TSX-listed Giyani Metals has made the first shipment of high-purity manganese oxide (HPMO) samples, from its demonstration plant in Johannesburg, to multiple potential offtakers for testing and qualification.

HPMO is a precursor material for the production of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM), production of which is targeted for the third quarter of this year, to be followed by offtake qualification trials.

HPMO and HPMSM are precursors for the rapidly growing market for lithium-manganese- iron-phosphate (LMFP), lithium- manganese-nickel-oxide (LMNO) and nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) electric vehicle (EV) and energy storage system (ESS) batteries.

While HPMSM is the preferred precursor for NMC battery chemistries, Giyani says HPMO and HPMSM can both be used to produce fast market share gaining battery types such as LMFP.

Giyani says its ability to produce both HPMO and HPMSM gives the company technological and product optionality, enabling it to maintain pace with the rapidly developing battery market, and serve the majority of potential future battery technologies.

Giyani says its demo plant plays a crucial role in derisking the construction and operation of the full-scale commercial plant planned for Botswana.

Scaling from laboratory to demonstration scale is the largest derisking event for a flowsheet and a major hurdle for novel processes.

Giyani says it is currently one of the only developers outside China to demonstrate this step and the only known company to have built a demo plant at this scale.

Learnings from the commissioning of the demo plant, combined with ongoing optimisation work, have realised positive outcomes, including improved knowledge of the process at scale, which will be integral to the design and specification of the commercial plant, a considerable derisking function; the ability to generate a cleaner HPMO product and an associated reduction of both waste (tailings) and emissions outputs; and the addition of a valuable new by-product.

Giyani says the learnings from the demo plant operation to date and resulting planned modifications require changes to the project timeline.

The revised timeline for HPMSM production is now the third quarter of this year and the guidance for definitive feasibility study completion is in the first quarter of 2026.

Construction of the commercial facility is planned to commence in 2027, with production ramp-up from 2028/29.

The company says this timeline strategically positions Giyani to meet the forecast demand increase for battery-grade manganese from 2028 onwards, as OEMs bring on-line higher manganese content batteries.

CEO Charles FitzRoy says the demo plant is continuing to meet important operational objectives, with the shipment of HPMO being a major accomplishment that significantly endorses the project and has allowed Giyani to move forward with offtaker testing.

In parallel, he says the company continues to progress towards production of HPMSM and realise the technological and product optionality that will afford Giyani significant advantages in a rapidly evolving battery market.

“The team on the ground at the demo plant are doing a fantastic job and continue to derisk the planned commercial plant in Botswana through ongoing operation and modifications to the demo plant,” he says.

He adds that the market continues to announce developments in higher manganese content battery chemistries, such as Ford and GM’s recent lithium- manganese-rich breakthroughs, which contain multiples more manganese than their current NMC batteries.