American Manganese Inc.: Artillery Peak Manganese Project Review and Future Plans
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA -- (Marketwire) -- 01/15/13 -- Larry W. Reaugh, Chief Executive Officer of American Manganese Inc. ("American Manganese" or the "Company") (TSX VENTURE: AMY)(PINKSHEETS: AMYZF)(FRANKFURT: 2AM), reports on American Manganese's 2011 and 2012 programs and managements plans relating to future development of the Artillery Peak Project.
Future Plan
Since the pre-feasibility study management has been studying ways to maximize their resources at Artillery Peak as follows:
a. Address the opportunities to reduce capital expenses (capex) and
operating expenses (opex) which include production of electrolytic
manganese dioxide (EMD) or chemical manganese dioxide (CMD). Only 60% of
manganese metal is used to produce an equivalent amount of EMD or CMD to
EMM (100%) significantly reducing the footprint and positively affect
the capex and opex. Production of CMD eliminates the requirement for
electrolytic cells.
b. The Company has identified areas to explore where the potential to
increase the manganese grades exists such as:
-- Wildcat drill hole AP-11-133 was drilled in the upper Shannon located 4
km west of manganese mesa and returned 7.62 meters grading 7.39% Mn.
-- Wildcat diamond drill hole #ADH-25 was drilled 1.6 km south and east of
Loves Mine and returned 24.39 meters of 4.34% Mn.
The Company will evaluate these targets which have the potential to host
higher grades thereby possibly further reducing the overall foot print
of the mill site and mining operations. Other areas on the property like
the Maggie Canyon also host the potential for higher grades of
manganese.
-- Focus on the criticality of manganese to the U.S. Government and various
potential end users.
-- Continue the dialogue with potential off-takers that have shown an
interest in the manganese metal and dioxide market.
-- The elimination of the electrolytic cells by focussing on research and
development of CMD could reduce the electrical requirements by up to 75-
80%.
-- Reducing the amount of production (25 - 40,000 Ts/year) of manganese
dioxide product potentially reducing capex for mining and processing.
-- American Manganese's cost of production is one of the lowest in the
world.
Review
1. 10,607 meters (34,800 ft) of reverse circulation drilling in 84 holes
(2011 program) was completed in the North Chapin, Lakes/MacGregor area
resulting in the following Ni43-101 resource at a 1.0% Mn cut-off:
------------------------------------------------------
Average Contained
Resource (T) Grade Mn% Mn Metal (T)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indicated 62,201,000 2.3% 1,445,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inferred 20,033,000 2.5% 506,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Previous drilling and Ni-43-101 resource studies identified additional reported resources on the Maggie Mine/Shannon Mine/Loves/Hurley/Planche/South Chapin/Burro/Price and Priceless zones at a 0.9% Mn cut-off as follows:
------------------------------------------------------
Average Contained
Resource (T) Grade Mn% Mn Metal (T)
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Indicated 145,575,196 2.98% 4,279,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Inferred 54,700,239 2.83% 1,547,000
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Company has drilled 18,160 meters (59,565 ft) in 154 holes since 2008.
2. On September 27, 2011 Kemetco completed the successful pilot plant
operation on Artillery Peak materials. Initial results of the leach and
solid/liquid separation pilot tests were excellent; for instance rates
of extraction of 92.7% manganese recovered was achieved from coarse feed
material (minus 6.35mm) in 2 hours. Initial expectation of the pilot
plant was to process 3 to 5 kg of resource material per hour. In the
continuous pilot plant run, the average processing rate was 20.8 kg per
hour, which greatly exceeded expectation. Success of the pilot plant
operation has removed a significant amount of technical risk from the
flow sheet.
3. On May 24, 2011, the Tucson, Arizona office of Tetra Tech was awarded
the contract to provide environmental and consulting services to the
Company on their Artillery Peak Project.
4. On December 6, 2011, the Company received a detailed positive manganese
market forecast study from CPM Group. Executive summary may be found on
the website.
5. March 14, 2012, the Company announced the publication of their advanced
process patent application. The Company is addressing minor deficiencies
received from the U.S. Patent Office and expects approval in the first
quarter 2013.
6. On August 27, 2012, the Company filed an Amended Pre-feasibility Study
at the request of the British Columbia Securities Commission in which
the base case was amended to the 3 years trailing average. The project
was deemed to be uneconomic as a producer of electrolytic manganese
metal (EMM). The production of electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) or
chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) introduces a different set of dynamics
to the project. All of the pilot plant testing, environmental studies
and pre-feasibility may be incorporated into new studies for CMD or EMD.
7. October 12, 2012, the Company's contractor, Kemetco Research Inc.
successfully produced rechargeable lithium ion batteries from CMD
produced from the Company's Artillery Peak pilot plant test. This is a
major breakthrough. Future testing by Kemetco will focus on a high
purity product for the battery industry.
About American Manganese Inc.
American Manganese Inc. is a diversified specialty and critical metal Company focusing on potentially becoming a producer of high purity EMD and CMD for the battery industry.
This release has been reviewed by John W. Fisher, PEng, a qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101.
On behalf of Management
AMERICAN MANGANESE INC.
Larry W. Reaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer
This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are disclosed in the Company's documents filed from time to time with the TSX-Venture Exchange, the British Columbia Securities Commission and the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
The TSX-Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Contacts:
American Manganese Inc.
Larry W. Reaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer
604-531-9639
American Manganese Inc.
Connie Fischer
Investor Relations
604-531-9639 ext. 110
connieir@amymn.com or info@amymn.com
www.americanmanganeseinc.com