Euro Manganese Inc., the listed Vancouver based battery materials company, has announced that the manganese deposit at its Chvaletice Manganese Project – the only sizable manganese orebody in the European Union – has been declared a strategic deposit by the Czech government under the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act.
This is interesting news as manganese is a stabilising component in the cathodes of nickel-manganese-cobalt lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles. The material increases energy density and hence improves driving range. It also decreases the combustibility of an EV battery pack.
In May 2016, Euro Manganese Inc. acquired 100% of Mangan Chvaletice s.r.o., the Czech company that holds the exploration rights to the Chvaletice manganese deposit.
According to the company the Chvaletice Project is a unique waste-to-value recycling and remediation opportunity involving reprocessing old tailings from a decommissioned mine. It is strategically positioning Euro Manganese to provide battery supply chains with critical raw materials to support the shift to a circular, low-carbon economy.
The Strategic Deposit status helps accelerate permitting in several ways. Strategically significant deposits will have priority in obtaining permits and official approvals, reducing the time required for project preparation and mining initiation. It also means a reduced administrative burden. The designation will streamline coordination between various authorities, eliminating bureaucratic obstacles and minimizing assessment duplication. Finally, strategically significant deposits may qualify for special legislative procedures like those for key infrastructure projects. This status enhances the predictability and speed of permitting processes.
Martina Blahova, Interim CEO of Euro Manganese, commented: “Being classified as a Strategic Deposit by the Czech government is a significant milestone for Euro Manganese. This designation represents a significant catalyst for our development timeline and reflects the critical role our project plays in establishing local, sustainable raw material supply chains.”
