American manganese welcomes the inclusion of EV batteries in president Biden’s executive order strengthening critical supply chains

American Manganese is Developing Strategic Sources of Four U.S. Government-Listed Critical Minerals

Elevation of EV Battery Supply Chain Puts Spotlight on RecycLiCo’s Rapid Development

AMY’s Critical Mineral Work Has Support from Canadian Government Agency and Two Departments of the U.S. Government

Larry W. Reaugh, President and Chief Executive Officer of American Manganese (“AMY” or the “Company”), is pleased to comment on U.S. President Joe Biden’s Executive Order (EO) directing the strengthening of critical supply chains, which specifies “high-capacity batteries, including Electric Vehicle Batteries” as one of three key technology supply chains. The Biden Administration EO also identifies “critical minerals and other… strategic materials” as a fourth critical supply chain in its own right, building on Executive Order 13953 (September 30, 2020), in which former U.S. President Donald Trump declared a critical minerals “national emergency”.   

Through its patented RecycLiCo™ EV battery recycling technology and its work for the U.S. Department of Defense/Defense Logistics Agency investigating the production of Electrolytic Manganese Metal (EMM) from the Pentagon’s low-grade Wenden (Arizona) Stockpile, AMY is developing strategic sources for four U.S.-listed Critical Minerals: lithium, cobalt, manganese and aluminum.

“With so much partisan wrangling at present, it would be easy to overlook what is now an emerging consensus bridging both political parties and both the U.S. Congress and the Executive

Branch that key tech sectors like EV Batteries – and the critical minerals needed to make them – are essential to a nation’s economy and security,” said Mr. Reaugh.

Concerning EV Battery materials in particular, AMY is presently working with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Critical Materials Institute and the Oak Ridge National Lab in a program to optimize lithium-ion battery recycling recoveries.

American Manganese’s advanced and patented lithium-ion battery cathode recycling process, RecycLiCo™, has achieved 99.7% extraction of lithium-ion battery material with its pilot plant project, and is currently researching the production of cathode precursor material, from battery scrap, that could be directly integrated into the re-manufacturing of lithium-ion batteries. The Company has also received funding from the Canadian Federal Government’s National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program and has been awarded the Solar Impulse Efficient Solution Label for its RecycLiCo™ solution.  “The fact that AMY’s critical minerals work is receiving support from both the Canadian Government and from the U.S. Departments of Defense and Energy underscores the confidence we have in our process and our projects,” continued Mr. Reaugh.

The electric vehicle market is expanding quickly, and both industry and governments are gearing up for an action plan to combat climate change. Automotive companies such as General Motors (NYSE: GM) announced that it wants to go fossil-fuel free by 2035 while a growing list of countries including Norway, Denmark, Netherlands and the UK plan to ban the sale of internal combustion vehicles as early as 2025.

American Manganese’s Role as a Critical Minerals Supplier
The U.S. is 100% import-dependent on manganese and there is no substitute for manganese in the production of steel. The Artillery Peak property in Arizona contains significant resources of manganese, as confirmed in the Company’s 2012 pre-feasibility report. Although the resources are low in grade, American Manganese holds a U.S. patent which can potentially be utilized for the production of Electrolytic Manganese Metal (EMM) and Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) from low-grade manganese material.

The formal U.S. Government Critical Minerals List includes commonly used lithium-ion battery materials and American Manganese holds patents for recycling cathode materials used in lithium-ion batteries with high purity and recovery potential of lithium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and aluminum.