Name of the Project
K.Hill manganese project.

Location
The Kanye basin, in south-eastern Botswana.

Project Owner/s
Giyani Metals Corp.

Project Description
A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) has demonstrated the strong potential of the project.

The project envisages an operation with a nine-year life-of-mine, producing 245 000 t of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal.

The PEA proposes traditional truck-and-shovel mining methods. The proposed process for the production of electrolytic manganese metal includes comminution, leaching, solid/liquid separation and solvent extraction, as well as electrowinning and refining.

Potential Job Creation
Not stated.

Net Present Value/Internal Rate of Return
The project has a pretax net present value, at a 10% discount rate, of C$491-million and an after-tax internal rate of return of 90.6%, with a payback of 1.5 years.

Capital Expenditure
Preproduction capital expenditure is estimated at $369-million.

Planned Start/End Date
Not stated.

Latest Developments
Giyani Metals has received the first set of assay results from the reverse circulation (RC) infill drilling programme from the project.

The company has also announced a new planned exploration programme and the appointment of an additional drilling contractor.

The K.Hill infill drilling programme is designed to upgrade the current inferred mineral resource to an indicated mineral resource to achieve the mineral reserve status required in the ongoing feasibility study, which is expected later this year.

Since the programme started in November 2020 there have been some border logistics and administrative delays related to Covid-19 in Botswana. The programme has, nonetheless, advanced and is now expected to be completed in March, the company has said.

Upon completion of the K.Hill infill drilling programme, Giyani will progress to the south of the K.Hill deposit with a new exploration drilling programme, which will target a geophysical signature extending southwards from the existing K.Hill mineral resource.

This signature is a continuation of the gravity contrasts observed at K.Hill.

The planned step-out exploration programme comprises 1 600 m of RC drilling over 32 holes. It is expected to be completed within two months of the conclusion of the K.Hill infill drilling programme, subject to no additional Covid-19 restrictions.

Additionally, the company has appointed local Botswana-based drilling services provider RotsDrill Explorations to assist Stewardship Drilling with the completion of the K.Hill infill drilling programme, as well as the step-out exploration programme.

In addition, RotsDrill will be responsible for the drilling of diamond drilling holes, which will be logged and sampled for geotechnical work and communition testing as part of the ongoing feasibility study at K.Hill.

The drilling contractor will be supported by the company’s project management and geological services consulting company, Lambda Tau Botswana.

Giyani CEO Robin Birchall has said that the first batch of near-surface results continue to build momentum at K.Hill as the company works towards completion of the ongoing feasibility study and the future transition to project construction.

“Not only are these results in line with previous drilling results, but we can now look to extend the near-surface mineralization through a new Step-out Exploration Programme, which is the first in a number of resource expansion programmes we have planned for 2021.”

Key Contracts, Suppliers and Consultants
Lambda Tau Botswana (project management and geological services consulting company); SRK Consulting (PEA); Tetra Tech and Royal IHC (feasibility study); Minviro (ISO-life cycle assessment); Stewardship Drilling (infill drilling programme) and RotsDrill Explorations (infill drilling programme assistant).

Contact Details for Project Information
Giyani Metals Corp, tel +1289291 4032 or email info@giyanimetals.com.