For its Butcherbird manganese mine in Western Australia, Element 25 Ltd has announced the implementation of integrated mining services and ore hauling services agreements with Regroup Australia Pty Ltd (ReGroup).
It claims that the signing of these long-term contracts with ReGroup is a significant step toward the completion of the Butcherbird Expansion Project (BBX) and significantly improves the project’s operational readiness. Element 25 has created an integrated operating model that maximizes productivity, lowers operating costs, minimizes commercial interface risk, and improves overall project efficiency by hiring a single contractor for both mining and hauling operations.
Based on an updated January 2025 Feasibility Study (BBX FS) and an updated Ore Reserve of 101.4 Mt at 10.4% Mn (10.54 Mt contained manganese), Element 25 is currently expanding Butcherbird to a nominal 1.1 Mt/y of manganese concentrate production, supporting an 18+ year Life of Mine at the planned throughput rate.
In addition to providing long-term feedstock for its projected high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) factory in Louisiana, USA, the expected enhanced output will supply customers in the established ferroalloys (steel) industry.
“The execution of the mining services and ore haulage agreements represents a key milestone for the Butcherbird Expansion Project,” stated Justin Brown, Managing Director of Element 25. In order to provide a dependable and effective pit-to-port supply chain, it is essential to secure long-term, dedicated mining and logistical capacity and capability. These agreements represent two crucial steps in moving Butcherbird closer to construction. As we move through construction and into increased operations at Butcherbird, we look forward to collaborating with ReGroup once more to provide safe, effective, sustainable, and economical operations.
“As a long-term partner of Element 25, we are pleased to be continuing our collaboration with the company in its expanded operation at Butcherbird, providing an end-to-end solution for mining and haulage,” stated Michael Still, Managing Director of ReGroup. As part of this integrated package, we will mine ore on-site and transport it to Utah Point for shipping. Throughout this process, we will collaborate closely with the E25 team to make sure everything is done safely and effectively. After commissioning is over, we are eager to start our new long-term contract at Butcherbird and are thrilled to be working with Element 25.
ReGroup will provide open pit mining services under the terms of the mining services contract, including ore extraction in compliance with Element 25’s rolling mine plans and related tasks necessary to support processing, waste removal, and stockpile operations.
The ore haulage services agreement offers a systematic and scalable logistics framework for the loading and transportation of ore from the site to the Utah Point port facility in Port Hedland. An essential part of Element 25’s Pit-to-Port (P2P) supply chain is the transportation of ore from BBX to Utah Point.
In accordance with the company’s P2P business intelligence framework, which will offer clear transparency and visibility on all components of the project supply chain, the contracts cover on-site material handling, stockpile management and loading, road transport logistics from mine to port, real-time fleet monitoring, and operational data integration to support end-to-end visibility.
With volumes, performance, and KPIs directly related to the BBX mine plan, the contracts’ commercial conditions are typically in accordance with the BBX FS. A strong risk management structure for Element 25 and explicit performance incentives for ReGroup are provided by the contracts’ variable cost structure, which includes a monthly floor for mining services and a scalable take-or-pay obligation for haulage, with cross defaults for underperformance in either contract. All components of the P2P supply chain will be clearly aligned thanks to this structure.
The contracts are connected to financial closure under the funding arrangement with the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF) and contain conditions precedent and termination provisions typical for contracts of this kind.
