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Battery Hill (Houlton Woodstock Zone) - Manganese Royalty
Carleton County, New Brunswick (NTS 21J/04)
Updated January 2023
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Tesla Battery Day: Out With The Cobalt, In With The Manganese
Mining the NEXT big metal in lithium-ion batteries
Presentation Manganese X Energy Corp - Manganese: The Clear Choice of the Future
Presentation prepared by HallGarten & Company for Manganese X Energy Corp. - Rising Metal in the Battery Space
In 2010 Globex Mining Enterprises Inc. (Globex) acquired 100% interest in the 28 claim (880 ha) Houlton Woodstock property by staking. The property currently comprises 63 claims and is held 100% by Globex. In 2016, the property was optioned to Manganese X Energy Corp. Manganese X has fulfilled the option terms and has earned 100% interest in the property subject to a 1% Gross Metal Royalty payable to GLobex. In addition 2% Gross Metal Royalty is held by Electric Royalties of which Globex retains a large share position.
Historically, the demand, and hence the price of the metal is closely tied to the demand for iron in China. There is no indication that this relationship will not continue. In 2007 world production of manganese was just under 15 million tonnes, with the only North American production occurring in Mexico, producing only 0.7% of world production in that year. China and Kazakhstan produce 37.8% of the world’s supply (YourArticleLibrary.com).
New applications for manganese that will drive renewed exploration and evaluation of manganese deposits in North America and elsewhere can be found in the development of energy storage systems, notably battery applications for the automotive sector and off-peak energy storage. The price of electrolytic manganese, according to Metalprices.com, is currently just over $1.10 per pound in North America, down from approximately $1.90 per pound in the last few years as compared to steel alloy manganese which reported a price in 2015 (and forecasted for 2016) of $7.50 per tonne.
Lithium ion Manganese batteries are a promising technology as their manganese-oxide components are earth-abundant, inexpensive, non-toxic, and provide better thermal stability. Use of manganese can bring down the manufacturing cost of lithium ion batteries which is a major factor in higher cost of electrical cars. The energy storage industry and end users are looking for ways to improve stability and lower unit costs for batteries. Manganese in combination with lithium and other elements such as cobalt and nickel offer a range of energy solutions. Lithium ion batteries have become the batteries of choice for most of the industrial and technical uses. Current research suggests that lithium-manganese alloys promote faster recharging and longer life span and as a replacement for cobalt can reduce costs.
Project Description and Location
The property covers a significant portion of the known historic manganese bearing horizon(s) in an area approximately 6.3 km northwest of the town of Woodstock, southwestern New Brunswick. The southern-most portion of the claims is located approximately 5 km west-northwest of town of Woodstock. The approximate centre of the claims is at 46°12’01”N, 67°37’58”W.
The USA-Canada border is approximately 12 kilometres west of licence 5816. Route 95, a twinned highway running from Woodstock to connect to the US interstate I-95 highway, is located approximately 3 km south of the claims.
Geological Setting
The regional geology is dominated by the Smyrna Hills Formation of the Perham Group, which consists of shales, silty shales and associated ferro-manganiferous siltstone, calcareous shale and sandstone, limestone and conglomerate. The Late Ordovician to Early Silurian White Head Formation underlies this unit, just west of Woodstock. The mineralization occurs in banded iron formation consisting of an interlayered sequence of manganese oxide, manganese-carbonate-silicate oxide shales and silty shales. They alternate as red to maroon and green in color.
The manganese-iron mineralization occurs in tightly folded, northeast striking, steeply northwest dipping and plunging lenses that are occasionally overturned. Evidence of the structure is visible at the historic workings at Iron Ore Hill, where some of the rare outcrops occur.
Three of the main historic manganese occurrences plus at least two additional showings are located on claims of licence 5816. Starting from the south, the Moody Hill occurrence is reported by Sidwell (1957) to contain an estimated 10,000,000 tons (9,072,000 t), the Sharpe Farm occurrence an estimated 8,000,000 tons (7,257,000 t) and the Iron Ore Hill occurrence 25,000,000 tons (22,680,000 t), all of an estimated average grade of 13% iron and 9% manganese. Resources described by Sidwell were prepared before the application of NI 43-101 and have not been reviewed by a qualified person under the instrument. The reader is cautioned to not rely on these resources.
