Euro Manganese secures seven-year offtake agreement with Wildcat Discovery Technologies

Critical minerals developer Euro Manganese (ASX: EMN) has signed an offtake agreement with US firm Wildcat Discovery Technologies for the sale of high-purity manganese.

San Diego-based Wildcat has committed to an initial seven-year supply of manganese from the Chvaletice demonstration plant in the Czech Republic.

Chvaletice is viewed as a potential significant supplier of critical minerals to the rapidly developing global electric vehicle (EV) market and the Wildcat agreement is considered a further milestone in the project’s development.

EV battery cells

The offtake will be supplied to Wildcat’s proposed US plant, which is planned to produce a portfolio of safe, sustainable and cobalt/nickel-free cathode materials for EV battery cells and other markets including stationary storage.

The plant is expected to commence operations between 2026 and 2027.

Under the agreement, the offtake tonnages – which represent a significant percentage of Euro Manganese’s annual production – will increase over the course of the seven-year term.

“This is another major milestone for Euro Manganese and for the western market battery value chain,” Euro Manganese chief executive officer Dr Matthew James said.

“An important value proposition is that our product does not originate from or is processed by a foreign entity of concern, a key purchasing criterion for North American customers.”

Product qualification

The commencement of the initial term is subject to the successful qualification by Wildcat of Euro Manganese’s product from the Chvaletice demonstration plant.

“This agreement represents an important step for Wildcat in the development of high-quality, low-cost, reliable, localised and IRA-compliant sources for important cathode precursor materials,” Wildcat chief executive officer Mark Gresser said.

“We view the Euro Manganese partnership as an important piece of our supply chain strategy and look forward to working with them in the coming years.”

Demonstration plant

Euro Manganese successfully completed the commissioning of the Chvaletice demonstration plant in mid-June 2024.

Two independent external laboratories confirmed that samples of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate made from high-purity electrolytic manganese metal produced at the demonstration plant met design target specifications with low levels of impurities.

The Chvaletice project is the only sizeable resource of manganese in Europe, strategically positioning the company to provide battery supply chains with critical raw materials to support the global shift to a circular, low-carbon economy.