Our strategy is simple. It consists of exploring for and developing our Battery Hill manganese deposit in New Brunswick because we believe manganese will be one of the key materials in what Taiyou Research has predicted will become a more than US$30 billion market in rechargeable Lithium-ion batteries by 2020.
In short, manganese is one of the minerals that will drive the future and enable widespread adoption of renewable clean energy and electric cars.
Manganese demand will rise as it is increasingly picked for use in the rechargeable batteries used to power consumer electronics, electric and hybrid electric vehicles and the battery systems that store electricity harvested from clean energy produced by solar, wind and tidal systems.
Pollution and climate change are key drivers for the global adoption of clean renewable energy. Widespread adoption has been held back because of two major factors: the lack of economically efficient storage batteries and the high cost of solar installations. Over the last decade that has changed and we are now on the threshold of widespread global clean energy rollouts. According to British newspaper The Guardian, the cost of solar power installations has dropped by 70% since 2009.
Driven by the demand for a safe, efficient and economical rechargeable battery for consumer electronics, the Lithium-ion battery, which offers a low cost economically efficient solution has been developed. It is now being chosen to store energy for electric cars and to provide electrical storage for home, office block and electrical utilities.
There are currently six types of Lithium-ion, Li-ion, batteries on the market. Two of these, the Lithium-ion manganese dioxide, battery, LMO, and the Lithium manganese cobalt battery, LMC, are staking out ground as market leaders.
They are gaining ground for the following five reasons: safety, a better ability to tailor electrical output for the end user, a longer lifespan, a shorter recharging time and much better economics. The cost of manganese is currently around $1.00 a pound while the cost of cobalt, its chief competitor, is roughly $14.00 a pound.
3M has its own patented NMC battery, based on work done by Dr. Jeff Dahn at Dalhousie University. This battery is also being built by LG Chem and used by General Motors in the Chevy Volt and in its other electric cars. It is also used in the Nissan Leaf and in the BMW i3.Tesla has recently hired Dr. Dahn for a five year period to research reducing battery costs. The market is there. Electric car production crossed the 1,000,000 car threshold, during September 2015. Volkswagen, Porsche and Mercedes are all developing electric cars. Every major car manufacturer has at least one electric car on the drawing board and some are determined to produce an electric version of each model they produce. Except for Tesla, car manufacturers are using Lithium Manganese batteries to power their vehicles.
Navigant Research has recently forecast that the market for Lithium-ion car batteries alone will go from US$7.8 billion in 2015 to US$30.6 billion in 2024.
The market for storage or utility batteries, those batteries used to store clean energy generated by the wind or sun is also expected to rise quickly. Siemens, General Electric, British multinational National Grid and Duke Energy, the largest electrical and gas holding company in the US have all chosen Lithium-ion batteries.
Research firm IHS has predicted that the energy storage market will grow to US$19 billion by 2017.
Global investment in clean energy increased to US$ 270 billion during 2014. China led the way with US$ 89 billion in new money for renewable energy followed by the United States at US$51 billion. Warren Buffet has invested US$ 1 billion in clean energy and Bill Gates has invested US$1 billion of his own money and US$2 billion through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
Clearly, the market for manganese is going to be transformed by the demand for Lithium Manganese rechargeable batteries.
Currently, the fabrication of stainless steel accounts for 90% of all manganese produced. As battery demand increases, that will change. The United States has designated manganese a Strategic Metal because of its use in military hardware. In Europe it is called a Critical Metal.
There are no operating manganese mines in North America. As manganese demand ramps up the advantages of sourcing manganese in North America will fuel interest in junior mining companies exploring for it in North America. Key to the demand for North American manganese will be supply security within an uncertain geopolitical framework.
China, for instance, the second largest producer of manganese in the world has recently imposed a 20% export tariff on the metal in an effort to keep its manganese at home.
The top three producers in 2014 were South Africa, China and Australia. South African manganese is not the best grade for battery production.
