- Element 25 (E25) confirms the potential for a major future increase in the grade of manganese produced from its flagship Butcherbird deposit in Western Australia
- A bulk dense media separation (DMS) trial on manganese ore from Butcherbird shows a potential grade increase of between nine and 30 per cent compare to E25’s current ore sorting process
- E25 conducted the trial at a DMS plant in the Northern Territory owned by major offtake partner OM Holdings (OMH), testing 280 tones of manganese material from Butcherbird
- Element 25 Managing Director Justin Brown says the DMS trial shows “significant” potential for higher-grade manganese product, which sells for more, and other cost savings
- Shares in Element 25 last traded at 56 cents on July 27
Element 25 (E25) has confirmed the potential for a major future increase in the grade of manganese produced from its flagship Butcherbird deposit in Western Australia.
The company said it has completed a bulk dense media separation (DMS) trial on manganese ore from Butcherbird, with the results indicating a potential product grade increase of between nine per cent and 30 per cent compared to the company’s current ore sorting process.
The DMS process showed a more consistent separation of ore and waste compared to E25’s current ore sorters, and the company said it was now reviewing its options to incorporate a DMS drum in its WA processing circuit as part of future planned upgrades to its Butcherbird processing facility.
Element 25 Managing Director Justin Brown said the trial showed there were “significant” potential improvements and cost savings available through the DMS process as an alternative to its current ore sorting capabilities.
“A modified process including DMS should result in more consistent grades and recoveries which in turn should attract higher premiums on price and reduce operating costs,” Mr Brown said.
“The company is currently undertaking engineering work to include a DMS drum in a future plant reconfiguration at Butcherbird.”
Element 25 conducted the trial at a DMS plant within the Bootu Creek manganese mine in the Northern Territory, which is owned by major offtake partner OM Holdings (OMH).
All up, Element 25 transported 280 tonnes of material from the Butcherbird deposit to the NT site for DMS processing.
This product was split into two sample groups.
The DMS trial showed that in the first sample group, the DMS method removed an additional 3.5 per cent to 7.3 per cent of waste material, increasing the overall final manganese grades to 30.9 per cent from 28.3 per cent — an improvement of 9.1 per cent.
In the second sample group, the DMS trial was shown to upgrade what Element 25 called its “relatively poor ore sorter” grade of 24.4 per cent manganese to between 32 per cent and 33.4 per cent.
Element 25 said manganese prices were positively impacted by higher grades, and the DMS process could also result in overall operating cost savings due to a reduction in haulage and shipping costs associated with transporting the manganese concentrate to market.
Shares in Element 25 last traded at 56 cents on July 27.