Published by Will Owen,
Editor
Global Mining Review,
Euro Manganese Inc. has announced that the on-site demonstration plant at its Chvaletice Manganese Project (Czech Republic) has completed a five-day continuous operation programme for the production of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal.
The demonstration plant achieved key technical targets which form part of the necessary conditions for accessing the next draw-down from the Orion financing package announced on 28 November 2023.
Highlights:
- The demonstration plant hosts six of the main process stages of the project’s metallurgical flowsheet. The electrowinning stage can be operated on a continuous basis with the qualified solution feedstock provided from the leaching and purification process stage. The electrowinning process produces selenium-free, high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM) flakes (99.9% Mn). The other key process stages operate on a batch basis and include: ore to slurry preparation; beneficiation via magnetic separation to produce an ore concentrate; leaching and purification of concentrate; control and removal of magnesium; and HPEMM dissolution, purification, drying, and crystallisation to produce high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM) product (>99.9% HPMSM).
- From 7 – 12 October 2024, the qualified solution preparation and electrowinning module undertook a 24-hour-a-day, five-day continuous operation programme, with a target of producing a minimum of 132 kg HPEMM, with no more than eight hours stoppage time. The purification step was run on batch basis to provide sufficient feedstock.
- The demonstration plant operated as-designed and without interruption, achieving 100% reliability over the five-day programme (i.e. no stoppage time). Overall, 172 kg of HPEMM was produced, exceeding target production by over 30%.
Dr. Matthew James, President & CEO of Euro Manganese, comments:
“The successful completion of 120 hours of continuous operations while exceeding target production by 30% is another important technical milestone, and is a testament to the operations team’s knowledge, skill, and operating discipline. This key step enhances our technological maturity. With the only new high-purity manganese project outside China to have a fully operational demonstration plant, the Chvaletice Project and Euro Manganese are positioned to benefit significantly from the growing demand for high-purity manganese as battery chemistries move to lower cost, higher manganese formulations.”
Read the article online at: https://www.globalminingreview.com/mining/21102024/euro-manganese-completes-demonstration-plant-continuous-operation-programme/