Chinese manganese carries an ethical stigma because of the working conditions its miners endure and the pollution it produces. People want to buy an electric vehicle and invest in solar energy because it is the right thing to do. Using Chinese manganese will create a brand stigma that won’t wear well.
Manganese X Energy Corp. intends to provide a secure ethically sourced manganese supply by exploring and developing its manganese rich deposit near Woodstock New Brunswick, the Battery Hill Project. The Fraser Institute has recently called New Brunswick one of the best mining jurisdiction in Canada, a country known to be mining friendly.
Bryan Way, in his Master’s Thesis on the Woodstock area manganese occurrences, reports that the area “hosts a series of banded iron formations that collectively constitute one of the largest manganese resources in North America, approximately 194,000,000 tonnes”.
The Battery Hill property consists of 55 claims totalling 1,228 hectares located in Carlton County, New Brunswick. It encompasses all or part of five manganese zones, Iron Ore Hill, Moody Hill, Sharpe Farm, Wakefield and Maple Hill.
In 2010 and 2011 when Lithium-ion batteries became the growth driver in the battery industry, junior miners exploring and developing lithium, graphite and cobalt deposits saw an average return of 407%.
Given that more and more battery makers are using manganese to reduce battery costs, improve safety and build a better product it only stands to reason that environmentally friendly manganese miners will profit accordingly.
Value added products provide a better return on investment and Manganese X Energy Corp intends to profit from this by refining the manganese from Battery Hill into three distinct products with three distinct cash flows.
Electrolytic Manganese Metal, (MMM,) used in the production of aluminium, stainless steel and alloys, Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide, (EMD,) used in the cathodes of Lithium Manganese and Lithium Cobalt Manganese rechargeable batteries and Granulated Manganese Sulfate which is used as a fertilizer.
Join us in developing the future: TSXV: MN
-Projects:
-BATTERY HILL PROJECT:
Manganese X Energy Corp. (MN) Battery Hill manganese property is located in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The Fraser Institute has called New Brunswick one of the best mining jurisdictions in Canada.
The property consists of 55 claims covering 1,228 hectares approximately 5 km northwest of the town of Woodstock in Carlton County, south western New Brunswick (click map below to view full size version). It encompasses all or parts of five manganese-iron zones including Iron Ore Hill, Moody Hill, Sharpe Farm, Maple Hill and Wakefield. In his Master’s Thesis on the Woodstock area manganese occurrences, Brian Way (2012) reports that the area “hosts a series of banded iron formations that collectively constitute one of the largest manganese resources in North America, approximately 194,000,000 tonnes”.
BATTERY HILL PROPERTY SPECS:
MN’s Battery Hill property is approximately 6 km long on a north-south axis and approximately 1.7 km wide, east-west. The property is located beside the hamlet of Jacksonville and 5 km northwest of Woodstock, New Brunswick. In New Brunswick an exploration licence is referred to as a “right number.” MN’s Battery Hill property is officially called Jacksonville and the right number is 5816.
The property is a little more than seven hours travel by car or 714 km east of Montreal Quebec. More than 5,200 people live in Woodstock. The nearest railroad is located in Houlton, Maine which has a population of 6,100 and is approximately 15 km southwest of the property. The closest major city is Fredericton, 95 km to the south, with a population of 56,000. Both Woodstock and Fredericton are on the Trans Canada Highway. There is one paved road and several good quality gravel roads accessing the property. A twinned highway, Route 95 connects to US I-95 which runs from Woodstock to Houlton and passes 3 km south of the property. The Canadian-American border is approximately 12 km west of the property. Major transmission lines run close to the property and there is adequate water available. In early 2016, Perry MacKinnon Consulting prepared a National Instrument (NI) 43-101 Technical Report on the Manganese Occurrences within Exploration Licence 5816 located near Woodstock, New Brunswick. The purpose of the report was to provide a comprehensive independent assessment of the manganese potential of the Battery Hill property. The report reviews and discusses the results of both historic and current surface work along with drilling that was conducted in 2011. The recent fieldwork and drilling were supervised by Perry MacKinnon, P. Geo, who is a qualified person under the terms of NI 43-101. The following information is summarized from MacKinnon’s technical report.
