced an average of 934 tonnes of manganese per day since 23 December 2021. This marks a record average daily production for the plant. 

“Whilst it is premature to make firm forecasts on annual production volumes, it is highly encouraging to see this step-change in process plant performance after the implementation of the planned improvements,” said Brown.

Manganese emerges as key for EV growth

The spot price of manganese is up 7.2% over the last 52 weeks. However, the commodity is still down -28% from its pre-covid price of in May 2020. 

Manganese is mostly used as an alloy for steel and iron production. The steelmaking industry uses 85% of the world’s manganese. 

However, according to Element 25, the material is emerging as an increasingly key ingredient for EV batteries. Some reports suggest battery manufacturers may face shortages of nickel and cobalt in coming years, forcing them to produce manganese-based cathodes to meet EV demand.

Element 25 is positioning to capitalise on this growing demand.

The company plans to use a leach process for ores that (when combined with offsets) will aim to produce the world’s first zero carbon manganese for EV cathode manufacture.