While Giyani Metals Corp has just undergone a change of management in the person of Charles FitzRoy, the Toronto-based junior is hoping to make progress on its K.Hill manganese project in Botswana. With the addition of a new license, administrative approvals and fresh money, the Canadian miner hopes to deliver a definitive feasibility study in 2025. Positioned in a manganese sulfate market still dominated by China, the Canadian company is hoping to make the most of its opportunity to supply this strategic component for the manufacture of electric batteries. With the aim of setting up an integrated supply chain from the mine to processing plants based in South Africa, the Canadian junior is showing its ambitions.
K.Hill Project
Giyani Metals Corp, through its local subsidiary Menzi Battery Metals Limited, holds 8 exploration permits covering a total area of 1,900 km2. In 2023, the exploration team led by Luhann Theron, supported by consulting firms, produced a preliminary study demonstrating a processing capacity of 200,000 tonnes per year over a 57-year mine life. Preliminary estimates of capital investment amount to 284 million USD, with production scheduled to start in 2027.
On site, Giyani Metals Corp relies on its Country Manager Elisa Kgomotso Modikwa and former Director of the Department of Mines Thuso Dikgaka to lead relations with local teams and various administrations. So far, the latter appear to be cooperative, granting the Canadian junior the environmental authorizations required for mining.
From mine to transformation
The Canadian company has already announced that it has secured USD 10 million from ARCH Sustainable Resources, a private equity fund headed by Johan Hattingh, making it Giyani's first shareholder. The junior is also backed by a USD 16 million loan from South Africa's public investment company, the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), headed by David Jarvis.
The company intends to use these funds not only to continue exploring its project, but also to demonstrate the viability of setting up a processing plant in South Africa. Giyani Metals Corp intends to produce ultra-pure manganese sulfate (HPMSM) to supply battery manufacturers. The preliminary study currently envisages a production capacity of 80,000 tonnes of HPMSM over 57 years, or 160,000 tonnes over 31 years.
The geopolitics of manganese
The Canadian junior thus hopes to gain a foothold in a market still largely dominated by China. 96% of manganese sulfate for batteries, i.e. more than one million tons per year, is currently produced in China, whereas requirements could increase eightfold between 2020 and 2030. With the United States and Europe keen to secure supplies of manganese sulfate for their industries, Giyani Metals Corp could find some useful allies. For the time being, the junior company plans to deliver a definitive feasibility study in 2025, completing the estimates of the 2023 preliminary study and a demonstration of its future plant. These are necessary steps to demonstrate the viability of its project, find outlets for its products, and convince creditors to finance their operations.