TSX-V-listed Giyani Metals Corp has entered into a contract with South Africa-based hydrometallurgical engineering firm Met63 for the construction of a demonstration plant for use at its K.Hill manganese project, in Botswana.

The demonstration plant, which will be built according to the process flowsheet developed by Coffey Geotechnics and completed by Met63, will produce high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM) samples that will be sent for testing by lithium-ion battery manufacturers and automotive original-equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in Europe, North America and Asia.

The plant will be built in Johannesburg, where it will be commissioned and operated before being transported to Botswana.

Giyani expects the plant, which will have the capacity to produce up to 600 kg/d of dry HPMSM crystals, to be completed by mid-2023. The first HPMSM product samples are expected to be ready for shipping by the second half of 2023.

The company expects to fund the $9.2-million capital cost of the plant from existing cash resources.

“The demo plant is a cornerstone of our strategy for full commercial development. Its objectives are to validate our process flowsheet, de-risk commercial development of K.Hill and facilitate offtake contracts with battery and OEM customers.

“Signing this contract with Met63, an experienced specialist hydrometallurgical engineering firm with a proven record in engineering and construction of battery-grade metal projects, is another step towards production and first shipments of HPMSM in the second half of 2023,” comments Giyani CEO Robin Birchall.

He adds that a growing number of OEMs have highlighted the potential of manganese-rich cathodes.

“Our low-carbon process makes Giyani an ideal partner for the supply of this critical battery material. With several key catalysts on the horizon, including the release of our feasibility study on K.Hill, we are entering a very exciting phase of development,” he says.