Euro Manganese (ASX:EMN) has announced that its Chvaletice Manganese Project in the Czech Republic has been officially designated a Strategic Project under the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA).
The designation enables access to funding from both public and private sources, including the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and national cohesion funds. It also guarantees that permitting will proceed under timeframes set by the CRMA, reducing approval delays.
The CRMA identifies high-purity manganese as a strategic raw material and manganese more broadly as critical to the EU’s economic and industrial security. Strategic Projects are selected to help diversify supply and reduce reliance on imports from third countries.
Euro Manganese’s Chvaletice Project is a waste-to-value initiative that involves reprocessing tailings from a decommissioned mine to produce high-purity manganese for electric vehicle batteries. It is currently the only known large manganese resource within the EU.
In recent months, the project has secured several key approvals, including an Environmental and Social Impact Assessment and a mining lease determination. The Czech Government also declared the deposit strategic earlier this month.
Interim CEO Martina Blahova said the EU endorsement enhances Euro Manganese’s role in the regional battery materials supply chain. “Today’s announcement reaffirms our commitment to becoming the sole integrated European producer of high-purity manganese,” she said.
Euro Manganese is dual-listed on the ASX and TSX-V and is also traded over the counter in North America.
Shares on the ASX are trading 15.56% higher at 5.2 cents.
