The water-based, closed-loop process was validated at bench scale at UBC, replacing acid leaching and smelting entirely.
Green Manganese has completed bench-scale validation of its extraction process at the University of British Columbia. The process uses water and chlorides in a closed loop, replacing sulphuric acid leaching and the smelting step that follows it.
Conventional production loses 40 to 50 percent of the recoverable manganese, consumes 5,000 to 7,000 kWh per tonne, and leaves 8 to 12 tonnes of hazardous waste per tonne of metal. The company’s process recovers up to 95 percent at around 1,000 kWh per tonne, with no hazardous tailings and roughly 80 percent lower CO₂.
The team behind the work brings four decades of combined experience in manganese hydrometallurgy and steelmaking.