ChemX Materials Ltd (ASX:CMX) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Pure Battery Technologies (PBT) which could lead to ChemX supplying suitable manganese to PBT’s proposed battery material refinery hub in Kalgoorlie.
PBT is pursuing the development of a battery cathode active material refinery hub in Kalgoorlie after being granted A$119.6 million in the Modern Manufacturing Initiative from the Australian Federal Government.
Under the MOU, which is non-exclusive for either party, ChemX and PBT will progress studies and associated works to enable ChemX to supply a suitable manganese product to PBT’s Kalgoorlie battery hub, from the Company’s High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HPMSM) Project located on the Eyre Peninsula in South Australia.
The MOU will be mutually beneficial for PBT and ChemX as they execute their respective strategies in complementary segments across the lithium battery value chain,” ChemX Managing Director David Leavy said,
“Our 100 per cent-owned South Australian Jamieson Tank Manganese Project shall now focus on further exploratory drilling and manganese testwork for production of HPMSM, which is particularly suitable for the lithium battery cathode precursor market.”
Pure Battery Technologies (PBT)
Pure Battery Technologies Pty Ltd (PBT) was established in 2017 and is headquartered in Queensland. PBT commercialised and patented the Selective Acid Leaching (SAL) process. The SAL process was developed by the University of Queensland and has been commercially proven to produce high-quality, more affordable nickel and cobalt battery materials with a lower environmental footprint. PBT currently utilises Mixed Hydroxide Precipitate (MHP) to produce nickel and cobalt materials for Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIB).