Canadian exploration company Giyani Metals has announced an updated mineral resource estimate (MRE) for its K.Hill project, in Botswana, as part of the feasibility study for the project.

Infill drilling has resulted in the conversion of about 95% of the current inferred mineral resources for K.Hill into the indicated mineral resources category and a 25% increase in total contained manganese metal.

Indicated mineral resources for K.Hill’s main mineralised zone are reported as 1.6-million tonnes at an average grade of 22% manganese oxide, equivalent to about 400 000 t of contained manganese metal.

Inferred mineral resources, including the newly discovered mineralised horizon, known as the B Horizon, are reported as 1.4-million tonnes at an average grade of 13.9% manganese oxide, equivalent to about 200 000 t contained metal.

Total contained metal will equate to about 1.7-million tonnes of high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (HPMSM).

Samples from the B Horizon are currently undergoing detailed mineralogy and hydrometallurgical testwork and may facilitate potential upgrade from the inferred to indicated mineral resources category.

Following completion of the reverse circulation infill drilling programme, SRK Consulting has compiled an updated MRE for K.Hill.

The MRE includes results from the main K.Hill project mineralised zone and the new B Horizon only.

Mineral resources have not yet been estimated or reported for the southerly extension of K.Hill as previously announced in August.

The MRE has been restricted to all classified material falling within an optimised pit shell representing a long-term price for HPMSM of $1 588/t, based on 2020 market data.

The shell also used various technical economic parameters, derived from the ongoing technical studies for K.Hill.

Moreover, the MRE is reported above a cut-off grade of 7.3% manganese oxide.

This represents the material which SRK considers to have a reasonable prospect for eventual economic extraction.

SRK notes that the pit optimisation and the pit selected is relatively insensitive to changes in product pricing above an HPMSM price of about $1 000/t.