Larry W. Reaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Manganese Inc. (“American Manganese” or the “Company”), (TSX.V: AMY; Pink Sheets: AMYZF; Frankfurt: 2AM), is pleased to respond to inquiries regarding process tailing storage from the Company’s proposed manganese recovery process at Artillery Peak situated in northwestern Arizona. “The waste management approach we have taken for the Artillery Peak Project minimizes the potential for the uncontrolled release of contaminants into the environment during all of the project stages, as well as minimizing the demand for fresh water for mineral processing,” says Mr. Reaugh. “Minimizing the environmental foot print of the proposed project makes good sense.” The company’s patented manganese recovery process is a technical break-through as it enables the recovery of manganese from a low grade resource with significantly less energy and environmental impact than conventional processing methods. The U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) developed the frame work of the process from the 1940’s to 1980 but was never able to make it economically viable. Kemetco Research Inc. successfully completed the process to demonstrate it can compete with other electrolytic manganese metal (EMM), electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD), and chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) producers in the lower cost percentile. High purity manganese dioxide is combined with lithium carbonate to form the cathode material used in the “spinel” type high tech lithium ion rechargeable battery. The hydrometallurgical process developed by the Company is capable of producing high purity electrolytic manganese dioxide (EMD) and chemical manganese dioxide (CMD) critical for improving performance and safety of high tech lithium ion batteries. The process tailing is subjected to 8 stages of counter current washing prior to high pressure filtration that yield a benign filter cake and re-usable process water. The moisture content of the filter cake is expected to be in the order of 30%, which makes it suitable for dry stacking and co-disposal with waste rock from the proposed open pit mine. The proposed open pit mine was designed and scheduled so as to provide on-going and final storage of the waste rock and process tailings within limits of the excavation. Water coming in contact with the combined waste residue or within the excavation would be collected and used in the hydrometallurgical treatment process. Uncontaminated surface water would be diverted around the proposed mine workings and treatment facilities and discharged into the existing water courses. About American Manganese Inc. American Manganese Inc. is a diversified specialty and critical metal Company focusing on potentially becoming the lowest cost producer of electrolytic manganese products from its Arizona Manganese Project. About Kemetco Research Inc. Kemetco Research Inc. is a privately owned contract research and development company specializing in extractive metallurgy, chemical processing and specialty chemical analysis. It was formed after the acquisition of the industrial process division of B.C. Research; which had been in operation for over 60 years as a research and development contractor in British Columbia. This release has been reviewed by Michael MacLeod, P. Eng., a qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101. On behalf of Management AMERICAN MANGANESE INC. Larry W. Reaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer Information Contacts: Larry W. Reaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer
604-531-9639 Email: lreaugh@amymn.com |