Overview
Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB) is an Australian mining firm that’s well-positioned to develop a brand new manganese mining operation in Western Australia with a technique to grow to be a worldwide battery cathode producer supporting a quickly increasing electrical automobile market.
Batteries at present characterize the most important non-alloy marketplace for manganese, accounting for roughly 3 % of world annual manganese consumption. The metallic has an extended historical past of getting used as a cathode materials in batteries, each in its pure kind and within the type of electrolytic manganese dioxide. That features fashionable lithium-ion batteries, the availability and manufacturing chain for which may doubtlessly develop by over 30 % yearly from now by 2030.
Manganese-rich batteries are more and more being held up as a substitute for customary lithium-ion batteries, resulting in an anticipated exponential demand for the mineral. Tesla alone has already dedicated to producing manganese-based batteries for 2 thirds of its provide, owing to the metallic’s relative abundance and decrease price in comparison with nickel and cobalt.
Lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) represents some of the distinguished phosphate battery configurations. In recent times, nevertheless, the enterprise case for utilizing manganese as a cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries, often known as lithium manganese iron phosphate (LMFP), has grow to be stronger. LMFP not solely improves the battery’s power density, but additionally will increase capability by as much as 20 %. LMFP batteries additionally carry out higher in low-temperature environments.
As LFP quickly nears its theoretical power density capability, the rise of LMFP batteries as a substitute is all however inevitable because the world continues its sluggish march in the direction of electrification and sustainable power. Consequently, which means demand for battery-grade manganese is ready to blow up within the coming years. And Firebird Metals is greater than able to step in and supply some much-needed provide.
Firebird maintains possession over a large manganese useful resource in Western Australia’s Pilbara area within the type of its flagship Oakover mission. Characterised by near-surface mineralisation, Oakover homes an estimated 176.65 million tons (Mt) of manganese throughout a number of completely different targets. Due to Oakover’s beneficial geology, Firebird can doubtlessly leverage Oakover to provide not simply the battery market but additionally a number of different industries, akin to metal, all by a low-cost, easy mining operation.
The top end result? Important returns for buyers — a projection solely additional emphasised by the spectacular outcomes returned by a current focus scoping research on the mission. Firebird maintains a number of different tasks in Australia as effectively, together with the Oakover-like Hill 616 and the exploration-focused Wadanya.
Firebird’s long-term technique reaches far past Australia’s borders, nevertheless. From mining to downstream processing, the corporate’s imaginative and prescient is to grow to be a worldwide cathode producer. For that, Firebird is trying to China, which to this point accounts for roughly 90 % of world manganese sulphate demand.
In early September 2023, the corporate introduced its plans to ascertain a processing plant in China, noting to buyers that an in-house scoping research was already effectively underway. In response to Firebird’s managing director Peter Allen, the development of this plant represents the subsequent section of main development for Firebird. As with the remainder of Firebird’s operations, this new plant will probably be constructed with the corporate’s ESG methodology entrance of thoughts, making certain transparency and accountability along with human welfare, help for native communities and environmental sustainability.
This plan, ought to it proceed apace, has the potential to make an infinite impression on world manganese provide — all whereas positioning Firebird as a cost-competitive participant within the manganese sulphate market and a promising funding alternative.
Firm Highlights
An Australian junior exploration firm, Firebird Assets is well-positioned to benefit from the rising demand for manganese because the quickly increasing electrical automobile market and world electrification proceed to ramp up. Firebird maintains possession of a large manganese useful resource in Australia with important development potential.A current focus scoping research confirmed the potential and profitability of the corporate’s flagship mission, Oakover, located in Western Australia’s Pilbara area. Firebird’s long-term objective entails leveraging its manganese useful resource to place itself as a number one world producer of manganese sulphate for the battery trade. The corporate is at present embarking on a scoping research with plans to construct a manganese sulphate plant in China. This may enable it to achieve a foothold within the Chinese language market, which at present accounts for 90 % of world manganese sulphate demand. This research represents the subsequent section of main development for Firebird, and is a major a part of the corporate’s total technique to ascertain itself as a near-term producer of battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate.
Key Initiatives
Oakover
Located 85 kilometres East of Newman in Western Australia’s East Pilbara Manganese Province, Firebird’s flagship Oakover mission is characterised by beneficial near-surface and shallow-dipping mineralisation. The mission’s beneficial geology offers Firebird with a number of processing choices, with the corporate at present focusing on manufacturing of manganese focus and high-purity manganese sulphate. Oakover has, over the course of its historical past, been topic to in depth fashionable and historic exploration.
