Overview
ChemX Materials (ASX:CMX) is an Australia based high-purity critical materials business. The company is driven by its vision to support the energy transition by providing the critical materials required to achieve real solutions that lower carbon emissions. ChemX’s goals are achieved with a dual-focus approach involving its High Purity Manganese (HPM) project and its HiPurA® High-Purity Alumina (HPA) project. The company is also focused on maintaining a strong ESG framework over the development of its projects.
The electric vehicle (EV) revolution is well underway, but many investors aren’t necessarily paying attention to all the metals involved. Lithium, cobalt and nickel are well-known for their roles in EVs, but manganese remains a forgotten metal. High-purity manganese (HPM) is a critical part of the battery cathode chemistry for lithium-ion batteries found in EVs. It adds substantial stability and energy density to the battery.
As manganese is also a key ingredient in steel making, which continues to drive demand, only less than 2 percent of global manganese production is converted into the high-purity manganese for lithium batteries. A key bottleneck in the supply chain is the lack of processing infrastructure needed for the purification process. This creates the opportunity for ChemX operating in Australia, with its low sovereign risk, skilled workforce and first-class infrastructure, to supply this rapidly growing market.
In early 2023, ChemX completed a drilling campaign at its manganese deposit located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. The campaign consisted of 6,164 meters of reverse circulation drilling (RC), designed to infill the drill spacing over the northernmost 2-kilometer strike of the Jamieson Tank Manganese deposit for the purpose of estimating a maiden mineral resource. ChemX accelerated the development program of the manganese assets in response to changing market dynamics generated by the United States Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and the changing lithium-ion battery chemistries, which requires increasing amounts of manganese to promote energy density, battery stability and lower costs.
In addition to the Jamieson Tank project, ChemX has identified further manganese prospects at Bunora West, Hodgins, Windyzell, Francis and Polinga. These prospects have not been adequately explored and offer future discovery potential and feed options for the proposed high-purity manganese sulphate production plant.
Figure 1. ChemX Manganese Deposit Eyre Peninsula South Australia.
ChemX expects to receive drilling assay results throughout FY Q3 2023, which will be used to estimate its maiden mineral resource. At the same time, ChemX is also advancing its beneficiation and high-purity manganese flow sheet metallurgical studies.
The company has embarked on a number of agreements to solidify its position as a future global supplier of battery-grade manganese. The first is a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with C4V, a leading global lithium-ion battery technology company, to enter the qualification process towards an offtake agreement. ChemX also has an MOU with Pure Battery Technologies (PBT), to supply manganese to PBT’s planned battery material refinery hub in Kalgoorlie Western Australia.
In August 2023, ChemX received up to AU$6 million in financing package from Mercer Street Global Opportunity Fund, an existing institutional shareholder of the company. This recent financing is part of ChemX’s strategy to secure key investment capital from leading US institutions to advance the company’s projects in high-purity materials essential for the global energy transition.
An experienced management team leads ChemX, including: Mark Tory, chief executive officer, who brings vast experience in project development; Stephen Strubel, executive director, with 20 years of experience across financial markets, mining exploration and corporate governance; Peter Lee, chief operating officer, a chemical engineer with over 20 years of operational and project development experience; and David Leavy, marketing and strategy, with 30 years of experience in finance, corporate management and product/commodity marketing. Board chair Warrick Hazeldine has 20 years of experience in capital markets and strategic communications. The management team is rounded out by experts in metallurgy and chemical engineering.
Company Highlights
- ChemX Materials is an Australia-based high-purity critical materials business.
- Rapidly advancing an integrated battery-grade manganese mining and processing project at its 100-percent-owned manganese project on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia
- The company has developed the HiPurA® HPA process, a novel, innovative process for producing high-purity alumina used in the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries. Testwork has indicated its process is a low-cost and low-energy alternative to conventional processes.
- The HiPurA® HPA process is not tied to a mining operation, allowing ChemX to build production facilities close to the end-users.
- An experienced management team leads the company towards its goals of supporting the world’s transition to clean energy.
