Element 25 has secured final regulatory approval from the Western Australia Department of Water and Environmental Regulation for its Butcherbird Manganese Mine expansion. This approval marks a significant step forward for the project, which will increase manganese concentrate production to 1.1 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).
The Butcherbird Project, located in Western Australia, is home to the largest onshore manganese resource in the country, containing rich near-surface manganese oxide ore across seven deposits.
In a statement, Element 25 highlighted, “This is a key milestone, as the Butcherbird Expansion Project (BBX) is now fully approved under Western Australia’s mining regulations.”
The approval follows the clearance of the mining proposal and mine closure plan by the WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation, and Safety in January 2025.
An updated feasibility study, also released in January 2025, estimates the capital cost for the expansion at A$64.8 million ($40.7 million), projecting a pre-tax net present value of A$561 million and a pre-tax internal rate of return of 96%. The expansion is expected to deliver an average annual cash flow of A$70.5 million over a mine life exceeding 18 years.
With all necessary regulatory approvals in place, Element 25 is now set to begin the construction of the expanded Butcherbird processing facility, which will supply high-quality manganese oxide concentrate to the steel industry.
Additionally, the concentrate will serve as feedstock for Element 25’s proposed battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) processing facility in Louisiana, US. This HPMSM project, developed in partnership with General Motors and Stellantis, has already received a $166 million grant from the US Department of Energy.