18 MAY 2024
Our Hermosa project has been awarded US$20 million from the US Department of Defense under the Defense Production Act battery grant program.
South32’s Hermosa project, an advanced mining project in the United States capable of producing two federally designated critical minerals – zinc and manganese – has been awarded US$20 million from the Department of Defense (DoD) under the Defense Production Act battery grant program.
Awarded to help accelerate the domestic production of battery-grade manganese, the money will be matched with a US$43 million investment by South32 to fund activities to support access to the manganese deposit.
Hermosa is a polymetallic development located in the Patagonia Mountains of Southern Arizona, comprised of a zinc-lead-silver sulfide deposit (Taylor deposit), a battery-grade manganese deposit (Clark deposit) and an extensive, highly prospective land package with the potential for further polymetallic and copper mineralisation.
"The Department of Defense funding will help support development of the Hermosa project’s battery-grade manganese deposit, the only advanced project in the United States that has demonstrated through a pilot testing program that it can produce battery-grade manganese from a domestic ore source," said Graham Kerr, South32 Chief Executive Officer.
“This project represents an opportunity for the United States to create domestic supply chains for the minerals and metals important to national security," said Pat Risner, President of Hermosa. "The Department of Defense funding will help develop this critical resource on a timeline that matches that urgency.”
The DoD funding will enable Hermosa to advance its plans to bring much needed battery-grade manganese to market in North America – including DoD-designated end-users – as demand is projected to grow in coming years – all while creating a reliable, cost-effective domestic option for manganese products within the electric vehicle battery supply chain.