Name of the Project
K.Hill battery-grade manganese project.

Location
Botswana.

Project Owner/s
Battery metal development company Giyani Metals Corporation.

Project Description
K.Hill will be one of the biggest high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) projects in the world. HPMSM is a refined precursor material used in the production of cathode powders for lithium-ion batteries deployed in electric vehicles.

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) published in July 2023 evaluates a base case scenario that considers a single production line with a feed capacity of 200 000 t/y to process manganese oxide material to produce HPMSM over a 57-year life-of-project (LoP). The LoP includes a 49-year life-of-mine plus 8 years of stockpile rehandling.

The PEA also evaluates an upside case, which assumes the construction of an additional production line from Year 5 of operations to increase total feed capacity to 400 000 t/y, reducing the LoP to 31 years.

The project includes a crushing facility, including a run-of-mine pad and stockpiles, a three-stage crushing plant and a crushed material bin. It also includes a processing area, including grinding, extraction, purification, fluoride polishing, crystallisation, product storage and handling; water treatment, reagent storage and tails handling; a sulphur dioxide plant; plant infrastructure and utilities, including steam and air plants; and low-voltage switch rooms.

A 4.5 MW solar plant covering 7.6 ha will be built 1.2 km west-northwest of the processing plant entrance gate. The large-scale demonstration plant that emulates the continuous process of the proposed full-scale K.Hill commercial plant is under construction in South Africa. The plant will validate the process flowsheet, mitigate commercial processing plant risk and facilitate offtake qualification.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at an 8% discount rate, of $1.21-billion and an internal of return of 33%, with a payback period of two years.

Capital Expenditure
$282.64-million.

Planned Start/End Date
First commercial production is expected in the third quarter of 2025, with ramp-up expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2027.

Latest Developments
Giyani Metals has started with advanced commissioning at its demonstration plant in Johannesburg. The plant comprises nine process modules, each comprising a self-contained process system within a fixed frame. 

The plant will help the company to produce the first battery-grade manganese from ore sourced from the K. Hill manganese project.

The plant materially advanced hot commissioning during January, with samples expected to be ready before March to be sent to potential offtakers for qualification trials. 

The plant, built at a 1:10 scale of the planned commercial plant, in Botswana, is also designed to identify opportunities for optimisation and derisk the main project, as Giyani will better understand how the commercial plant will respond in advance of construction, commissioning and ramp-up.

The demonstration plant is helping to inform a definitive feasibility study on K.Hill, which is expected to be completed before the end of the year.

Giyani has received a special economic zone licence for its commercial plant, resulting in fiscal and nonfiscal benefits such as a 5% corporate tax rate for the first ten years of production from the commercial plant.

CEO and president Charles FitzRoy says the company’s technical and operational teams are demonstrating excellent skill and resilience in navigating the usual late-stage commissioning challenges that occur when plants ramp up toward production. These include power outages, water supply disruptions and technical challenges with the commissioning of the control system, in addition to the holiday break that disrupted reagent and final equipment supply.

Giyani is also undertaking metallurgical testwork to further optimise the flowsheet, particularly to reduce reagent use and improve operational costs

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
SRK Consulting (feasibility study); Mintek (metallurgical testwork); Tetra Tech (metallurgical testwork programme); Wood (lead DFS consultant); and Minopex, a DRA Global Company (demonstration plant operation).

Contact Details for Project Information
Giyani Metals Corporation, email info@giyanimetals.com.