Mr. Larry Reaugh reports

AMERICAN MANGANESE RECEIVES CANADIAN PATENT FOR MANGANESE EXTRACTION PROCESS

American Manganese Inc. has received patent No. 2,808,627 from the Canadian Patent Office for the company's manganese recovery process, for which the company already holds patents in the United States, China and South Africa. The Canadian patent was applied for on Aug. 16, 2011.

The invention is a technical breakthrough which enables the recovery of manganese from a low-grade resource using significantly less energy and environmental impact than conventional processing methods. Kemetco Research Inc. successfully demonstrated the process can compete with other electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) and electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) producers in the lower percentile of costs for producers anywhere in the world, and has been a valued partner in adapting the company's manganese recovery process to recover nearly 100 per cent of the cathode materials from lithium-ion batteries.

The patent describes key details of how manganese can be recovered from a low-grade resource with the following key advantages:

• Low energy requirement;
• Low water use;
• Robust process with a unique assembly of commercially available equipment;
• High-purity manganese dioxide is combined with lithium carbonate to form the cathode material used in the spinel-type lithium-ion rechargeable battery.

The hydrometallurgical process developed by the company is capable of producing high-purity electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) and chemical manganese dioxide (CMD), both of which are critical for improving performance and safety of lithium-ion batteries. The invention bypasses steps known to introduce metallic impurities when producing these materials using conventional mining processes. Norman Chow, president of Kemetco Research, states: "Conventional mining processes used to produce manganese dioxide for lithium-ion batteries are known to contaminate cathode materials with metallic impurities. These impurities can cause internal short circuits after a number of charge/discharge cycles, which will bypass any protection circuits and unfortunately can lead to fires or explosions."

Manganese is one of three metals and minerals targeted by the company in its battery materials recovery process that is now on the U.S. government critical minerals list, due to its importance to the economy and national security. (Please see the company's May 31, 2018, news release -- American Manganese's battery materials recovery targets include three metals/minerals included on the U.S. government's newly published critical minerals list -- for further details.)

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