Czech Industry Ministry seeks strategic deposit status for manganese reserves near Chvaletice

Manganese reserves near Chvaletice in the Pardubice region are likely to become a deposit of strategic importance. This is proposed by the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MPO), which says the site contains manganese of a quality from which products essential for most lithium-ion batteries can subsequently be produced. According to the ministry, a major increase in demand for this raw material can be expected in the future. This follows from an MPO document that is now undergoing the consultation process.

Ekonomický deník reported last week that this is already the second such proposal in a short period. At the end of last year, the ministry also proposed designating lithium in the Ore Mountains as a strategic deposit.

According to the document, the aim of the MPO proposal is to ensure the country’s raw materials security. Highly pure manganese products can be produced from the extracted manganese, the ministry said. “The term highly pure manganese refers to a group of highly refined products that are essential for most lithium-ion batteries,” the ministry said in the document. A deposit of strategic importance is one of exceptional importance for the country’s raw materials or energy security.

According to the ministry, manganese in the post-mining tailings heaps near Chvaletice is of so-called battery grade. The authority said the advantages of these deposits include the relatively homogeneous distribution of manganese and the fact that the raw material in the heaps has already been extracted, crushed and milled, eliminating environmental risks from potential mining work.

The ministry also highlighted its strategic role in the so-called green transition, which, according to the authority, is likely to increase demand for it exponentially in the coming decades.

“It is therefore in the interest of the Czech Republic and the European Union alike to create conditions for its extraction and processing in order to reduce dependence on supplies from third countries, also taking into account the fact that more than 95 percent of manganese suitable for batteries is currently imported from China,” the ministry noted in the report.

The MPO also expects the measure to bring financial benefits for public budgets, particularly through payments for extracted minerals and mining areas, as well as tax revenues. According to the authority’s calculations, annual revenues should exceed three billion Czech crowns, of which 1,96 billion Czech crowns a year will go to the state budget, while the remaining more than one billion Czech crowns will be shared by municipalities near the deposits and the Pardubice Region.

Mangan Chvaletice, a company owned by Canadian firm Euro Manganese, is preparing to use manganese from the deposits near Chvaletice. It plans to begin extraction and processing of the raw material at the turn of 2028 and 2029. Battery manufacturers are already testing the results of a verification operation that has been running for a year. The planned plant, whose project received a positive environmental impact assessment (EIA) last year, should produce 50.000 tonnes of manganese annually for 25 years. A test line is currently in operation.