In 1836 an iron-manganese deposit was discovered in the Woodstock area and then mined for almost 40 years, starting in 1848. MacKinnon reports that 70,000 tons, primarily from a mineralized zone named Iron Ore Hill, was mined. The mined material was reported to have been sent to Britain for use in armour plating Royal Navy gun-boats because of its exceptional quality.
The manganese-iron occurrences of the Woodstock area are part of the Early Silurian Smyrna Mills Formation and are associated with banded iron formations within a sequence of shales, silty shales and siltstones (Way, 2012; Kesavanathan et al., 2014). The Smyrna Mills Formation is part of a wider sequence of sedimentary rocks that extends across the U.S. border, into the state of Maine where it hosts similar deposits. In New Brunswick, the favourable package of rocks extends from Jacksontown just north of Jacksonville, south to the US border, a distance of over 20 km.
MN’s Battery Hill property includes the northern portion of the manganese mineralization, from Jacksontown in the north, to the Hartford area in the south and includes the entirety of the Moody Hill, Sharpe Farm, Iron Ore Hill mineralized zones, as well as the Maple Hill and Wakefield showings. Recent surface sampling and drilling in the Iron Ore Hill area has shown that manganese grades and widths of potential economic interest occur on the property (MacKinnon, 2016). In particular, diamond drill hole GNB-11-3, which was drilled away from the known nearby mineralization, intercepted 57 m (core length) of 10.38% Mn indicating that potential for additional manganese zones exists on the property beyond the known historic zones.
The manganese-iron occurrences of the Woodstock area are part of the Early Silurian Smyrna Mills Formation and are associated with banded iron formations within a sequence of shales, silty shales and siltstones (Way, 2012; Kesavanathan et al., 2014). The Smyrna Mills Formation is part of a wider sequence of sedimentary rocks that extends across the U.S. border, into the state of Maine where it hosts similar deposits. In New Brunswick, the favourable package of rocks extends from Jacksontown just north of Jacksonville, south to the US border, a distance of over 20 km.
MN’s Battery Hill property includes the northern portion of the manganese mineralization, from Jacksontown in the north, to the Hartford area in the south and includes the entirety of the Moody Hill, Sharpe Farm, Iron Ore Hill mineralized zones, as well as the Maple Hill and Wakefield showings. Recent surface sampling and drilling in the Iron Ore Hill area has shown that manganese grades and widths of potential economic interest occur on the property (MacKinnon, 2016). In particular, diamond drill hole GNB-11-3, which was drilled away from the known nearby mineralization, intercepted 57 m (core length) of 10.38% Mn indicating that potential for additional manganese zones exists on the property beyond the known historic zones.
Three of the main historic manganese zones plus at least two additional showings identified in historic exploration are located on MN’s Battery Hill property. Sidwell (1957) assessed a number of the manganese-iron zones in the Woodstock area. Based upon surface sampling and limited drilling. Sidwell (1957) described the presence of the following mineralized zones starting from the south; the Moody Hill zone with the potential to contain an estimated 10,000,000 tons (9,072,000 tonnes), the Sharpe Farm zone with the potential to contain 8,000,000 tons (7,257,000 tonnes) and the Iron Ore Hill zone with the potential to contain 25,000,000 tons (22,680,000 tonnes). Sidwell (1957) indicated that these three zones have a range of grades from 7.5% to 10% Mn with an overall estimated average grade of 9% Mn and 13% Fe. The mineralized zone grade and tonnage estimates provided by Sidwell (1957) are based upon limited drilling, ground geophysical surveys and some surface sampling. As such, the estimates provided are considered historic in nature and should not be relied upon in terms of resources, however, they do provide an indication of mineral potential for the target zones.
