American Manganese says US government looks to Wenden national defense stockpile to end reliance on China for critical minerals

American Manganese Inc (CVE:AMY) (OTCPINK:AMYZF) (FRA:2AM) said Friday that there was continued recognition of the strategic importance of the Wenden manganese ore stockpile in Arizona and the recently awarded grant to the company from the United States Defense Logistics Agency (DLA). 

This week, the DLA awarded American Manganese a grant to work on the US government’s manganese ore stockpile located near Wenden, Arizona, with the goal of producing electrolytic manganese metal (EMM) for the nation. 

The DLA manages combat logistics across all US Armed Services and oversees the US National Defense Stockpile (NDS).

READ: American Manganese wins award from US Defense Logistics Agency to advance manganese stockpile 

Shortly after the DLA selected American Manganese for the grant, Congressman Paul Gosar wrote a letter to US Secretary of Interior David Bernhardt stating: “I am asking that you work to direct BLM [the Bureau of Land Management] to be prepared to work with DLA/NDS [National Defense Stockpile] in finding a path forward for the potential siting of an advanced manganese material processing facility at Wenden.”

The Republican Congressman from Arizona added that the Wenden facility could allow an “economical approach that produced a desired environmental outcome, while providing a needed national security material and jump-starting manganese production in the US which ceased in 1973.”

He added that using the low-grade Wenden stockpile as feedstock for US-produced EMM would reduce reliance on China in the advanced manganese supply chain. “With an EMM processing plant at the Wenden Stockpile site, progressive reclamation/clean-up of the Wenden site would take place, in the context of an ongoing advanced material production facility,” he added.

The Surrey, British Columbia-based critical metals company has been awarded the grant to conduct tests of the Wenden stockpile to confirm the viability of using the company’s patented hydrometallurgical process to recover electrolytic manganese metal from the stockpile. The company expects to start the work soon once details have been finalized with the DLA. The total program is expected to take about 47 weeks.

Contact the author Uttara Choudhury at [email protected]

Follow her on Twitter: @UttaraProactive

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