Key Project
High Purity Alumina (HPA)
ChemX’s HPA process was developed in-house and can produce HPA and high-purity aluminum cathode precursor salts for use in lithium-ion batteries, LEDs and semiconductors. Initial testwork indicates that the novel process is low-cost and low in energy consumption compared to traditional technologies. Additionally, ChemX’s process is not tied to mine production allowing production to be developed close to the end users. A pre-feasibility study for HiPurA® HPA was completed in August 2022, which provided the green light for the project to advance towards pilot plant design and the commissioning of the integrated HPA facility in Perth.
Throughout 2023, ChemX will be operating an HPA micro plant to produce HPA samples, refine the flow sheet, collect data and de-risk the pilot plant construction, which was the subject of the pre-feasibility study. The detailed design phase of the pilot plant is now underway.
Figure 2 – HPA Coating in Lithium-Ion Battery Separators.
The ChemX Materials HPA process is a significant development in the HPA market with a vastly simplified flow sheet allowing for operation to start at small scales of circa 2,000 tons per annum (tpa) and scale up with demand growth, providing lower capital costs, less energy and re-agents usage than the US Bureau of Mines’ (USBM) Kaolin to HPA Process. Smaller scale plant operation would allow for co-location of production facilities within gigafactories or separator manufacturers. The HPA market is highly specialized with requirements for varying particle sizes and morphology, which smaller scale operations can effectively target allowing ChemX to gain a foothold in the market and establish credentials before scaling up operations.
Figure 3. ChemX HiPura HPA Flowsheet
Management Team
Peter Lee – Chief Executive Officer
Peter Lee is a chemical engineer, who has more than 20 years’ experience working in several large mining companies, across Australia and Canada. Having commenced his career with Mount Isa Mines (MIM), then Rio Tinto (Queensland Alumina Ltd and Gove Alumina), his last role was executive process-mechanical, with WSP Golder. In this role, Lee led multi-disciplinary teams in domestic and international mining, metals and chemical industry related process design, evaluation and optimization studies.Lee received honors in a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering (UNSW) and has completed a Master of Business Administration (CQU). Along with technical experience and qualifications, Lee also brings strong leadership and management skills with significant knowledge and networks within the mining industry.
Stephen Strubel – Executive Director
Stephen Strubel has 20 years of experience across financial markets, mining exploration and corporate governance and statutory financial reporting. Strubel is one of the founders of ChemX Materials and is responsible for corporate affairs and corporate development.
Warrick Hazeldine – Non-executive Chair
Warrick Hazeldine has more than 20 years of experience across capital markets and strategic communications. He was the co-founder of advisory firm Cannings Purple. He is the non-executive chair of Global Lithium Exploration Ltd (ASX:GL1) and a director of Surfing WA.
Alwyn Vorster – Non-executive Director
Alwyn Vorster is a mining executive with 30 years of experience in the Australian, African and Asian minerals industry across a range of commodities including iron ore, coal, mineral sands, graphite, salt, potash and various other industrial minerals. He has a proven track record of delivery in exploration, project development and approvals, infrastructure access, project transactions, and company mergers and acquisitions – all underpinned by strong operational leadership, financial discipline and technical and commercial capability
Tara Berrie – Non-executive Director
Tar Berrie is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in the mining, chemical, and construction materials industries, specializing in the battery materials sector for the past seven years. Berrie is currently the senior group manager (battery metals) at Rivian Automotive, an American electric vehicle manufacturer and automotive technology company founded in 2009.
David Leavy – Marketing and Strategy
David Leavy has over 30 years of experience in the finance, mining and refining markets, including over five years focused on high-purity alumina marketing and production technologies. He is responsible for developing the necessary relationships in the lithium battery and HPA supply chains to ensure the successful development of ChemX’s projects
Dr Nicholas Welham – Technical Consultant
Dr Nicholas Welham has over 30 years of experience in minerals processing. He was an adjunct professor of lithium processing at the WA School of Mines and principal of boutique hydrometallurgical consultancy Welham Consulting. He has 50 patents granted and holds a PhD in minerals engineering from the Royal School of Mines, Imperial College London. He is responsible for developing ChemX’s innovative process to produce HPA.
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