Tacora Resources hopes to cash in on its stockpile of manganese

An iron ore mine in Labrador has been stockpiling a byproduct from its mining operations, and is now moving forward with plans to turn it into a revenue generating stream.

Tacora Resources, which owns the Scully Mine in Wabush, has been gathering manganese for years, said spokesperson Graham Letto.

It's a byproduct of iron ore, and the company has collected 2.5 million tonnes of tailings. They recently shipped out 50,000 tonnes in samples to different companies to see where they can improve the quality.

The tailings from iron ore have 17 per cent manganese content, said Letto. He said that helped the company realize manganese could become another revenue source, since it's a component for many lithium-ion batteries used in electric vehicles.

Letto said there has been a "buzz" around manganese for a while.

"We're at the point now where we want to start monetizing this product," he said.

Letto said the presence of manganese in the iron was a factor that led to the mine — then owned by Cliff Natural Resources — being shut down in 2014, as people didn't want manganese in their iron.

He said Tacora installed a manganese reduction circuit in 2019 to extract the material. 

Need for power

In June 2023 the federal government announced Tacora was receiving $1.25 million to research and plan a manganese sulfate purification plant to extract the mineral. 

Letto said Tacora still wants to build the plant at the Scully Mine site, but there is a roadblock in the way.

"Until we get more power, we cannot do that," he said.

While Letto didn't mention it, many in Labrador's mining sector have spoken about the need for more electricity in order to expand operations.

In the meantime, Letto said, Tacora is looking at ways to improve its manganese, but a buyer hasn't been lined up.

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