[Ferro-Alloys.com] Element 25 Butcherbird Expansion Advances Towards Construction

HIGHLIGHTS

• Lead Engineer Altris Engineering commenced work on Butcherbird Expansion Project (BBX) as an

Integrated Project Team (IPT), in close collaboration with E25 engineers.

• Process Improvement studies ongoing to deliver potential cost savings and execution flexibility

options.

• Mining services contract tender process well advanced and approaching final selection.

• Procurement of key equipment including mineral sizers and logwasher secured.

• Offtake negotiations well advanced with multiple term sheets under negotiation.

• Element 25 completed a AU$10M Placement and secured a AU$50 million senior debt facility from

Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) to fund BBX.

• Multiple term sheets under negotiation to secure balance of funds to construct the BBX project.

• BBX aims to expand production to 1.1Mtpta of manganese concentrate.

• Butcherbird Ore Reserve of 101.4Mt at 10.4% Mn for 10.54Mt contained manganese underpins

a robust, >18-year LOM operation at 1.1 Mtpa production rate.

• Increased manganese production capacity from BBX will support Element 25’s planned high-purity

manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) production facility in Louisiana, USA

• BBX fully approved under WA Regulatory Framework including WA Department of Water and

Environmental Regulation (DWER) and WA Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation

and Safety (DEMIRS).

 

Element 25 Limited is pleased to provide an update on the Butcherbird Expansion Project (BBX) at its Butcherbird Manganese Mine (Project) in Western Australia (WA). As previously reported, the Company is in the process of expanding the Project to target 1.1Mtpa manganese concentrate production.

The Company released an updated Feasibility Study for the Butcherbird Expansion Project in January

2025 outlining the production target of 1.1Mtpa (BBX FS). An updated Ore Reserve for Butcherbird mine delivered a 107% increase to 101.4Mt at 10.4% Mn for 10.54Mt contained manganese,

underpinning the Project’s robust, >18-year LOM operation at the planned 1.1 Mtpa production rate8.

The most recent Butcherbird Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) increased 6% to 274Mt @ 10% Mn, with

Measured and Indicated Resources increased 142% to 130Mt at 10.23% Mn9. These updates are in

line with Element 25’s strategic plan.

The Company plans to expand production capacity at the Project to supply manganese concentrate to

traditional steel markets and to supply feedstock for its proposed battery grade, high purity manganese

sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) processing facility planned to be built in Louisiana, USA.

Project Finance

As announced in June 202510 the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) has approved a

senior debt facility of up to AU$50 million, including AU$42.5 million in senior debt and a

AU$7.5 million cost overrun facility, to support Element 25’s Butcherbird Manganese Expansion

Project in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.

Since the NAIF transaction was approved, the Company has also completed an equity raising via a

$10 million share placement at $0.28 per share, led by Petra Capital to accelerate the Butcherbird

Expansion Project in Western Australia. This funding is being deployed in accordance with the BBX

budget, principally to advance detailed engineering activities and secure key long lead equipment items

in accordance with the project schedule.

The Company is currently negotiating with a number of counterparties with respect to securing the

balance of funding for BBX.

Project Engineering Detailed design has commenced with Altris Engineering (Altris) appointed as lead engineering consultant in October 202512.

Element 25 and Altris are implementing an Integrated Project Team (IPT) methodology with

Element 25 engineering personnel embedded and located with the Altris team to ensure collaboration

and information sharing are maximised. Early process and cost improvement studies have commenced with benefits being identified relating to cost-saving and execution flexibility opportunities.

Altris continue to expand their team in line with the ramp up of project resourcing requirements as the

project advances towards commencement of construction.

The IPT is currently focussed on refinement and further definition of the core engineering detail including

trade-off studies, site layout, detailed cost range analysis and a review of pricing and quantities with the

previous project cost estimate as the baseline. Long lead items are being progressed in line with key

Project milestones.

Commercial Contracts

Mining Services Contract

The Element 25 Procurement Team has materially advanced the tender process to secure a suitable

mining services contractor to support the planned mining operations at the expanded Butcherbird

Manganese Mine.

The team have engaged with, and assessed several rounds of clarifications from, participating

contactors, evaluating each proposal based on key selection criteria including contractor experience,

capability and value for money.

Applicants have been short-listed and the tender assessment process continues; it is anticipated that a

decision on the preferred contractor will be made in the coming weeks.

Engineering Services Contract

Element 25 engaged Perth-based Altris Engineering (Altris) to lead the expansion project on the Butcherbird Manganese Mine13. Engineering works under this contract have been initiated and are currently underway

with the E25 team working closely with Altris as part of an Integrated Project Team (IPT). Details of the

current engineering activities under this contract can be found in the section above (Project Engineering).

