Giyani Metals Corp. Announces Completion of Infill Drilling at K.Hill Project and Corporate Update
Highlights
- Infill drilling at K.Hill Extension completed for a total of 4,561m with objective of upgrading the majority of the current 3.1 million tonnes (“Mt”) of Inferred Resources into Indicated Resources.
- Additional mineralization discovered along strike to the south of the K.Hill Extension, where further drilling will be undertaken in the coming weeks.
- Appointment of Jacques du Toit as VP Technical Services, effective June 1, previously Project Director for Tetra Tech Inc’s (“Tetra Tech”) mining group in the UK and project manager for the K.Hill Project.
- Meeting with President of Botswana and site visit to K.Hill Project by major European battery manufacturer.
K.Hill Extension Infill Drilling
The infill RC drilling program at K.Hill Extension, which commenced in February 2022, has been completed. A total of 4,561m have been drilled across 54 holes (including three re-drills) on an approximate 75 x 75m grid spacing to determine the correlation between the southern mineralized horizons and the northern resource horizons to establish continuity in order to convert the majority of Inferred Resources in the K.Hill Extension to Indicated Resources.
The drilling program also extended along strike into a previously untested section to the south of the identified zones and confirmed the presence of further mineralization and the potential to add tonnage to the existing resource. An additional 19 holes were planned for this section, eleven of which have already been completed for 730m, two are in progress and the remaining six will be drilled in the coming weeks.
A further ten diamond drill holes across the K. Hill Extension area will be drilled at pre-selected locations. The diamond drill holes will be drilled as twin holes to certain RC holes and will be used to confirm the results from the RC campaign as well as for geotechnical, geochemical and metallurgical studies.
Assaying will shortly commence for the RC drill collars and once the the full set of drill holes has been assayed the results will be sent to SRK Consulting for updated resource estimation and, thereafter, the Company would anticipate the completion of an updated Mineral Resource Estimate for the K.Hill Project.
Appointment of VP Technical Services
As the Company seeks to develop its specialist technical expertise, it has appointed Mr. Jacques du Toit as VP Technical Services. Mr du Toit was formerly Tetra Tech's project manager for the K.Hill Project and has elected to join the Giyani team as the Company finalises the feasibility study for the K.Hill Project, currently scheduled for release in Q3 2022.
Mr du Toit is a professional project manager and engineer and has over 20 years’ experience in mining project development worldwide. He has previously worked for Bateman Engineering, BHP Billiton Limited, Paterson and Cooke and Tetra Tech and has joined the Company as a member of the senior management team effective June 1, 2022.
Site Visit to K.Hill Project
Earlier this month, the Company attended the Cape Town Mining Indaba and was invited to a special audience with the President of Botswana, His Excellency Mokgweetsi Masisi. The President drew attention to the K.Hill Project and Giyani’s plan to produce a critical battery material in country.
Giyani then hosted a visit to the K.Hill Project for a number of financial institutions and a major European battery manufacturer. The visit was also attended by the Honourable Dr. Lemogang Kwape, the MP for Kanye South and Minister of International Affairs and Cooperation, who spoke of the strong local support for Giyani and the K.Hill Project.
Robin Birchall, CEO of the Company, commented:
“The K.Hill orebody continues to deliver excellent results and we are very pleased not only to complete the infill portion of our RC drill program within budget but to confirm that the mineralization continues to the south. In a little over a year, our exploration successes have upgraded a 1.7Mt Inferred Resource for the K.Hill Project into 2.1Mt of Indicated and 3.1Mt of Inferred Resources and we are expectant that the results of this infill program will increase the Indicated Resource further.
Giyani’s core objective is to be a responsible low carbon and sustainable producer of high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate (“HPMSM”) and play a key role in the future of the electric vehicle market and so we were delighted to have recently hosted a major European battery manufacturer on a site visit to our K.Hill Project and tour of local infrastructure. A highlight of the tour was the visit of Minister Kwape, who stressed the importance of the project to the local region and his support for Giyani, which followed a very positive meeting with His Excellency President Masisi in Cape Town. Greater exposure to critical minerals and more local, high-value beneficiation are key themes of the President’s mining policy and so Giyani is setting an example of how Botswana can achieve both.
Meanwhile Jacques’ appointment as VP Technical Services is the latest in a number of new additions to our team in recent months, but holds a special significance. Having worked on the K.Hill Project for almost three years on behalf of Tetra Tech, his decision to join our in-house team is a major endorsement of Giyani’s achievements and his years of mining project delivery experience will be invaluable as we exit the study phase and move towards construction.”
About Giyani
Giyani is a mineral resource company focused on becoming one of Africa’s first low-carbon producers of high-purity manganese sulphate precursor materials directly from manganese oxide ore, used by battery manufacturers for the expanding EV market, through the advancement of its manganese assets in the Kanye Basin in south-eastern Botswana, (the “Kanye Basin Prospects”) through its wholly-owned Botswana subsidiary Menzi Battery Metals (Pty) Limited. The Company’s Kanye Basin Prospects consist of 10 prospecting licences and include the past producing Kgwakgwe Hill mine and project, referred to as the K.Hill Project, the Otse manganese prospect and the Lobatse manganese prospect, both of which have seen historical mining activities.
The Company is currently undertaking a feasibility study on the K.Hill Project, following an updated preliminary assessment report announced on April 12, 2021, with a post-tax NPV of USD332 million and post-tax IRR of 80%, based on a development plan to produce around 891,000 tonnes of HPMSM over a 10 year project life. An updated 43-101 technical report on the K.Hill Project is available on www.sedar.com and on the Company’s website at www.giyanimetals.com.
Qualified Persons / NI 43-101 Disclosures
Mr. Luhann Theron, MSc., Pr.Sci.Nat. 400184/15, of Lambda Tau is registered with the SACNASP. Mr. Theron is currently at site and is a qualified person, as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Theron is the Chief Geologist for the Company and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical content contained in this press release but is not independent for the purposes of NI 43-101.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Giyani Metals Corp.
Robin Birchall
CEO
Contact:
Giyani Metals Corp.
Robin Birchall CEO, Director
+44 7711 313019
rbirchall@giyanimetals.com
George Donne, VP Business Development
+44 7866 591 897
gdonne@giyanimetals.com
Judith Webster, Corporate Secretary
+1 416 453 8818
jwebster@giyanimetals.com
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