Firebird was successfully spun out of Firefly Resources, and has spent the past four months setting up the pieces for the maiden drilling program at its flagship Oakover project, the first step in its rapid development strategy to develop a direct shipping ore operation as early as next year.

 

Managing director Peter Allen told MNN the company had hoped to drill a little earlier, but the extra time had allowed it to dig further into the existing data, and locate some diamond drill core from past drilling that would allow it to accelerate metallurgical studies.

 

It means the 11,500m program that will initially focus on infilling and extending the adjoining Sixty Sixer and Jay-Eye deposits, which host Oakover's existing 64 million tonne inferred resource estimate grading 10% manganese that was defined in 2012.

 

The rig will also test the nearby Karen prospect.

 

Firebird's is leveraging off the A$4 million worth of work completed by its predecessor Brumby Resources (now Firefly) last decade.

 

"Brumby has given us a great leg-up, but at the time the manganese market wasn't ready for this style of resource" he said.

 

"That's great for us because this is not a traditional greenfields play. We know we have a substantial resource, we just need to improve our confidence levels, and grow the size."

 

The drilling is being conducted in tandem with beneficiation studies to assess dense media separation and ore sorting, as well as hydrometallurgy tests, plus haulage and port studies.

 

Allen has been specialising in the manganese space since his time with Woodie Woodie operator Consolidated Minerals two decades ago, and believes the commodity is having a moment.

 

In the past, the high-grade ore from ConsMins operations was sent to China for blending with lower-grade ore, but over the years the global market has opened up for lower grade ore in the steelmaking sector, while China's domestic supply is falling. At the same time, higher grade or is finding applications in the battery space.

 

The manganese market is changing. ASX-listed Element 25 has already leapt into production at its Butcherbird mine, also in the Pilbara, and there are a slew of companies looking to get in on the action.

 

Allen believes Firebird will be next.

 

He leapt at the chance to achieve a long-held ambition to run a company once it became clear his manganese and management experience melded at Firebird.

 

He said he was "very comfortable" delivering beneficiated 30% ore into the steel making space, which accounts for around 90% of manganese, while chief financial officer Wei Li, who used to buy ConsMins manganese for a family factory, and has a background in the battery feedstock segment.

 

"The world needs manganese, it is un-substitutable in steel, and Volkswagen has really sparked interest in the EV space by saying it will be relying on a high-manganese nickel battery," Allen said.

 

The drilling program, which should generate some results in September, is expected deliver a maiden indicated resource and a significantly larger inferred resource, because there is no shortage of near-surface manganese in the area. 

 

He said the lack of metallurgical testing was the key piece missing for the completion of a prefeasibility study in early 2022, which will assess both dense media separation and heavy media trials.

 

Allen is using Element 25's speed as an inspiration, but not a guide, and is keeping an open mind on how the development proceeds.

 

Allen said Firebird could follow Element 25 by skipping straight from a prefeasibility study, expected in early 2022, into development of a DSO operation.

 

That's one reason it is looking at haulage options, with trucking and logistics in high demand across WA's mining and agricultural sectors.

 

"We have started early. We know the demand is there, so what we are trying to do is not reinvent the wheel. We're hoping to use off-the-shelf processing and beneficiation, and we want to get to the market as soon as possible," Allen said,

 

It can then turn its attention to underpin a long-term strategy of manganese sulphate production for batteries or electrolytic manganese metal industries.

 

In addition to the drilling of Sixty Sixer and Jay-Eye, the company plans 1800m at the Karen prospect, where mineralisation has previously been recorded. 

 

Firebird's shares have traded between 45.5-84.5c since it listed, and was last traded at 49c, valuing it at $27 million.

 

The company raised $5.5 million raising at 20c in March.