VANCOUVER (miningweekly.com) – Results released earlier this week has confirmed a hunch by Canadian project developer Giyani Gold that the Transvaal Supergroup, which hosts roughly 80% of the world’s manganese reserves, extends from South Africa into south-eastern Botswana, giving it first-mover advantage in an area long ignored by geologists.
TSX-V-listed Giyani said initial surface sampling programme conducted at the historic Kgwakgwe Hill manganese mine, located in the Kanye Basin, confirmed high-grade mineralised shale grading 58% to 61% manganese oxide.
“These results prove the effectiveness of our due diligence process that focuses on identifying and researching properties with a strong probability of containing high grade manganese deposits. Our strategy of selecting undervalued high potential assets is working well as the results from this first phase of sampling have confirmed,” president Wajd Boubou stated in a news release.
Giyani’s geological team collected eight chip channel samples, considered to be representative, from surface outcrops along the northern face of Kgwakgwe Hill.
The Phase 1 sample results exceeded the company’s initial expectation as they graded well above average compared with other manganese projects currently being investigated by the company. The low percentage of deleterious elements is an indicator that the manganese found in this deposit could be ideal for usage in the battery industry, Giyani advised.
The company announced that it will now embark on the second phase of regional sampling and mapping of the extensive property, in an initial attempt to estimate the potential size of this high-grade manganese deposit. Phase 2 exploration started on June 9 and is currently sampling and mapping an area stretching 74 km diagonally from Kgwakgwe Hill, to the north east.
Giyani characterised the Kgwakgwe Hill high-grade manganese project, as an “ideal asset” that continues to expand the company’s pipeline of manganese projects in Botswana and Zambia.