General Motors Co. and Element 25 Limited announced an agreement for Element 25 to supply up to 32,500 metric tons of manganese sulfate annually to support the annual production of more than 1 million GM EVs in North America. Under the agreement, GM will provide Element 25 with a USD 85 million loan to partially fund the construction of a new facility in the state of Louisiana for production of battery-grade manganese sulfate -- a key component in lithium-ion battery cathodes -- starting in 2025.

Element 25 will produce manganese sulfate at the facility by processing manganese concentrate from its mining operations in Australia. It is expected to be the first facility of its kind in the United States. Element 25 expects to invest approximately USD 290 million2 to build a 230,000-square-foot facility.

Site preparation is planned to begin in the third quarter of 2023 and the plant is scheduled to open in 2025. The facility is projected to create around 200 permanent jobs when it is fully operational. GM continues to strengthen its domestic supply base for EV production.

In addition to manganese sulfate, GM has announced direct investments in lithium, nickel and other commodities, as well as cathode active material (CAM) and CAM precursor. GM and its joint venture partners are installing 160GWh of battery cell manufacturing capacity in the U.S., and its suppliers are onshoring production of permanent magnets and other EV components to North America. To date, these initiatives are creating thousands of jobs in states and provinces including California, Louisiana, Nevada, Texas, Ohio, Michigan, Tennessee, Ontario and Quebec.

Element 25 is an ASX listed company operating the world class 100%-owned Butcherbird Manganese Project in Western Australia (Butcherbird), shipping high quality manganese oxide concentrate to partners in traditional steel related industries. Element 25 has developed an innovative, proprietary, low-cost flowsheet to convert Butcherbird manganese concentrate into battery grade high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) to supply the global EV industry. Manganese sulphate is a precursor for battery cathode active material and critical in Australia, Europe and the USA.

Element 25 aims to become an industry leading, world class, low-carbon battery3 materials manufacturer underpinned by the large, long life manganese resource at Butcherbird.