Three of the main historic manganese zones plus at least two additional showings identified in historic exploration are located on MN’s Battery Hill property. Sidwell (1957) assessed a number of the manganese-iron zones in the Woodstock area. Based upon surface sampling and limited drilling. Sidwell (1957) described the presence of the following mineralized zones starting from the south; the Moody Hill zone with the potential to contain an estimated 10,000,000 tons (9,072,000 tonnes), the Sharpe Farm zone with the potential to contain 8,000,000 tons (7,257,000 tonnes) and the Iron Ore Hill zone with the potential to contain 25,000,000 tons (22,680,000 tonnes). Sidwell (1957) indicated that these three zones have a range of grades from 7.5% to 10% Mn with an overall estimated average grade of 9% Mn and 13% Fe. The mineralized zone grade and tonnage estimates provided by Sidwell (1957) are based upon limited drilling, ground geophysical surveys and some surface sampling. As such, the estimates provided are considered historic in nature and should not be relied upon in terms of resources, however, they do provide an indication of mineral potential for the target zones.
-PETER LAKE PROPERTY:
The Peter Lake Property (the “Property”) consists of 34 claims totalling approximately 1985 Ha located in the Mont-Laurier Terrane, in the Central Grenville Province, Quebec. The Property lies within a sequence of metasedimentary rocks (Rabot Suite) intruded by gabbroic and felsic to mafic intrusions (Serpent and Lacoste Suites).
Two Copper-Nickel-Cobalt Occurrences known as Peter Lake North and Peter Lake South are included within the Property. Previous grab sampling returned values ranging from 0.4% to 22.8% copper, 0.14% to 0.73% nickel, 500 ppm to 0.266% cobalt, as well as elevated gold and silver. The mineralization is associated with mafic intrusions of the Serpent Suite and has been traced intermittently on surface for more than 2 kilometers. The Property has received very limited exploration to date with only 2 shallow diamond drill holes completed in 2002. The Peter Lake South occurrence, discovered in 2012, has not been tested by drilling.
Also worth noting is that the Peter Lake Property situated approximately 20 kms south of Kintavar Exploration Inc’s Mitchi Project is where Kintavar recently announced significant new copper, silver and gold mineralization (Kintavar News Release dated August 8, 2018).
Manganese X intends to conduct an exploration program on the Property commencing immediately, with a complete compilation of historic geological work followed by line cutting, ground geophysics, geology/prospecting, trenching and possible diamond drilling in the future. Special attention during the exploration program will be directed towards the cobalt and possible gold-platinum-palladium potential of the property.
Roger Dahn, VP Exploration and a director of the Company states, “We are excited about the Peter Lake property, besides the obvious copper — nickel -cobalt potential associated with the mafic intrusions, we are also paying special attention to the cobalt – copper potential of the nearby metasediments of the Rabot Suite”.
-LAC AUX BOULEAUX GRAPHITE PROPERTY:
The LAB Graphite Property is comprised of 14 mineral claims in one contiguous block totalling 738.12 hectares’ land on NTS 31J05, near the town of Mont-Laurier in southern Québec. The Company acquired the LAB Property under an agreement dated June 24, 2019, where it earned a 100% interest (subject to a $CDN 2.00 Tonnage Royalty to the Vendor) by paying $10,000 cash and issuing $40,000 worth of shares.
