[Ferro-Alloys.com] Firebird Metals (ASX:FRB) has received a key safety permit for the construction and operation of a battery-grade manganese sulphate plant in Jinshi, China.

The safety permit is one of three critical permits required to begin construction. The other two are related to environment and energy, which are both expected to be approved in the June quarter.

Firebird, which has a market capitalisation of $28.47 million, says these permits can proceed concurrently with Feasibility Studies, engineering assessments, and financing endeavours.

Managing Director Peter Allen says the company is moving at a rapid pace in China due to the hard work of its manganese team and the strong level of in-country support.

“Importantly, we continue to tick all the boxes in the delivery of our high-purity manganese sulphate strategy and have defined a low-cost, near-term pathway to production,” he says.

“We expect to make a final investment in the second half of 2024, immediately commence construction activities and work extremely hard towards commencing operations in late 2025.”

Construction is forecasted to take between 12 and 15 months to complete.

The manganese sulphate plant will use third-party manganese ore to produce high-purity manganese sulphate.

According to Fastmarkets, the current manganese price is US$6.29 ($9.45) per dry metric tonne.

• [Editor:tianyawei]