Battery metals developer Giyani Metals, on April 24, acknowledged receipt of R110-million ($5.7-million) as part of its first drawing down of funds from its convertible loan facilities granted by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC).

Giyani’s IDC loan facility totals $16-million (R308.76-million).

The funding is pivotal in advancing Giyani’s aims to progress its K.Hill battery-grade manganese project, in the Kanye basin, in south-eastern Botswana, to construction by building and operating a demonstration plant, in Johannesburg, South Africa, and completing a definitive feasibility study (DFS) by the first half of 2025.

“Completing the first drawdown of the IDC facility is another important achievement for the company as we embark on the workstreams to take the project towards construction,” says Giyani president and CEO Danny Keating.

Giyani has also recently secured a $10-million investment from private equity fund ARCH Sustainable Resources Fund, which was announced on February 21.

The investment has already been partially deployed to start Giyani’s 2024 drilling programme, which forms part of the company’s efforts to update the K.Hill mineral resource estimate, the latter being an important component of Giyani’s DFS, which is targeted for completion in the first half of 2025.

Demonstration Plant
Concurrent to these developments, Giyani is continuing construction of a demonstration plant in Johannesburg.

Following the plant's commissioning, Giyani aims to supply battery-grade manganese for testing by potential offtakers in the fourth quarter of 2024.

Upon completion, the plant will be capable of producing up to 600 kg/d of dry, high-purity manganese sulfate monohydrate (HPMSM) crystals.

These crystals are slated for shipment to offtakers for product qualification and negotiation of sales contracts, anticipated to start in the fourth quarter of this year.

The plant is designed to be a large-scale proof-of-concept for Giyani’s flowsheet and serves as a vital tool for flowsheet optimisation, says Giyani.

This optimisation aims to reduce operating costs, enhance energy efficiency, and reduce reagent consumption to inform the K.Hill project economics and contribute positively to the DFS.

“Our key workstreams are in process and the company is working hard to derisk the project for financiers and offtakers as we look to position Giyani as a dominant producer of HPMSM globally,” enthuses Keating.

Having secured financing from ARCH and completed an initial drawdown under the IDC facility, Giyani will continue progressing the critical workstreams to move K.Hill towards a final investment decision.