Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN) has revealed it’s inked a term sheet offtake deal for manganese from its Czech Chvaletice project with Femocat Ltd, a chemical company headquartered in Dublin.
Femocat – an “industrial catalyst manufacturer” – has a plant in the Czech Republic at Pardubice, which EMN reports is less than an hour’s drive from Chvaletice (also the name of a town of about 2,000 residents.)
Femocat has its eyes on EMN’s down-the-line production of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), as well as manganese carbonate on the side, borne from the production process for HPMSM.
For an idea of what Femocat gets up to – the company makes a lot of formaldehyde. The company is Irish by domicile and set up in the Czech Republic – but it also has offices in China.
The company ultimately wants HPMSM to produce Synthetic Hydrotalcites. A recent study outlines that the main use of the materials are in the chemicals industry. For the layman’s understanding, we’re looking at manganese sales to the manufacturing sector.
“The Company and FeMoCat intend to enter an offtake agreement, in which the pricing mechanism and tonnages will become binding,” EMN wrote on Monday.
“The fact that FeMoCat requires locally sourced products for their existing operations in Pardubice, and potential for increased tonnages as they evaluate new opportunities, demonstrates the value of having a resource in the heart of Europe,” EMN CEO Dr. Matthew James said.
“Furthermore, the ability to provide FeMoCat with a valuable magnesium carbonate feedstock, from one of the Project’s by-products, underscores both companies commitments to maximising process efficiency and circularity.”
Femocat CEO Tommy Heino noted that the two companies’ Czech operations are about 20km apart.
EMN last traded at 51cps.