Element 25 Limited (E25, Element 25 or Company) (ASX: E25; OTCQX: ELMTF) is pleased to provide an update on the Butcherbird Expansion Project (BBX) at its Butcherbird Manganese Mine (Project) in Western Australia (WA).
As previously reported, the Company is in the process of expanding the Project to target 1.1Mtpa manganese concentrate production6 .
The Company released an updated Feasibility Study for the Butcherbird Expansion Project in January 2025 outlining the production target of 1.1Mtpa (BBX FS) 7 . An updated Ore Reserve for Butcherbirdmine delivered a 107% increase to 101.4Mt at 10.4% Mn for 10.54Mt contained manganese, underpinning the Project's robust, >18-year LOM operation at the planned 1.1 Mtpa production rate8 . The most recent Butcherbird Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) increased 6% to 274Mt @ 10% Mn, with Measured and Indicated Resources increased 142% to 130Mt at 10.23% Mn9 . These updates are in line with Element 25's strategic plan. The Company plans to expand production capacity at the Project to supply manganese concentrate to traditional steel markets and to supply feedstock for its proposed battery grade, high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) processing facility planned to be built in Louisiana, USA.
Project Finance
As announced in June 202510 the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has approved a senior debt facility of up to AU$50 million, including AU$42.5 million in senior debt and a AU$7.5 million cost overrun facility, to support Element 25's Butcherbird Manganese Expansion Project in Western Australia's Pilbara region. Since the NAIF transaction was approved, the Company has also completed an equity raising via a $10 million share placement at $0.28 per share, led by Petra Capital to accelerate the Butcherbird Expansion Project in Western Australia11. This funding is being deployed in accordance with the BBX budget, principally to advance detailed engineering activities and secure key long lead equipment items in accordance with the project schedule. The Company is currently negotiating with a number of counterparties with respect to securing the balance of funding for BBX.
Project Engineering
Detailed design has commenced with Altris Engineering (Altris) appointed as lead engineering consultant in October 202512. Element 25 and Altris are implementing an Integrated Project Team (IPT) methodology with Element 25 engineering personnel embedded and located with the Altris team to ensure collaboration and information sharing are maximised. Early process and cost improvement studies have commenced with benefits being identified relating to cost-saving and execution flexibility opportunities. Altris continue to expand their team in line with the ramp up of project resourcing requirements as the project advances towards commencement of construction. The IPT is currently focussed on refinement and further definition of the core engineering detail including trade-off studies, site layout, detailed cost range analysis and a review of pricing and quantities with the previous project cost estimate as the baseline. Long lead items are being progressed in line with key Project milestones.
ABOUT ELEMENT 25
Element 25 is an ASX-listed company (ASX: E25) that operates the world-class 100%-owned Butcherbird Manganese Project in Western Australia and is currently undertaking activities to expand production to approximately 1.1Mtpa of medium-grade high silica manganese ore for use in traditional and new energy markets18. E25 is also commercialising innovative proprietary technology to produce battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) for use in Electric Vehicle (EV) battery manufacturing. The Company plans to build its first HPMSM refinery in Louisiana USA to produce raw materials for the US EV market, in partnership with General Motors LLC (GM) and Stellantis N.V. (Stellantis) 19. E25 aims to become an industry leading, world class, low-carbon battery materials manufacturer.
Contact:
Justin Brown
Media Inquiries:
Managing Director
Email: admin@e25.com.au
Tel: +61 (8) 6375 2525
Nathan Ryan
Email: nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au
Tel: +61 (0) 420 582 887
Competent Persons Statement
The Company confirms that in the case of Production Targets, all material assumptions underpinning the production target, or the forecast financial information derived from a production target, in the market announcement dated 22 January 2025 continue to apply and have not material changed. All estimates or Mineral Resources or Ore Reserves underpinning the production target have been prepared by a competent person or persons s in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code, Appendix 5A. The Company confirms that in the case of Mineral Resource or Ore Reserves, all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates in the market announcements dated 29 October 2024 and 22 January 2025 continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affects information included in previous announcements, and all material assumptions and technical parameters underpinning the estimates continue to apply and have not materially changed.
Investor Relations Disclaimer
Certain Statements included in this announcement are forward-looking statements concerning Element 25 Limited and its subsidiaries (E25) and its operations, economic performance, financial condition, plans and expectations. Without limiting the foregoing, statements including the words 'believes', 'anticipates', 'plans', 'expects', 'could', 'potential', 'should' and similar expressions are also forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied, including, without limitation, business integration risks; uncertainty of production, development plans and cost estimates, commodity price fluctuations; political or economic instability and regulatory changes; currency fluctuations, the state of the capital markets, uncertainty in the measurement of mineral reserves and resource estimates, E25's ability to attract and retain qualified personnel and management, potential labour unrest, reclamation and closure requirements for mineral properties; unpredictable risks and hazards related to the development and operation of a mine or mineral or mineral deposit or mineral processing facility that are beyond E25's control, the availability of capital to fund all of the Company's projects and other risks and uncertainties. You are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used. E25 cannot assure you that actual events, performance or results will be consistent with these forward-looking statements, and management's assumptions may prove to be incorrect. E25's forward-looking statements reflect current expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof and E25 does not assume any obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions should change other than as required by applicable law. For the reasons set forth above, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements
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