The LAB Graphite property is underlain by Precambrian age rocks of the Grenville Series comprised of quartzofeldspathic, garnetiferous paragneiss and limestone / marble beds. Quartzites are the least abundant of rocks in this Series. The igneous rocks which have invaded the metasedimentary sequence consist of gabbros, monzonites, anorthosites and diabase. Paragneiss is generally fine to medium grained with a variety of compositions such as, quartzo-feldspathic gneiss, biotite gneiss, biotite-garnet gneiss, biotite-garnet-silliminite gneiss and biotite-hornblende gneiss. All compositional varieties contain some graphite. Narrow (30 cm) beds of quartzite are found interbedded with biotite-garnet gneiss at places. Quartzite found as thin beds contains impurities such as feldspar/ microcline, biotite, hornblende, garnet, graphite, and define its color which can be white, grey, blue-grey, or pink-grey. Marble is also found as thin beds up to 1.5-metre-thick and is generally medium grained crystalline limestone. Like quartzite, it also contains impurities such as phlogopite, graphite or serpentine. Gneissic bands of amphibolite are also found in paragneiss which are mainly composed of black or green hornblende, biotite and plagioclase. These are mostly medium grained rocks and exhibit a “salt and pepper” texture. Gabbroic rocks are found in the southern parts of the Property and are mainly comprised of feldspar and hornblende. Post Grenville lithologies on the Property are mainly east-west trending diabase dykes which are dark grey to dark greenish grey intruding into paragneiss rocks. The unconsolidated surficial deposits of glacial, fluvial, and lacustrine origin cover a large area of the property and surrounding region.
The LAB Graphite Property lies adjacent to the south of TIMCAL’s Lac des Iles graphite mine in Quebec which is a world class deposit and was producing 25,000 tonnes of graphite annually. There are several graphite showings and past producing mines in its vicinity. Graphite is commonlyfound in the Grenville Province rocks throughout this region and has been commercially mined from a number of deposits located between Mount Laurier in the north to the Ottawa River in the south.
-WOODSTOCK MXE 2020:
Perry MacKinnon, P.Geo, of Perry MacKinnon Consulting, Skir Dhu, Nova Scotia was commissioned by Manganese X Energy Corp. (MXE) to complete an updated National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on its 100% owned manganese-iron (Mn-Fe) occurrence properties near Woodstock, New Brunswick.
On April 26th, 2016 Sunset Cove, now Manganese X Energy Corp. (MXE, see Press Release Dec. 1, 2016) entered into an agreement with Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. to option the claims of license 5816 near Woodstock, and license 5745 near Irish Settlement, New Brunswick, in order to acquire 100% ownership of those properties (see Figures 1 and 2). According to the agreement, Sunset Cove could exercise the option and earn 100% interest in the properties by making aggregate cash payments of $200,000 to Globex, issuing an aggregate of 4 million common shares to Globex, incurring aggregate exploration expenditures of one million dollars on the Property and delivering a preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) on or before the fourth anniversary of the Effective Date of April 26, 2016. The agreement also
included a 3% Gross Metal Royalty to be paid to Globex on all metals produced from the Property. This transaction was completed on December 4th, 2018 with the PEA clause being dropped (see MXE Press Release December 4th, 2018). An advance Royalty payment of $20,000 per year, payable to Globex by Manganese X Energy starting on the 6th anniversary of the agreement, remains in place. Globex has recently entered an agreement to sell 2% of its royalty to Electric Royalties Ltd., which is expected to close in Q3, 2020. Both Claim Units (5816 and 5745) are now in the name of MXE.
License 5816 property (henceforth referred to as the Property, or Battery Hill, as it is the main focus of this report) occurs entirely on privately owned surface lots, on predominantly open, hilly, agricultural lands with some wooded sections. It is an “Early Stage” exploration property according to NI 43-101 definitions, as it has no current mineral resources or mineral reserves.
Permission to access the lands, for the four exploration programs the author has been involved with since 2009, has not been an issue. Surface rights owner’s permission is a requirement before exploration programs are to be implemented. Access is quite good on various dirt roads via the paved Iron Ore Hill Road, located in the south-central area of the claim block. The northern portion of the claims can be accessed along Route 560.
-DISRUPTIVE BATTERY CORP. HVAC:
Disruptive Battery Corp. (“DBC”), a wholly owned subsidiary of Manganese X, is pleased to report upgrades to its patented “Disinfection Apparatus” system, which is designed to circulate air disinfection agents (“ADAs”) via a building’s HVAC distribution system.
