Bryah is retaining its interest in the Bryah Basin Manganese Joint Venture after an acquisition offer fell over, but the company is happy to retain the project.

And it is not hard to see why.

Manganese has received a lot of love recently as the industrial metal, which is typically used in the manufacture of steel, is increasingly being seen as a low-cost solution for the manufacture of batteries for the growing electric vehicle sector.

This has been sparked in large part by Tesla’s introduction of a new battery with a cathode that is 33 per cent manganese.

Bryah Resources (ASX:BYH) adds that global manganese ore demand is forecast to have a 3.5% compound annual growth rate for the period to 2025.

Partner OM Holdings (ASX:OMH) has already funded $2.35m worth of exploration to earn a 30 per cent stake in the manganese JV and plans to spend a further $650,000 in the second and third quarters to increase its interest to 51 per cent.

OMH is also involved with the nearby Butcherbird Project, located just 160km north-east of the Bryah ground, where Element 25 (ASX:E25) are in their plant construction phase.

The JV recently completed a diamond core drilling program ahead of the completion of resource estimates for the Horseshoe South, Brumby Creek and Black Hill prospects.

Assay results are currently pending.

Acquisition bid withdrawn

The now-withdrawn $5m offer was made by Primero Group (ASX:PGX) and specialist natural resources investor AMCI Group.

While Bryah had flagged at that time that the funds will help it focus more aggressively on its copper-gold projects, it noted today that outstanding conditions have not been met to date and were not expected to be achieved by the completion deadline of 7 April 2020.

This led to the offer being withdrawn, though the company retains the right to transfer its interest to a third party for a price of at least $5m to the due date.

 

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Bryah Resources, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

 

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.