Advanced manganese developer Firebird Metals Limited (ASX: FRB) has achieved another major milestone for its LMFP Battery Strategy, through the completion of an agreement for industrial land with Jinshi local government for the company’s battery grade manganese sulphate plant.
The agreement covers land allocation, tax incentive structures, land rebates for the plant and options for future plant expansions.
We are extremely pleased to be making rapid progress on our LMFP battery strategy, as we remain well on schedule with our strategic objective of growing into a near-term producer of high-purity manganese sulphate for the battery market,” Managing Director Peter Allen said.
“The completion of the land agreement and establishment of a pilot plant in the Jinshi area brings substantial value to the Company, as we gain access and exposure to some of the world’s largest EV battery manufacturers and investors in LMFP batteries. The location of our battery grade manganese sulphate plant in Hunan also places Firebird at the epicentre of manganese sulphate demand in China.
“We expect our R&D and pilot plant to be operational by Q1 2024 and once complete, we will look to commence key pre-qualification activities with cathode producers. Importantly, our on-the-ground activities will be managed and led by an experienced in-country team headed by Mr Zhou, COO of our Chinese subsidiary, Hunan Firebird Battery Technology Co Ltd.
“We look forward to sharing updates on further strategic milestones, including the results of the manganese sulphate PFS expected in Q1 next year.”
Firebird considered various facets of the LMFP battery strategy and visited several sites when determining the right location for the sulphate plant. Key factors for site location included availability of sulphuric acid, steam, key reagents, and proximity to customers, transportation routes and factory residue consumers.
Hunan is a leading battery metals region, a major Chinese hub for existing and planned cathode and cell capacity and provides Firebird with direct access to rapidly growing gigafactory development. Due to these key competitive advantages, along with the key location criteria mentioned above being met, the Company selected the land available within the Hunan region as the location for its sulphate plant.
Jinshi City is situated in the north of Hunan Province and located approximately 237km from
Changsha the capital of Hunan.