As of June 18th 2021, a new mineral resource estimate was done on the Battery Hill Deposit.
Table 1: Battery Hill Deposit Mineral Resource Estimate - Effective Date June 18th, 2021
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Cut-off Grade
(Mn %)
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Category
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Rounded
Tonnes
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Mn %
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Fe %
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2.5
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Measured
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11,260,000
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6.75
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10.96
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Indicated
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23,600,000
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6.26
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10.53
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Measured Plus
Indicated
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34,860,000
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6.42
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10.67
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Inferred
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25,910,000
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6.66
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10.92
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For further details please refer to press release of Manganese X Energy Corp. dated 2021-07-07.
North of the Iron Ore Hill occurrence approximately 2 kilometres, the Maple Hill showing is reported to have grades of 13.9% iron and 6.97% manganese. Located a further 1.5 kilometres north of the Maple Hill showing, at the far northern end of licence 5816, the Wakefield Showing is reported to have tested 20.9% iron and 8.86% manganese.
Additionally, the North and South Hartford occurrences, which are located near south end of licence 5816, may be a continuation of the Moody Hill occurrence; however there is little exploration in this area. There appears to have been little or no exploration done in this area with the exception of the 1950s gravity survey at 1000 foot (305 m) line separations and 200 foot (61 m) reading station frequency.
History
The iron-manganese occurrences in the Woodstock area were first brought to light by Dr. C.T. Jackson in 1836. Two small blast furnaces operated between then and the early 1860’s when most activity ceased until the Stratmat began exploration in the early 1950’s. To this point, the mining activity was primarily in the Iron Ore Hill area, whereas afterward, the main focus has been around the Plymouth deposit. Exploration was mainly driven by larger gravity anomalies obtained at Plymouth as compared to the rest of the surveyed area. Gravity anomalies were found to extend northwards toward and beyond the Iron Ore Hill occurrence.
Between 1953 and 1957 Stratmat Limited completed 34,021 feet (10,370m) of drilling, 17,388 feet (5,300m) of which was on the Plymouth occurrence, located several kilometres southwest of Globex’s claims. Unfortunately most of the logs of the drilling were not saved, but a 1957 report by Sidwell, then area manager of Stratmat Limited, describes the results of the program. The report provided details on most of the known occurrences, including several of those on licence 5816. These include, from south to north, the Moody Hill, Sharpe Farm and Iron Ore Hill occurrences (referred to as “orebodies” in the Sidwell report).
Limited detail regarding drill locations is available in the Sidwell report. A location map with little detail appears to show most drilling to be located south of the Moody Hill area with several drill holes indicated at Moody Hill and at least two each on the Sharpe Farm and Iron Ore Hill occurrences. From the results of the sparsely laid out gravity survey and the limited drilling, Sidwell calculated approximate tonnage and grades of all of the occurrences referred to, and included a description for each.
In 1986 Mineral Resource Research Limited (MRR) did limited drilling, some bulk sampling and a magnetometer survey on the Plymouth Deposit, located south of the Houlton Woodstock Property.
Exploration and Development
In 2010, Globex took 7 samples from the old workings at the Iron Ore Hill site and 59 chip samples were taken from outcrop in a ditch running along the road which cuts across the south side of the occurrence. The rock types ranged from a massive, dense, black, semi-metallic rock to a brick red, highly fractured, lighter, slatey material. Manganese values in the chip samples ranged from 0.72% to 26% MnO and iron ranged from 7.74% to 33.4% Fe2O3.
In 2011 two diamond drill holes were collared in the area of Iron Ore Hill to test at depth near the historic workings. Sampling from wide intervals of this mineralization returned assays greater than 11% MnO and 16% Fe2O3. Manganese is understood to be primarily contained in the mineral rhodochrosite, a carbonate, along with several other minor manganese minerals.
The considerable widths of iron and manganese bearing material encountered prompted a magnetometer survey of the claims later in 2011. The geophysical results led to expansion of the Globex property to its current 63 claim configuration. The magnetic survey determined there is a large anomalous region centered roughly on the Iron Ore Hill area and a region of slightly more scattered magnetic anomalies trending to the south-southwest from Iron Ore Hill toward the North Hartford area as well as smaller, weaker anomalies trending to the north-northeast of the Iron Ore Hill area towards the Jacksontown area.
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