Chvaletice Manganese Project Moves to Next Stage of Permitting Process

Project reaches important regulatory milestone with conclusion of initial screening procedure

Highlights:

• The Czech Republic’s Ministry of the Environment has completed its initial screening procedure for the Chvaletice Manganese Project’s preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
   
• Euro Manganese can now move forward to the next stages of the permitting process. Public and regulatory feedback from the screening procedure will be incorporated into the Final Environmental Impact Assessment, which is targeted for completion in December 2021.
   
• A definitive feasibility study for the project is well underway and is also targeted for completion by the end of the year.
   
• Procurement and fabrication of the Project’s Demonstration Plant is on schedule, with delivery to the Chvaletice site expected in the summer of 2021.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 14, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Euro Manganese Inc. (TSX-V/ASX: EMN) (the "Company" or "EMN") is pleased to announce the conclusion of a six-month screening of its preliminary Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) conducted by the Czech Ministry of the Environment (the "Ministry”) for the Company’s Chvaletice Manganese Project. The Project is intended to recycle waste from a decommissioned mine in the Czech Republic to produce ultra-high-purity manganese products, principally for electric vehicle batteries. 

Based on the official notification received from the Ministry, EMN can now move to the next stages of the permitting process for the Project. The Company considers the conclusion of the screening procedure to be an important regulatory milestone, generating valuable stakeholder input that will be addressed in the final design and planning phases of the Project.

Key stakeholders were invited by the Ministry to respond to an EIA Notification & Project Description submitted by EMN in the summer of 2020. Input was received from various government bodies, public agencies and regional and local authorities, as well as community members. The main stakeholder concerns relate to the management of increased vehicle traffic and noise, potential impacts to air and water quality, and the preservation of sight lines to a nearby historic site.  

"We are pleased with the outcome of this important step in the Chvaletice Manganese Project’s permitting process,” says Euro Manganese CEO, Marco Romero. "We appreciate all the thoughtful input we have received from our stakeholders, and we are confident that we will be able to successfully address their concerns in our detailed plans. Following more than four years of environmental baseline and impact studies, process design and engineering, we purposely provided much more detailed information to the public and regulators about our Project than is normally required at this stage of the permitting process. I am grateful that we were provided with such useful feedback.”

Romero credits the Project team based in the Czech Republic for paying great attention to detail, and for actively engaging local authorities and community members early and frequently in the planning process. "The Ministry’s screening procedure was open to the public. The fact that only two submissions from individuals were received speaks volumes to the thoroughness and professionalism of our team’s consultations, the high standards we have applied to the Project design and to the willingness of local residents to positively engage with us.”

A definitive feasibility study for the Chvaletice Manganese Project is currently underway and targeted for completion by the end of 2021. Work on the Final Environmental Impact Assessment, which will address the stakeholder and regulatory agency inputs received, is scheduled to begin in mid-2021 and is also expected to be completed by the end of the year.  

In the meantime, procurement and fabrication of the Project’s Demonstration Plant remains on schedule, with delivery to the Project site expected in July 2021.  The Demonstration Plant will provide high purity manganese materials for supply chain qualification by EMN’s potential customers. 

Selected past EMN news releases for further background:

• Filing of EIA Notification: https://www.mn25.ca/post/euro-manganese-to-file-chvaletice-manganese-projectenvironmental-impact-assessment-notification
• Ordering of the Demonstration Plant: https://www.mn25.ca/post/euro-manganese-nr-2020-30

About Euro Manganese Inc.

Euro Manganese Inc. is a Canadian waste recycling company, whose principal focus is advancing the evaluation and development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project, in which it holds a 100% interest.  The proposed Project entails re-processing a significant manganese deposit hosted in historic mine tailings from a decommissioned mine, strategically located in the Czech Republic. EMN’s goal is to become a leading, competitive and environmentally superior primary producer of Ultra-High-Purity Manganese Products in the heart of Europe, serving both the lithium-ion battery industry, as well as producers of specialty steel and aluminum alloys.

Authorized for release by the CEO of Euro Manganese Inc.

E-mail: info@mn25.ca Website: www.mn25.ca

Company address:
1500 – 1040 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada V6E 4H8

Forward Looking Statements

Certain statements in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements” or "forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company or the Project to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or information. Such statements can be identified by the use of words such as "may”, "would”, "could”, "will”, "intend”, "expect”, "believe”, "plan”, "anticipate”, "estimate”, "scheduled”, "forecast”, "predict” and other similar terminology, or state that certain actions, events or results "may”, "could”, "would”, "might” or "will” be taken, occur or be achieved.

Such forward-looking information or statements relate to future events or future performance about the Company and its business and operations, which include, among other things, statements with respect to the continued development of the Chvaletice Manganese Project, statements regrading the regulatory/permitting progress at the Project, the completion and timing of the definitive feasibility study, the completion and timing of Final Environmental Impact Assessment, and the timing of the delivery and operation of the Demonstration Plant.

Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information or statements. Forward-looking statements and information involve significant risks and uncertainties, should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results and will not necessarily be accurate indicators of whether or not such results will be achieved. A number of factors could cause actual results to differ materially from the results discussed in the forward-looking statements or information, including, but not limited to, the factors discussed under "Risks Notice” and elsewhere in the Company’s MD&A for the year ended September 30, 2020 and its most recent Annual Information Form.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Subject to applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this news release.

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