Business View Magazine | June 2020

75 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE JUNE 2020 with a modest capital requirement. The outstanding economics and low capital hurdle will allow the company to develop the project in a shorter timeframe than would have otherwise been possible. This is envisaged as the first stage of a staged ramp up for the project and has the advantage of potentially providing early cashflow to strengthen the company’s balance sheet and assist in funding of the larger high purity manganese production hub which is the subject of a parallel, complimentary work stream. The Project straddles the Great Northern Highway and the Goldfields Gas Pipeline providing turnkey logistics and energy solutions. The company is also intending to integrate renewable energy into the power solution to minimise the carbon intensity of the project, as well as reducing energy costs. A cleaner, lower carbon flowsheet and high penetration renewable energy will place Butcherbird at the forefront of sustainable metal production. Business View Oceania recently spoke with Justin Brown, Managing Director of Element 25, about the company’s history, the exciting investment potential of the Butcherbird Project, and his insights into the manganese industry from a global environmental perspective. The following is an edited transcript of our conversation. BVO: What is the background story on Element 25? Brown: “The company started life as Montezuma Mining Company and we were listed on the Australian Securities Exchange in 2006. Subsequent to that we have held properties, mostly in Western Australia, that were prospective for copper, nickel, iron ore, gold, and of course manganese. Our exploration programmes took us through various projects looking for the one that would underpin a commercial development, which is the Holy Grail for mineral explorers. “In 2009 we discovered the Butcherbird deposit ELEMENT 25 L IMI TED