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 high-purity manganese oxide (HPMO) 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 announced the successful production of HPMO at its demonstration plant in Johannesburg.

Such production, which serves as a precursor for HPMSM, marks a significant development in the company's efforts to capitalise on the rapidly growing market for electric vehicle and energy storage system batteries.

The HPMO is particularly relevant to the development of lithium-manganese-iron-phosphate (LMFP) and lithium-manganese-nickel-oxide (LMNO) batteries, which are increasingly in demand.

While HPMSM is the preferred precursor for nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries, HPMO and HPMSM can be used to produce LMFP and LMNO batteries.

Giyani plans to ship samples of HPMO to prospective offtake partners in March; it has also received indications of demand for HPMO from original-equipment manufacturer groups.

The demonstration plant is expected to produce HPMSM during the first quarter. Samples of HPMSM will be provided for potential offtakers for qualification trials as part of the offtake process, a crucial component in securing project financing.

The secondary objective of the demonstration plant is to help derisk the design of the future commercial plant, which will be built in Botswana. This will proceed in parallel with the definitive feasibility study, which is expected to be completed this year.

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.