A mining company in Labrador is looking at ways to upgrade the purity content of its ore to supply a critical mineral – manganese.

Tacora Resources, which owns the Scully Mine in Wabush, says a component of the federal budget on critical minerals may benefit them. The company is planning on sending a shipment to a facility in China here it will experiment with the mineral.

Tacora general manager Graham Letto says there is about 3-million tonnes of ore stockpiled at Scully with a manganese byproduct of about 17 per cent.

The mineral is used in production of batteries, the electrification of vehicles, and for use in the green steel industry.

They have about 40,000 tonnes ready now, but will wait until they have 50,000 tonnes.