Euro Manganese signs on US chemical firm as offtake partner
Euro Manganese (TSXV, ASX: EMN) has entered into its second offtake deal in the span of a week for the sale of high-purity manganese metal produced from the company’s Chvaletice project in the Czech Republic.
According to a term sheet signed with Blue Grass Chemical Specialties, Euro Manganese will make deliveries of its high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM) for a initial term of seven years. Offtake tonnages will represent a portion of the project’s planned production, which is projected at 14,890 tonnes of HPEMM annually.
Based in New Albany, Indiana, Blue Grass has over 55 years of experience in producing specialty chemicals in numerous industries. Amongst them is manganese nitrate, which serves as a precursor to the manganese oxides used in battery production.
The offtake term sheet is contingent on successful qualification of the HPEMM in Blue Grass’ supply chain. An HPEMM sample from the project’s demonstration plant is currently under evaluation by Blue Grass as part of the qualification process.
According to Euro Manganese, specifications of the product produced at the demo plant recently tested by third-party laboratories met the required specifications shared by Blue Grass.
Pricing for the HPEMM will be on a take-or-pay basis, based on an index-adjusted Western benchmark price. This benchmark price represents HPEMM with the following attributes: high quality, secure, traceable, Western supply source, and market leading ESG credentials, including a low CO2 footprint.
The price is intended to be linked to the movement of a published index for high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), over a rolling three-month quotational period, as there is no current published market index for HPEMM, said the company. HPMSM was selling in Shanghai for around $700 a tonne in March, according to S&P Global Markets.
The offtake deal with Blue Grass follows a similar term sheet signed last week with San Diego-based Wildcat Discovery Technologies, which plans to build a plant in the US in 2026-2027 to produce cobalt/nickel-free cathode materials for electric vehicle battery cells and other markets including stationary storage.
“The momentum for demand for Euro Manganese’s high-purity manganese from the Chvaletice project is gathering pace, and I am incredibly pleased the company has secured another offtake term sheet,” Dr. Matthew James, CEO of Euro Manganese, commented.
“The fact that Blue Grass Chemical requires high-purity manganese metal for their existing operations, and potential for increased tonnages as they evaluate new opportunities, demonstrates the value of designing our flow sheet to produce both high-purity manganese metal and sulphate at Chvaletice, thus giving customers optionality for their manufacturing processes.”