American Manganese Begins Pilot Plant Testing
18 August 2011 - 8:00PM
Marketwired
Larry W. Reaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of American
Manganese Inc. (TSX VENTURE: AMY)(PINK SHEETS: AMYZF)(FRANKFURT:
2AM) ("American Manganese" or the "Company"), is pleased to
announce pilot plant test work has commenced (see photographs at:
http://www.amydata.com/data/PilotPlantPresentation.pdf) to confirm
and extend the conceptual process developed by Kemetco Research
Inc. ("Kemetco") in 2010. The pilot plant, designed and built by
Kemetco with input from BI Pure Water Inc. is assembled in modular
form.
The initial stages include pre-leach and batch leach units
coupled with a thickener and three stage counter current
decantation (CCD) that can be operated in continuous mode in varied
configuration at feed rates up to 50 Kg/hr. These unit operations
will provide key information for leaching the manganese and
production of pregnant leach solution as well as expectations of
quality of residual leached solids (tailings). Bulk quantities of
pregnant leach solution will be purified before separating the
manganese as solid manganese carbonate and further processing the
spent solution to recover a saleable byproduct sodium sulphate.
Arrangements have been made with contractors to provide
expertise in such areas as liquid-solid separation, crystallization
and nano-filtration which are key unit operations included in the
proprietary technology.
Electrowinning to produce high purity manganese metal will be
done using the purified manganese carbonate, initially dissolving
it in sulphuric acid but thereafter recycling the spent anolyte to
consume the sulphuric acid generated in electrolysis. As this work
progresses recycle streams can be evaluated to determine and
monitor impurity build up as it occurs. Some manganese carbonate
will be used to produce high purity electrolytic manganese dioxide
(EMD) which is to be evaluated for use in lithium manganese oxide
batteries. Bulk samples of waste solids will be set aside for basic
environmental work.
Wardrop, A Tetra-Tech Company (Wardrop), has been commissioned
to put together the pre-feasibility evaluation report. They are
working in conjunction with Kemetco who has total responsibility
and authority for the pilot plant work under the direction of Dr.
Gie Tan. Pilot plant work is expected to be completed with results
available for Wardrop's pre-feasibility report scheduled for
October, 2011.
About Kemetco Research Inc.
Kemetco Research Inc. is a privately owned contract research and
development company specializing in extractive metallurgy, chemical
processing and specialty chemical analysis. It was formed after the
acquisition of the industrial process division of B.C. Research;
which had been in operation for over 60 years as a research and
development contractor in British Columbia.
About Wardrop, A Tetra Tech Company
Tetra Tech is a leading provider of consulting, engineering,
program management, construction and technical services. The
company has more than 12,000 employees worldwide and capabilities
that span the entire project life cycle. The company has more than
330 offices worldwide, including locations in Arizona and Nevada in
close proximity to the Artillery Peak project.
Wardrop is a multi-disciplined consulting and engineering firm
that provides innovative solutions for the natural resource
management, energy and infrastructure markets globally. Wardrop has
been servicing the mining industry for more than 40 years and has
established a reputation for successfully executing NI 43-101
compliant feasibility studies that meet the scrutiny of the
international financing community.
About Manganese
China controls electrolytic manganese production (EMM) supplying
and producing 98.44% of the world's needs (3.0 billion pounds per
year).
There is no substitute for manganese in steel (total manganese
market greater than 31 billion pounds per year, fourth largest
traded metal).
Manganese is the most critical metal at risk to supply and
restriction in the United States as there is no US production.
EMM's greatest uses are the upgrading of specialty steel (47%), and
the manufacture of aluminum alloys (32%) and electronics (14%).
Electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) for the battery industry is
expected to be the fastest growing segment of the manganese
market.
China has a 20% export duty on EMM and the US has a 14% import
duty; (US Price $1.81/lb) the current world price for Electrolytic
Manganese Metal is about $1.54/lb. Manganese resources are
declining in China especially carbonate ores for production of EMM,
forcing Chinese companies to seek production offshore.
China is currently shutting down production of EMM in several
provinces for environmental reasons.
China production of EMM predicted to fall 500 - 700,000 T's out
of 1.4 million T's in next 3 - 5 years.
About American Manganese Inc.:
American Manganese Inc. is a diversified specialty and critical
metal Company focusing on potentially becoming the lowest cost
producer of electrolytic manganese from its Arizona Manganese
Project. The Company is well financed ($7 million) to execute its
contemplated work programs.
This release has been reviewed by John W. Fisher, P. Eng., a
qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101.
On behalf of Management
AMERICAN MANGANESE INC.
Larry W. Reaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer
This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking
Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other
than statements of historical fact, included herein are
forward-looking statements that involve various risks and
uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will
prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Important factors that could cause actual results to differ
materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the
Company's documents filed from time to time with the TSX-Venture
Exchange, the British Columbia Securities Commission and the US
Securities and Exchange Commission.
The TSX-Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts: American Manganese Inc. Larry W. Reaugh 604-531-9639
604-531-9634 (FAX) www.americanmanganeseinc.com
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