The latest exploration program, accomplished by Firebird, resulted in a mineral useful resource estimate of 176.65 Mt at 9.9 % manganese, together with 105.8Mt at 10.1 % manganese within the indicated useful resource class.
Venture Highlights:
Confirmed Potential: Firebird just lately achieved a serious milestone at Oakover with the completion of a focus scoping research which confirmed the mission’s excellent long-term potential as a manganese hub. Highlights of the research embrace:Potential 18-year mine life. 1.2 Mt every year with low strip ratio (0.45:1) and mining prices. Upfront capital funding of A$124 million with low capex optionality. A$741.3 million NPV and IRR of 73.1 %. Indicated materials accounts for 99.2 % of fabric processed. 80 % uplift in indicated useful resource at Oakover to 105.8 Mt. Metallurgical Outcomes: Firebird has undertaken in depth metallurgical and hydrometallurgical testwork at Oakover, with outcomes offering the corporate with a excessive stage of confidence in its development and revenue potential. Notable highlights are as follows: Achievable 30 to 32 % manganese focus saleable productAchievable battery-grade manganese sulphateCurrent Plans: Firebird’s focus scoping research assessed two manufacturing eventualities, every utilising easy processing, crush, display screen, scrub and DMS beneficiation. It has chosen to pursue full manufacturing from startup with ~4 Mtpa processing and ~1.2 Mtpa of 30 to 32 % manganese focus.
Hill 616
Situated 35 kilometres south of the Oakover mission, Hill 616 shares extremely related geological traits to Firebird’s flagship, with shallow, gently dipping geology. Masking roughly 15.7 sq. kilometres inside the Peak Hill Mineral Area, Hill 616 has to this point undergone in depth historic drilling, with 116 holes for 4,900 metres over a 2.2-kilometre strike.
This drilling has resulted in an inferred mineral useful resource of 57.5 Mt at 12.2 % manganese.
Wandanya
Wandanya is a just lately established exploration-focused mission located 50 kilometres southwest of the world-class Woodie Woodie Manganese Mine. Its shut proximity to Port Hedland affords it appreciable direct delivery ore potential. Rock chip outcomes point out that Wandanya’s deposits are additionally exceptionally excessive grade, returning outcomes as much as 64.9 % and 55.2 % manganese.
Administration Group
Evan Cranston — Chairperson
Evan Cranston is an skilled mining govt with a background in company and mining regulation. He’s the principal of company advisory and administration agency Konkera Company and has in depth expertise within the areas of fairness capital markets, company finance, structuring, asset acquisition, company governance and exterior stakeholder relations.
Cranston holds each a Bachelor of Commerce and Bachelor of Legal guidelines from the College of Western Australia. He’s at present the non-executive chairman of African Gold (ASX:A1G) and Benz Mining (TSXV:BZ, ASX:BNZ).
Peter Allen — Managing Director
Peter Allen is a mining govt with greater than 20 years of expertise in advertising of manganese, lithium and a variety of different commodities. He was beforehand the managing director of promoting for Consolidated Minerals Restricted, which operates Woodie Woodie mine in WA and the Nsuta Manganese mine in Ghana.
Allen assisted manganese-focused explorer Ingredient 25 (ASX:E25) and Gulf Manganese Company (ASX:GMC) with PFS and product advertising. Extra just lately, he was the advertising supervisor for AVZ Minerals (ASX:AVZ), an organization focussed on the Manono lithium mission.
Wei Li — Government Director & CFO
Wei Li is a chartered accountant with in depth skilled expertise throughout a number of key sectors which embrace the useful resource trade, worldwide commerce, capital markets, mission administration of IPOs and spin-outs, and monetary accounting. His expertise contains being employed by and appearing as director and CFO of a number of corporations, predominantly within the useful resource sector. Prior to those roles, he managed a non-public base metallic exploration firm within the NT of Australia and assisted in commissioning an AU$150-million electrolytic manganese dioxide plant in Hunan China.
Li is at present a non-executive director of Macro Metals.
Ashley Pattison — Non-executive Director
Ashley Pattison brings over 20 years of expertise within the assets sector throughout company finance and operational roles. Certified as chartered accountant, he has in depth expertise in operations, finance, technique and company finance. Pattison has been the managing director of numerous listed and personal mining corporations over the previous 10 years and likewise CEO of a listed mining service firm.
Pattinson is at present the manager chairman of PC Gold and a non-executive director of Industrial Minerals (ASX:IND) and Macro Metals.
Brett Grosvenor — Non-executive Director
Brett Grosvenor is an skilled mining govt with over 25 years of expertise within the mining and energy industries. He holds a twin tertiary qualification in engineering and a grasp’s in enterprise.