Euro Manganese awards Wood contract
Euro Manganese and Wood’s unique mineral project is critical to the necessary energy transition
Euro Manganese has awarded a major contract to Wood, the global consulting and engineering company. Consequently, it will work to deliver a unique mineral project critical to the energy transition. The company’s projects business unit will deliver this cost-reimbursable contract, in line with its end market growth strategy.
Wood will deliver front end engineering and design (FEED) and EPCm solutions for Europe’s largest proposed high-purity manganese processing facility. Once completed, this will be as part of the Chvaletice Manganese Project, in the Czech Republic.
This unique and innovative project involves the processing of historic mine tailings to extract manganese deposits from a decommissioned mine. Unfortunately, these tailings are usually discarded as a waste product.
Most lithium-ion batteries contain manganese
More recently, the European Commission has actually included it on its list of critical minerals. Furthermore, the only significant identified source of manganese in the European Union is the Chvaletice site. Over the next ten years, there is a projected increase of eight times the demand for manganese. As a result of the dramatic uptake in electric vehicle adoption making the need for sustainable mining solutions critical.
Ken Gilmartin, CEO at Wood, said:
“This project holds real significance for Wood as we continue to lead the development of critical mineral projects to support the energy transition. We have the mineral project capability and specialist expertise in advanced hydrometallurgy to successfully deliver this innovative project. This kind of project perfectly demonstrates out passion to design a sustainable future for energy and materials.”
Dr. Matthew James, President & CEO of Euro Manganese, added:
“Awarding the EPCm contract to Wood is the result of an extensive and robust selection process and I am very pleased to be partnering with such a high caliber engineering firm. We look forward to building a world-class facility to produce high-purity manganese, an essential component in most lithium-ion batteries. Together, we are working to advance the global energy transition.”