The EO comes as the company works with the US Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute and the Oak Ridge National Lab in a program to optimize lithium-ion battery recycling recoveries
American Manganese Inc () (OTCPINK:AMYZF) (FRA:2AM) CEO Larry Reaugh said the company welcomes US President Joe Biden’s executive order (EO) directing the strengthening of critical supply chains, which specifies “high-capacity batteries, including electric-vehicle batteries”, as one of three key technology supply chains.
The company noted that the EO also identifies “critical minerals and other … strategic materials” as a fourth critical supply chain in its own right, building on Executive Order 13953 (September 2020), in which former US President Donald Trump declared a critical minerals “national emergency.”
Through its patented RecycLiCo EV battery recycling technology and its work for the US Department of Defense/Defense Logistics Agency investigating the production of Electrolytic Manganese Metal (EMM) from the Pentagon’s low-grade Wenden (Arizona) Stockpile, American Manganese is developing strategic sources for four US-listed critical minerals: lithium, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum.
READ: American Manganese prepares recycled cathode reactor products for independent analytical testing
“With so much partisan wrangling at present, it would be easy to overlook what is now an emerging consensus bridging both political parties and both the U.S. Congress and the Executive Branch that key tech sectors like EV Batteries — and the critical minerals needed to make them — are essential to a nation’s economy and security,” CEO Reaugh said in a statement Thursday.
Concerning EV-battery materials, in particular, the company said it is now working with the US Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute and the Oak Ridge National Lab in a program to optimize lithium-ion battery recycling recoveries.
American Manganese said its advanced and patented lithium-ion battery cathode recycling process RecycLiCo has achieved 99.7% extraction of lithium-ion battery material with its pilot plant project and is currently researching the production of cathode precursor material from battery scrap that could be directly integrated into the re-manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries.
The company has also received funding from the Canadian Federal Government’s National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program and has been awarded the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label for its RecycLiCo solution.
“The fact that AMY’s critical minerals work is receiving support from both the Canadian Government and from the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy underscores the confidence we have in our process and our projects,” Reaugh pointed out.
The EV market is expanding quickly, and both industry and governments are gearing up for an action plan to combat climate change. Automotive companies such as () announced that it wants to go fossil-fuel-free by 2035 while a growing list of countries including Norway, Denmark, Netherlands, and the UK plan to ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles as early as 2025.
Company’s role as a critical minerals supplier
The US is 100% import-dependent on manganese and there is no substitute for manganese in the production of steel. However, the company said its Artillery Peak property in Arizona contains significant resources of manganese, as confirmed in a 2012 pre-feasibility report.
Although the resources are low in grade, American Manganese noted it holds a US patent, which can potentially be utilized for the production of Electrolytic Manganese Metal and Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide from low-grade manganese material.
The formal US Government Critical Minerals List includes commonly used lithium-ion battery materials and American Manganese said it holds patents for recycling cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries with high purity and…