We have signed a non-binding Letter of Intent to acquire a patent for a system and method for cleansing air in a contained environment. Tests were conducted on a 33 storey apartment building within the Toronto area demonstrating the system’s ability to cleanse contaminated units.
The invention provides a method of reducing microbial levels in the interior of a building. This is accomplished by vaporizing an anti-microbial essential oil to produce vaporized anti-microbial essential oil and entraining the vaporized oil in an air stream. Then the air stream is directed into the air ducts of the building and finally into the interior air supply of the building.
For environmental engineers, it’s well known that building ventilation systems are efficient disseminators of viruses and other pathogens. We believe the application of this patent offers risk mitigation for air quality in a contained environment using those same ventilation systems for beneficial purposes. Further, this technology offers the potential for global scalability.
The company is moving quickly to a Definitive Agreement subject to due diligence and will report further developments in timely fashion.
The Smart Sensor Actuator (“SSA”) upgrade being worked on enhances the distribution of ADA’s, essentially neutralizing airborne and surface pathogen levels throughout any commercial building 24/7. The Disinfection Apparatus system can be retrofitted and integrated to the building’s smart system.
DBC is currently in discussions with potential partners to match the Disinfection Apparatus with a validated, green, safe disinfectant formulation.
Indoor air quality is a mainstream concern and this is exemplified by the University of Alberta’s study on the transmission of pathogens including COVID-19 via a building’s HVAC distribution system. Bringing safe and healthy air to spaces — everything from apartment buildings to schools to offices — is the central theme of the project, according to University of Alberta engineering professor Lexuan Zhong, who is leading the research.
She called the effort a “non-pharmaceutical intervention” that, if successful, could avoid “extensive consequences. It’s just as valuable as vaccine research,” she told Global News.
“DBC is moving quickly to capitalize on a timely opportunity. We want to deploy the Disinfection Apparatus system that is compatible with current HVAC engineering and formulate an acceptable and approved vapour for ventilation distribution that neutralizes airborne and surface pathogens,” Martin Kepman, Manganese X CEO, stated.
“The Company will be working with industry experts to ensure we have a deliverable technology that is not only relevant but best in class.”
-Metalurgy:
We have received additional favourable metallurgical results from Kemetco Research Inc. (Kemetco) in the development process that has now demonstrated greater efficiency and improved economics leading to commercialization.
The Company completed phase 1 yielding manganese sulphate with a purity exceeding 99.95 per cent with low levels of base and alkali metals using material from its Battery Hill property. This has been a transformational achievement, demonstrating its resource material which can be compliant with electric vehicles and other requirements.
Various Phase 2 bench scale metallurgical bulk tests have been conducted, and results to optimize leaching, neutralization and solid-liquid separation are very positive. The Company continues to advance the development of a workable extraction process and flowsheet to further reduce purification steps, which, if successful, could lead to major cost benefits.
Agitated bench scale leach tests under a range of operating conditions and feed preparation meant to optimize manganese extraction will continue. The company, together with Kemetco, is developing a commercializable flowsheet to produce ultrahigh-purity battery-grade manganese products for the growing electric-vehicle and energy storage sectors, using the ethical and sustainable North American mineralization at Battery Hill.
Martin Kepman, CEO of Manganese X Energy, comments: “we are pleased to see continued validation for manganese usage in the EV and stored energy space. Manganese sulphate (MnSO4) has emerged as a critical EV battery material. MnSO4 is driven by the need to reduce the $/kwh of a high-performance EV battery. Our intention is to achieve a low-cost production process utilising manganese ore that is readily available from our New Brunswick property. Key considerations are low cost, high energy density and long battery life. We have a terrific opportunity to exploit our valuable asset in providing a made in North America energy solution that is ethical, economic, and carbon friendly.”
Manganese X Energy Corp.. is traded on the OTC under the ticker symbol MNXXF. This is not investment advice. Please view the disclaimer found on this website.
