Giyani Metals, developer of the K.Hill battery-grade manganese project, has moved its demonstration Plant, currently in construction, into its commissioning phase.
The company said the Johannesburg demo plant, in the last month, has also made progress with the commissioning of the steam boiler, plant air supply system, and the demineralized water plant.
The main control station hardware for the Yokogawa Distributed Control System (DCS) has been installed, and the control room has been powered up. The DCS will control the demo plant, enabling the facility to operate as a continuous process flow, rather than on a batch basis.
The continuous process flow capability of the plant is a significant advantage for Giyani, as it enables the team to operate the facility at steady state and confirm the ability to produce consistent specification battery-grade manganese (HPMSM). By demonstrating this ability to potential offtake partners, Giyani can satisfy their requirements for a consistent product specification and production rate.
It also noted that Installation of the ISO-certified, independent laboratory is underway. The onsite lab will enable Giyani to test product quality ensuring a consistent specification, an important requirement for offtaker qualification to demonstrate the ability to produce a consistent product and a consistent quantity of product.
The demo plant is a smaller scale, direct copy of the proposed commercial plant, allowing Giyani to better understand how the proposed commercial plant (to be built in Botswana) will respond in advance of construction. Commissioning and ramp-up of that facility is planned for 2027.
The demo plant remains on track for commissioning and production of up to 600kg-a-day of battery-grade manganese (HPMSM) in Q4 2024. HPMSM produced from the plant will be provided to offtakers for testing and qualification. Giyani will keep the market updated of progress at the Demo Plant.
“The superiority of the demo plant in kind and size establishes a strong foundation for Giyani to engage with potential offtake partners, and offers Giyani many advantages that would not be available with other smaller or non-continuous facilities,” said president and CEO Charles FitzRoy.
“In particular, the continuous process flow of the demo plant will allow the team to target steady-state operations over extended periods, consequently proving Giyani’s ability to produce consistent battery-grade manganese and satisfy offtake requirements. Similarly, continuous operation at pre-commercial scale provides critical information for understanding how the commercial plant will respond, significantly de-risking the project.
“The results of this undertaking will yield significant strategic and operational benefits, and we look forward to providing further updates in due course.”
Source: giyanimetals.com