Element 25 Receives $32.5m From NAIF to Expand Australian Manganese Project

Australian mining company Element 25 has obtained a senior debt finance facility of up to A$50 million ($32.5 million) from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF), a Commonwealth Government financier, to expand its wholly owned Butcherbird manganese project in Western Australia. The funding comprises A$42.5 million in senior debt and a A$7.5 million cost overrun facility, enabling the project to increase its production capacity to 1.1 million tonnes per annum of manganese oxide concentrate.

Element 25 has secured all necessary approvals for the Butcherbird expansion.

The expansion will supply feedstock to Element 25’s planned high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) processing facility in Louisiana, USA, and meet demand from other customers. A January 2025 feasibility study estimated the expansion’s capital cost at A$64.8 million, projecting a pre-tax net present value of A$561 million, a 96% pre-tax internal rate of return, and an average annual cash flow of A$70.5 million over a mine life exceeding 18 years.

Justin Brown, Element 25’s managing director, stated: “Securing this support from the Federal Government’s Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility reaffirms the government’s commitment to developing Australia’s critical minerals sector and Butcherbird’s economic importance to Australia and the Pilbara region of WA. Our feasibility studies have confirmed Butcherbird’s pedigree as a long-life manganese concentrate production hub from its 274 million tonne resource, which is integral to our plans for HPMSM in the USA as well as potentially other locations around the world.”

The NAIF funding complements a $166 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy for the Louisiana facility and $115 million from offtake partners General Motors and Stellantis. Element 25’s HPMSM production technology for lithium-ion batteries is designed for low energy use and minimal waste. The company has secured all necessary approvals for the Butcherbird expansion, including final statutory approval from the Western Australia Department of Water and Environmental Regulation in March 2025 and additional approvals from the Department of Energy, Mines, Industry Regulation and Safety in January 2025.

Element 25 is finalizing additional financing through various funding groups, equity providers, and commercial contracts to complete the project’s funding requirements. The Butcherbird expansion team is following a detailed plan to deliver the project by 2026, supporting global demand for critical minerals in the energy transition.