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Czech Republic

Chvaletice Project

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Categories

Overview

Mine TypeTailings
StagePermitting
Commodities
  • Manganese
Mining Method
  • Truck & Shovel / Loader
Mine Life... Lock
SnapshotThe Chvaletice Manganese Project site is adjacent to established infrastructure, including an 820-megawatt power station that supplies the Czech Republic’s national grid, a major railway line, a highway, and a natural gas line. The Project resource is contained in flotation tailings piles, adjacent to the former Chvaletice open pit mine. The Project is expected to result in the environmental remediation of this former mine tailings site, bringing it into full compliance with modern Czech and European Union environmental standards and regulations.

The Company holds two licenses covering mineral exploration rights for the Project, which are both valid until May 31, 2026, and also holds a Preliminary Mining Permit, referred to by the Czech Ministry of Environment as the Prior Consent for the Establishment of a Mining Lease District, which is also valid until May 31, 2026.

Owners

SourceSource
CompanyInterestOwnership
Euro Manganese Inc. 100 % Indirect
Euro Manganese Inc.’s (EMN) principal focus is advancing the evaluation and development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project, in which it holds a 100% interest through its Czech subsidiary, Mangan Chvaletice s.r.o.

Contractors

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Deposit type

  • Tailings

Summary:

Due to grinding and flotation processes, none of the original textures that would have characterized the in situ rocks will have been preserved in the tailings material.

The mineralization found in tailings at the CMP has been deposited by manmade processes following grinding and flotation processes of black pyritic shale and is therefore not characteristic of a traditional manganese deposits. The material can be physically characterized as a compacted soil, with varying degrees of particle sizes from clay to coarse sand.

There is sorting of the flotation waste by grain size and weight, resulting from the sedimentation from the edge to the center of the tailings deposit.

Subsequently, three zones of grain sizes in the tailing pond can result with:
- An outer zone of fine-grained sand and silty sand
- A central zone of alternating sandy laminae with the outer and inner zone types
- An inner zone comprised of silt to slightly clayey silt (finest material of all zones).

This zoning is typical for slurry tailings and results from sedimentation of deposited slurries from fluctuation of water levels during decantation operations (removal of water) within the central zone and a gentle slope (1.5%), leaving little to no water in the outer zone.

The Chvaletice bedrock deposits of iron and manganese mineralization constitutes one horizon in the metasedimentary stratigraphy with variable proportions of carbonate and silicate minerals occurring laterally from west to east. Through mineral processing during historical mining operations, these minerals have been reduced in size and partially blended by grinding and flotation processes.

Through depositionary processes, these mineral particles were distributed throughout the tailings facilities by sedimentation from suspension in a tailings slurry. Thin beds of sediment will have been deposited laterally with a gradation from coarse to fine particles away from the point of deposition. It is then interpreted that grain size and moisture content may have more similarity with materials in a vertical sense and have more variability in a lateral sense. Whereas, mineral and grade distribution, being related more to the process rather than deposition, is interpreted to have more similarity with materials in a lateral sense and less direct similarity with materials in a vertical sense. However, a relationship exists between elevated manganese grade with coarser particle size.

Met-Solve completed x-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM)-energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses on behalf of EMN in 2015 using the samples collected from test pits in 2015. The analysis identified the main manganese bearing minerals were rhodochrosite (MnCO3), and kutnohorite (Ca(Mn2+ , Mg, Fe2+)(CO3)2) which forms a series with dolomite and ankerite. These were classified as the principle manganese (Mn)-carbonate minerals. Additionally, the presence of trace quantities of manganese- silicates such as sursassite (a manganese bearing sorosilicate), and oxides such as pyrolusite (a manganese dioxide (MnO2) and kurchatovite (calcium-magnesium-manganese-iron borate (Ca(Mg, Mn, Fe2+)B2O5) were identified. Pyrite was noted to be the primary form of sulphide mineral, with concentrations in the samples between 5 to 9%. Gangue mineralogy consists of primarily quartz with moderate amounts of plagioclase, feldspars, micas, and apatite. Low concentrations (less than 5%) of kaolinite clay mineral was identified.

Further mineralogy work conducted on a bulk sample by CRIMM on behalf of EMN in 2017, concluded that manganese occurs with variable proportions of iron, calcium, and magnesium with carbonate to form a wide variety of manganese bearing carbonates from the rhodochrosite-siderite-dolomite-calcite spectrum. The work concluded that 80% of the manganese occurred as carbonate and 19% of the manganese occurred as silicate. High concentrations of iron and phosphorus were identified in the gangue minerals which were contained predominantly in pyrite and apatite, respectively.

Whole rock lithogeochemical analysis conducted on Sonic drill samples collected during the 2017 program measured total sulphur concentration in the tailings with an average of approximately 3.1% which is sourced form sulphide, sulphate and organic origin. Total carbon concentrations averages approximately 3.4%, which includes contributions from graphite, organic and carbonate origin.

Reserves

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Mining Methods

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Comminution

Crushers and Mills

Milling equipment has not been reported.

Processing

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Production

CommodityProductUnitsAvg. AnnualLOM
Manganese Electrolytic metal Mt 0.0150.4
Manganese Payable metal Mt 0.051.2
Manganese sulfate monohydrate Powder kt 992,465

Operational metrics

Metrics
Annual production capacity  ....  Subscribe
Annual processing rate  ....  Subscribe
Tonnes processed, LOM  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Production Costs

CommodityUnitsAverage
Cash costs Manganese Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe
Total cash costs Manganese Equivalent USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Manganese sulfate monohydrate USD  ....  Subscribe
Assumed price Manganese USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study / presentation.

Operating Costs

Currency2022
OP mining costs ($/t milled) USD 2.44 *  
Processing costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
G&A ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
Total operating costs ($/t milled) USD  ....  Subscribe
* According to 2022 study.

Project Costs

MetricsUnitsLOM Total
Initial CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Sustaining CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Total CapEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
OP OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Processing OpEx $M USD 3,815
Site services costs $M USD 641.6
G&A costs $M USD 367
Total OpEx $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Total Taxes $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Royalty payments $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Gross revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Net revenue (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Operating margin, %  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax Cash Flow (LOM) $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 10% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
After-tax NPV @ 8% $M USD  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
After-tax IRR, %  ......  Subscribe
Pre-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe
After-tax payback period, years  ......  Subscribe

Required Heavy Mobile Equipment

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Personnel

Mine Management

Job TitleNamePhoneEmailProfileRef. Date
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 27, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Jul 27, 2022
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required ........... Subscription required ........... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 29, 2023
....................... Subscription required ....................... Subscription required Subscription required Mar 29, 2023

EmployeesYear
...... Subscription required 2022

Aerial view:

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