Manganese project developer Giyani Metals, in March, received approval from the Botswana Department of Mines to export 100 t of manganese oxide material from its fully-owned K.Hill manganese project in Botswana, to the K.Hill demonstration plant being constructed in Johannesburg, in South Africa.

The intention to export the material is to provide a representative feedstock for the processing and production of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate for qualification by potential offtakers.

Giyani notes that it is able to demonstrate how its low carbon process can adapt to the variability of K.Hill material and produce consistent battery-grade high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate.

Giyani has developed a hydrometallurgical process to produce high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate – a lithium-ion battery cathode precursor material critical for electric vehicles – directly from ore from its manganese oxide deposits in Botswana.

These assets are wholly-owned by Giyani’s Botswana subsidiary Menzi Battery Metals, and include K.Hill and the Otse and Lobatse manganese prospects, each of which has seen historical mining activities.

“We continue to achieve milestones in our development of the demonstration plant and securing the requisite feedstock samples is an important step,” says Giyani president and CEO Danny Keating.

During the operation of the demonstration plant, Giyani’s specialist hydrometallurgical consultants will select samples of K.Hill material based on geochemical characteristics to replicate the variability expected to be encountered during commercial production from the mine.

The 100 t sample, from the battery-grade manganese project, was selected among over 200 t of material collected from three outcrops around the K.Hill resource, with the subsample undergoing crushing and packing into one-tonne bags, before being delivered to the demonstration plant.

“This also demonstrates the strong in-country support for the project and we are grateful to the Botswana Department of Mines for allowing us to export such a large sample of K.Hill material,” he says.

Meanwhile, Giyani also reports that the fabrication of the crystallisation unit for the demonstration plant has been completed and the unit is expected to be transported to the demonstration plant site soon. The developer also notes that filter presses have already been delivered to the demonstration plant.

The crystallisation unit, and all additional components, have been constructed on skids so that the demonstration plant can be relocated to Botswana at a later date.

Further fabrication and delivery of key equipment is expected to be completed over the coming months.