06:32:30 EDT Fri 29 Mar 2024
Enter Symbol
or Name
USA
CA



American Manganese Inc
Symbol AMY
Shares Issued 112,725,880
Close 2014-12-11 C$ 0.01
Market Cap C$ 1,127,259
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American Manganese to focus on three key properties

2014-12-12 12:25 ET - News Release

Mr. Larry Reaugh reports

COMPANY REVIEW AND THE STATE OF THE MARKETS

American Manganese Inc. has provided a review of the state of the markets during 2014 and the company going forward.

Since March, 2011, the TSX Venture Exchange Index has dropped 72 per cent (from 2,450 to less than 670) reaching the lowest level seen in the last 10 years. Since Sept. 1, 2014, the index has dropped by more than 35 per cent (from about 1,050 to less than 670). In November, 2008, copper was trading at $1.36 (U.S.) per pound, down 64 per cent from its high that year of $3.80 (U.S.) per pound; while gold was trading at $750 (U.S.) per ounce, down 25 per cent from its year high of $1,000 (U.S.) per ounce. Today, copper is trading at $2.95 (U.S.) per pound, down 34 per cent from its mid-2010 high of $4.50 (U.S.) per pound; while gold traded at $1,230 (U.S.) per ounce, down 35 per cent from its mid-2011 high of $1,900 (U.S.) per ounce.

The Canadian stock exchanges, especially the TSX-V, have been ground down to the point where most small-cap and microcap companies are having an extremely difficult time raising money for working capital necessary for sustaining day-to-day operations, let alone financing exploration and development work on their projects. Larry W. Reaugh, president and chief executive officer, said: "In my opinion, the drop in commodity prices and its negative effect on markets appear to have been amplified by high-frequency trading and the repeal in 2012 in Canada of the so-called uptick rule. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) repealed its uptick rule in 2007, but reinstated a modified version of the rule in early 2010, after public outcry about the negative effects of the repeal. The combined effects are very detrimental for finding investors willing to support companies trading on platforms such as the TSX Venture Exchange."

Mr. Reaugh went on to say: "The immediate goal of any company is to maintain its core assets while surviving through these difficult times. Company expectations, subject to ongoing geopolitical concerns, for commodity prices in 2015 are cautiously positive. Controls on high-frequency trading and reinstatement of the uptick rule are also desirable to bring investors back to the junior capital markets in Canada."

The company will continue to maintain its key properties: the Artillery Peak manganese property in Arizona; the Rocher DeBoule iron-oxide-copper-gold property; and the Lonnie niobium/rare earths properties in British Columbia. All other properties may be relinquished to conserve cash.

The following highlights point to a better year ahead for the company and its shareholders:

  1. American Manganese received patent No. 2013/01364 from the Republic of South Africa for its manganese recovery process. The invention is a technical breakthrough as it enables recovery of manganese from low-grade resources with significantly less energy and environmental impacts than conventional processing methods. Along with U.S. patent No. 8,460,621 B2 and the Chinese patent application (pending), the patents describe key details of how manganese can be recovered from low-grade resources via a robust process with low energy requirements, low water use and using a unique assembly of commercially available equipment. The hydrometallurgical extraction process developed by the company is not only capable of producing electrolytic manganese metal (EMM), but also high-purity electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) and/or chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) critical for improving performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries.
  2. Safety concerns about various lithium-ion battery chemistries have been front and centre in the news, especially regarding battery fires and explosions. The lithium-manganese battery chemistry is considered to be one of the safest.
  3. Tesla has commenced construction of its lithium-ion battery gigafactory sited near Reno, Nev. The gigafactory's capacity will double the amount of lithium-ion batteries available for installation in new electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid EVs in the next five years.

Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla, has said that Tesla will source battery materials mined domestically, sparking interest in potential North American producers. This could also spark competition among other EV manufacturers, increasing the overall demand for lithium-ion batteries; including lithium-manganese batteries currently used in the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf.

American Manganese is looking forward to better financial and commodity market conditions in the coming year.

We seek Safe Harbor.

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