United States Patent and Trademark Office Issues Patent No. 10,246,343

SURREY, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 3, 2019 / American Manganese Inc. (AMY) is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office has issued patent No. 10,246,343 for the Company's lithium-ion battery cathode material recycling technology. The granting of the patent is a significant milestone as it now provides legal protection of the Company's flagship technology.

Mr. Norm Chow, inventor of AMY's technology states, "the granting of the U.S. Patent confirms that our research is both novel and inventive. It is extremely exciting to have the opportunity to potentially contribute to the sustainability of future global electrification, which I believe will be valuable to the long-term health of our planet."

"When developing this technology, we looked at current methods of recycling waste lithium-ion batteries and discovered high heat smelting to be the primary method," Mr. Chow continued. "Because active cathode materials are oxides, the first thing that came to mind was the comparison to steelmaking. Since smelting iron ore in steelmaking generates a considerable amount of CO2, we were compelled to develop an alternative process with a sustainable focus. During research development, we applied Near Net Shape manufacturing principles with the goal of efficiently recycling cathode material and generating products as close to the final form as possible, with minimum processing steps."

Instead of relying on acquiring and developing mines in high risk jurisdictions to supply the growing demand for battery materials, AMY aims to have its patented urban mining technology provide a sustainable and geopolitically friendly supply of battery materials.

Conventional Mining

American Manganese Patented Technology

Environmental permitting

Mining various ores from geopolitically uncertain parts of the world

Tailings management and disposal

Smelting and refining (such as with solvent extraction and electrowinning)

Re-dissolution of the metals with acid

Crystallization to make metal sulfates

Extraction of all cathode metals from lithium-ion batteries

Precipitation of base metal oxides and lithium carbonate

Ready for battery manufacturers to utilize base metal oxides and lithium carbonate with a stoichiometric make-up of metals as required for manufacturing of new lithium-ion battery cathodes

No geopolitical risk


The granting of the Company's patent comes at a time of surging demand for lithium-ion batteries as part of the trend towards ‘the electrification of everything'. According to the Benchmark Mineral Intelligence battery mega-factory tracker, there is a forecasted 400% increase in lithium-ion battery production capacity to 1 TWh by 2028 in order to meet the electric vehicle demand outlook. For instance, by 2040, Bloomberg New Energy Finance forecasts that 55% of all new car sales and 33% of the global fleet will be electric by 2040. Legacy automakers, like Volkswagen, have recognized the social, environmental, and economic value in an efficient and eco-friendly recycling processes for their growing electric mobility fleet, with an aim to return raw materials back to the production process chain.

About Kemetco Research Inc.

Kemetco Research is a private sector integrated science, technology and innovation company. Their Contract Sciences operation provides laboratory analysis and testing, field work, bench scale studies, pilot plant investigations, consulting services, applied research and development for both industry and government. Their clients range from start-up companies developing new technologies through to large multinational corporations with proven processes.

Kemetco provides scientific expertise in the fields of Specialty Analytical Chemistry, Chemical Process and Extractive Metallurgy. Because Kemetco carries out research in many different fields, it can offer a broader range of backgrounds and expertise than most laboratories.

About American Manganese Inc.

American Manganese Inc. is a critical metal company with a patented technology for the recovery of metals from lithium-ion batteries such as cobalt, lithium, nickel, manganese, and aluminum. Using a novel combination of reagents and unit operations, AMY can provide 100% extraction of cathode metals at battery grade purity. American Manganese Inc. aims to capitalize on its patented technology and proprietary know-how to become the industry leader in recycling spent electric vehicle lithium-ion batteries (Please see the Company's December 14, 2018 Business Plan for further details).

On behalf of Management

AMERICAN MANGANESE INC.

Larry W. Reaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer

Information Contacts:

Larry W. Reaugh
President and Chief Executive Officer
Telephone: 778 574 4444 Email: lreaugh@amymn.com

www.americanmanganeseinc.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain "forward-looking statements", which are statements about the future based on current expectations or beliefs. For this purpose, statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements by their nature involve risks and uncertainties, and there can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate or true. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by law.

SOURCE: American Manganese Inc.