Euro Manganese to File Chvaletice Manganese Project Environmental Impact Assessment Notification - Seite 2

EMN and its wholly-owned Czech subsidiary, Mangan Chvaletice s.r.o (“Mangan”), engaged the services of Bilfinger Tebodin Czech Republic, s.r.o. (“Bilfinger Tebodin”) to prepare the EIA Notification, following completion of extensive environmental baseline studies and all necessary environmental impact studies prepared by various expert consultants. The proposed project is based on the development plan and process flowsheet presented in the Preliminary Economic Assessment issued in March 2019.  Pavel Celunda, Bilfinger Tebodin’s Managing Director stated:

“We appreciated the professionalism and high environmental and technical standards that have been applied by the EMN and Mangan teams since we began to work with them in 2016. The Company has implemented a proactive and diligent approach to minimising the environmental and social impacts of the proposed operation and, importantly, incorporated into the project a value-adding environmental restoration of this polluted site.”

Numerous detailed expert studies were prepared as part of Chvaletice’s development over the past four years. These include a comprehensive site-wide Biological Survey; a detailed Air Dispersion model; an Acoustic/Noise Impact Study; a Road and Rail Transportation Study; a site-wide Hydrogeological Survey; a Health Impact Assessment; an Impact on Landscape Character Study; and a Reclamation and Remediation Study.

Key findings of these studies include:

Water Quality:

The Project’s proposed remediation and reclamation plan will have a significant positive impact by drastically reducing the seepage of historical pollutants into surface and groundwater, as well as the adjacent Labe River.  The current tailings are permeable and unlined and have been releasing metals and salts into the environment since historic tailings deposition was initiated in 1951. The EMN plan includes implementation of best-practices in tailings management, including dry-stacking of processed tailings on an impermeable liner, as well the capping and progressive revegetation of the site.

Air Quality:

The Project will not exceed limit values set for nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), suspended particulate matter PM₁₀ and PM_2.5, or any other controlled airborne pollutants.  In addition, the risk associated with sulphuric acid (H₂SO₄), ammonia and manganese were assessed through screening risk characterization relative to reference exposure limits, reference concentrations and exposure limit values set by international scientific institutions and the World Health Organization. The results of this assessment do not indicate any material risk of a negative impact on public health, as these pollutants will remain well below the reference value levels.