Giyani Metals Corp. (TSX-V:EMM)(GR:A2DUU8), developer of the K.Hill Battery-Grade Manganese Project in Botswana, is pleased to announce that it has made the first shipment of High Purity Manganese Oxide samples to multiple potential offtakers for testing and qualification from its Demonstration Plant in Johannesburg.

Highlights:

• Following the news release in March 2025 that Giyani had successfully produced HPMO from its Demo Plant, samples have now been shipped to multiple prospective offtake partners.
• HPMO is a precursor material for the production of High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate. Production of HPMSM is targeted for Q3 2025 to be followed by offtake qualification trials.
• HPMO and HPMSM are precursors for the rapidly growing market for Lithium-Manganese-Iron-Phosphate, Lithium-Manganese-Nickel-Oxide and Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt electric vehicle and energy storage system batteries. Whilst HPMSM is the preferred precursor for NMC battery chemistries, HPMO and HPMSM can both be used to produce fast market share gaining battery types such as LMFP.
• Giyani’s ability to produce both HPMO and HPMSM gives the Company technological and product optionality, enabling it to maintain pace with the rapidly developing battery market, and serve the majority of potential future battery technologies.
• Giyani’s Demo Plant plays a crucial role in derisking the construction and operation of the full-scale Commercial Plant planned for Botswana. Scaling from laboratory to demonstration scale is the largest de-risking event for a flowsheet and a major hurdle for novel processes. Giyani is currently one of the only developers outside China to demonstrate this step and the only known company to have constructed a Demo Plant at this scale.
• Learnings from the commissioning of the Demo Plant, combined with ongoing optimization work have realized some very positive outcomes, including:
  • Improved knowledge of the process at scale which will be integral to the design and specification of the Commercial Plant, a considerable de-risking function
  • The ability to generate a cleaner HPMO product and an associated reduction of both waste (tailings) and emissions outputs
  • The addition of a new valuable by-product
• The learnings from the Demo Plant operation to date and resulting planned modifications require changes to the project timeline. The revised timeline for HPMSM production is now Q3 2025 and the guidance for Definitive Feasibility Study completion is in Q1 2026. Construction of the commercial facility is planned to commence in 2027 with production ramp-up from 2028/2029. This timeline strategically positions Giyani to meet the forecast demand increase for battery-grade manganese from 2028 onwards, as OEM’s bring on-line higher manganese content batteries.
• CEO Charles FitzRoy will be presenting a Strategy Update Webinar on May 20,2025 to discuss the Company’s strategy and outlook as Giyani progresses towards construction of the Commercial Plant. The webinar will be followed by a Q&A session. Registration link click here. 

Charles FitzRoy, President and CEO of the Company, commented:

“The Demo Plant is continuing to meet important operational objectives, with the shipment of HPMO being a major accomplishment that significantly endorses the project and has allowed us to move forward with offtaker testing. In parallel, we continue to progress towards production of HPMSM and realize the technological and product optionality that will afford Giyani significant advantages in a rapidly evolving battery market. The team on the ground at the Demo Plant are doing a fantastic job and continue to derisk the planned Commercial Plant in Botswana through on-going operation and modifications to the Demo Plant. 

The market continues to announce developments in higher manganese content battery chemistries, like Ford and GM’s recent lithium-manganese-rich (LMR) breakthroughs, which contain multiples more manganese than their current nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) batteries. New developments in battery manufacture may open up the need for other forms of manganese, and it is vital that Giyani moves with the market. The ability to produce HPMO and HPMSM gives Giyani that edge and it is clear that there is interest around our project and we appreciate the incredible support from our stakeholders.”

Shareholder Information Session

Giyani’s CEO will be presenting a Strategy Update Webinar on May 20, 2025, to provide an update on the Company’s strategy and outlook as it advances towards construction of the Commercial Plant. Registration link click here.

Strategy Overview

Demo Plant Commissioning and Production Update

The construction of the Demo Plant, which consists of nine Process Modules (each a self-contained process system within a fixed frame), is complete. The Production Ramp-up (C5 Commissioning) phase continues to advance, and the team continues to work determinedly towards first production of HPMSM. The Demo Plant continued to advance Hot Commissioning (C4 Commissioning) during March 2025. C4 and C5 commissioning naturally progress in parallel in the final stages of commissioning.

The Demo Plant also enables final optimization of the engineering design and metallurgical flowsheet to reduce operating costs and carbon profile. This will occur in parallel with the DFS, which is underway and expected to be completed in Q1 2026. The Demo Plant laboratory, independently installed and operated by Quality Lab Services (QLS) continues to function as planned with full analytical services available during Plant operation.

Figure 1: Demo Plant Render

Stages of commissioning:

• C1 – Full mechanical completion (individual Process Modules)
• C2 – Dry testing, direction testing, loop testing (individual Process Modules)
• C3 – Cold/Water Commissioning, software testing (individual Process Modules)
• C4 – Hot Commissioning with reagents and steam (typically full Process)
• C5 – Production Ramp-up (full Process)

In addition to progress at the Demo Plant, concurrent metallurgical test work is underway to further optimize the flowsheet. Giyani is focused on further reducing reagent consumption and improving both the operating cost and the carbon footprint for the Commercial Plant, planned for construction adjacent to Giyani’s extensive 100% owned manganese oxide ore sources in Southern Botswana.

The Demo Plant is designed at a scale factor of approximately 1:10 to the planned Commercial Plant. This ensures robust and reliable scale-up from the Demo Plant data when the Commercial Plant is implemented. To illustrate, the leach tanks have a 60cm diameter in the Demo Plant, and this is expected to be 8-10x larger at approximately 5m in the Commercial Plant.

The laboratory and the operating procedures and methods Giyani has developed are directly transferable to the Commercial Plant, enabling a tried-and-tested laboratory set-up to be available on Day 1 of Commercial Plant commissioning.

Botswana Developments

Giyani announced in January (see NR dated January 23, 2025) the receipt of its Special Economic Zone licence for the Commercial Plant. The SEZ licence will positively impact the Company, providing fiscal and non-fiscal benefits. Important to note is that the Company will benefit from a 5% corporate tax rate for the first 10 years of production for the Commercial Plant, increasing to 10% thereafter; a considerable benefit which was not included in the 2023 PEA.

During February, Giyani launched its first tender for site preparation works, exclusively reserved for 100% Botswanan citizen-owned companies. The tender for perimeter fencing and beacon installation is targeting contractors from Kanye, ensuring the local community directly benefits from Giyani’s project.

In March 2025, Giyani’s CEO, Charles FitzRoy, visited Botswana to meet key stakeholders including the Honorable Bogolo Joy Kenewendo, Minister of Minerals & Energy of Botswana, the US Ambassador of Botswana, Howard Van Vranken, and Giyani partners at the Special Economic Zone Authority Team to discuss the Project’s progression and to continue to foster key stakeholder relationships.

About Giyani

Giyani is focused on becoming a dominant western-world producer of sustainable, low carbon high purity battery grade manganese for the EV and ESS industry. The Company has developed a proprietary hydrometallurgical process to produce battery-grade manganese (HPMSM and HPMO), a lithium-ion battery cathode precursor material critical for EVs and ESS.

Additional information and corporate documents may be found on www.sedarplus.ca and on Giyani Metals Corp. website at https://giyanimetals.com/.