Crushing and Mineral Sizer Solutions

Element 25 has undertaken a detailed assessment of the crushing requirements for the expanded operations at Butcherbird. The Company has extensively evaluated the design requirements of the mineral crusher and sizers, including the associated equipment and circuit design to establish the most cost effective and efficient design for this capability.

Mineral Sizers from MMD have been selected as the preferred equipment for this

application and a procurement contract has been entered into with MMD to supply both the primary and

secondary sizer units along with critical spares and commitment for commissioning support and postcommissioning maintenance services.

Logwasher

The logwasher is a large-scale scrubbing unit with two counter-rotating paddle shafts that scrub the feed while an opposing water flow separates liberated fines discharging clean product at the upper outlet of an inclined trough. This is a key step on the process flowsheet for BBX where the process aims to liberate the lump manganese product for the intercalated lateritic clay material.

E25 has entered into a supply contract with KISA Gmbh to supply a logwasher unit with a nominal 600 t/h federate and max 11° gradient. The unit has been carefully selected for the proposed BBX use. The logwasher has been manufactured and awaits transportation to the Project site in accordance with the current schedule.

Logistics

Element 25 maintains a close partnership with REGROUP, the logistics service provider who supported the Stage 1 operations at Butcherbird, providing road haulage services for manganese concentrate from the Butcherbird mine site.

The road haulage agreement for the BBX Project is currently being negotiated with REGROUP to

provide for increased volumes as well as more efficient material movement through revised equipment

selection and scheduling and improved analytics as well as a broader review of contract terms.

As the largest cost of the proposed operation, both parties are working together to maximise efficiencies

and reduce transportation costs, with identifying opportunities for continuous improvement being a key

priority.

As per the Stage 1 operations, the Company will utilise the Utah Point common user facilities to export

manganese concentrate cargos, with adjustments to the logistics plan being developed to accommodate

the larger volumes and optimise the overall transport costs.

Offtake

Discussions remain ongoing with a number of key counterparties to finalise offtake for the increased

production from the BBX Project.

The manganese concentrate product produced from the Butcherbird Mine has a unique set of properties

which make it attractive to smelters, particularly in the silico-manganese market. These attributes include

a high silica content (>20%), low levels of deleterious contaminants such as phosphorous, heavy metals

and arsenic, a suitable iron-manganese ratio and a physical competency which minimises fragmentation

and fines generation which can be important for transport and in smelting operations.

The Company continues to refine the terms of the offtake under these negotiations and plans to finalise

the preferred offtake partner and commercial terms as soon as practicable.

Core Operating Systems

The Core Operating and Business Intelligence Systems are key for the success of both the BBX Project

and the long-term operations of the Butcherbird Manganese Mine.

Element 25’s procurement team is working with selected consultants to develop the solution design

document and define the scope of work for the core systems and associated infrastructure, including the

Company’s Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.

These systems will provide the foundation for the Company’s vision to deliver a highly granular digital

business intelligence system with detailed visibility on all operational elements form pit-to-port to support

ongoing efficiency improvements, optimise product quality and reduce costs.

As a long-term operation, it is critical that the Butcherbird Mine utilises a future facing technology

strategy to maintain its competitive edge as the world moves towards the expanded adoption of real-time

data driven automated decision making to maximise performance across all key metrics including safety,

performance, and profitability.

Permitting and Approvals

The Element 25 Butcherbird Project is fully approved under the Western Australian Regulatory

Framework14 to construct the 1.1Mpta processing plant.

The Company has maintained all regulatory approvals including the Environmental Licence, since the

Stage 1 plant commenced in 2021 through ongoing compliance and regular statutory reporting. The

water abstraction licence, heritage clearances, native title and pastoral agreements are in place and

continue to remain applicable.

An established Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) is fully approved to support the storage requirements of

the expansion for the first six years of operations and subsequent staged lifts and engineering designs

have been completed to sustain the current Reserve life of the project.

To reflect the expanded processing plant footprint and increase in throughput, the Mining Proposal and

Mine Closure Plan were updated and approved in December 2024 by the Department of Mines,

Petroleum and Exploration (DMPE formerly DMIRS) . The Works Approval for the construction of the expanded processing facility project was approved by the WA Department of Environment and

Regulation (DWER) in March 2025.

Project Schedule

The schedule for BBX is continually updated to accommodate commercial contracting, supplier

engagement, completed works, and alignment with the project plan, including activities that are

forecasted, planned, commenced and achieved.

The work breakdown structure (WBS) is comprehensive, with significant interdependencies among tasks

and activities. The team remains dedicated to maintaining project timelines and budgetary objectives.

Figure 1 provides a high-level overview of the current target schedule for the BBX Project. The schedule

remains subject to a number of key dependencies including achieving project financial close, completion

of detailed engineering, procurement of key equipment and finalising the construction contract(s) in

accordance with the planned key dates. The schedule continues to be monitored as the Company

progresses BBX.

• [Editor:tianyawei]