Giyani Secures Surface Rights for K.Hill Project and Solar Farm
TORONTO, July 16, 2024 - Giyani Metals Corp. (TSXV:EMM, GR:A2DUU8) ("Giyani" or the "Company"), developer of the K.Hill Battery-Grade Manganese Project in Botswana ("K.Hill" or "the Project"), is pleased to announce that the Company has secured 25-year surface rights leases for both the K.Hill project area and the planned solar farm site.
Highlights:
- Giyani has secured surface right leases ("Surface Rights") totalling approximately 1,010 hectares covering the K.Hill project area and the location of the planned solar farm from the Ngwaketse Land Board (the "Land Board") in the southern district of Botswana.
- The Surface Rights give Giyani the exclusive right to develop on the sites and to access sub-surface water over the 25-year period. The leases are renewable for an additional 25-years.
- Securing the Surface Rights for the solar power site is a key component of Giyani's strategy to be a low carbon producer of Battery Grade Manganese. The anticipated addition of solar power will help to reduce the CO2 footprint of the Project, and will be reflected in the ongoing Definitive Feasibility Study ("DFS") (see news release dated June 4, 2024) which is expected to be completed in Q2 2025.
- Giyani has applied for the Project's Mining Licence as well as Special Economic Zone status for the processing plant, which are both important Project milestones. The Company will update on the progress of these applications in due course.
Danny Keating, President and CEO of the Company, commented:
"I wish to thank the Ngwaketse Land Board in Kanye and the Ministry of Lands, Water and Sanitation for their work in awarding the land rights and for their support throughout this efficient process. The speed with which this process was concluded is testament to the professional systems in place in country and endorses Botswana's ranking as the premier mining investment jurisdiction in Africa.
The efficiency of Botswana's regulatory process compared to other global jurisdictions will allow Giyani to remain at the forefront of the battery grade manganese industry, as we move rapidly to delivering the DFS and battery-grade manganese production from the Demo Plant.
The receipt of the Surface Rights is an important milestone for the Project and a clear sign that Giyani is maintaining momentum in the development of this vital critical minerals project."
Surface Rights Secured
Giyani has secured Surface Rights for approximately 1,010 hectares of land from the Government of Botswana for its proposed processing and mining activities and solar farm through long-term leases.
Giyani has now signed lease agreements with the Ngwaketse Land Board for 25-year terms, renewable for an additional 25 years on five years notice of renewal prior to expiry of the initial term.
An annual fee of approximately C$60,000 is required to be paid in respect to the land leases granted under the Tribal Land Act and the regulated fee structure. This practice is standard for land leases or grants in Botswana. The Land Board granted leases to the Company which were duly registered with the national Deeds Office.
About Giyani
Giyani is focussed on becoming the dominant western-world producer of sustainable, low carbon high purity battery grade manganese for the electric vehicle ("EV") industry. The Company has developed a proprietary hydrometallurgical process to produce High Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate ("HPMSM"), a lithium-ion battery ("LIB") cathode precursor material critical for EVs.
The Company has secured US$26m in financing from two strategic partners, ARCH Sustainable Resources Fund LP and the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa, as it aims to progress the K.Hill battery-grade manganese project in Botswana to construction by building and operating the Demo Plant and completing a Definitive Feasibility Study by H1 2025.
Additional information and corporate documents may be found on www.sedarplus.ca and on Giyani Metals Corp. website at https://giyanimetals.com/.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Giyani Metals Corp.
Danny Keating, President and CEO
Contact:
Tel: +1289-291-7632
Danny Keating, President & CEO
dkeating@giyanimetals.com
Charles FitzRoy, Head of Corporate Development & Strategy
cfitzroy@giyanimetals.com
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
The securities described herein have not been registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold to, or for the account or benefit of, persons in the United States or "U.S. persons," as such term is defined in Regulation S promulgated under the U.S. Securities Act ("U.S. Persons"), except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the Company's securities to, or for the account of benefit of, persons in the United States or U.S. Persons.
Forward Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Giyani expects to occur, are "forward-looking statements". Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "does not expect", "plans", "anticipates", "does not anticipate", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential", "scheduled", "forecast", "budget" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could", "should" or "might" occur.
Such statements include without limitation: the receipt of Mining Licence and Special Economic Zone approvals as required, development of the solar farm, the anticipated carbon dioxide output of its HPMSM production, the renewal of the leases, timing and completion of the DFS or at all.
All such forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of the relevant management as of the date such statements are made and are subject to certain assumptions, important risk factors and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Giyani's ability to control or predict. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. In the case of Giyani, these facts include anticipated operations in future periods, planned exploration and development of its properties, and plans related to its business and other matters that may occur in the future. This information relates to analyses and other information that is based on expectations of future performance and planned work programs.
Forward-looking information is subject to a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which could cause actual events or results to differ from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking information, including, without limitation: inherent exploration hazards and risks; risks related to exploration and development of natural resource properties; uncertainty in Giyani's ability to obtain funding; commodity price fluctuations; recent market events and conditions; risks related to the uncertainty of Mineral Resource calculations and the inclusion of Inferred Mineral Resources in economic estimation; risks related to governmental regulations; risks related to obtaining necessary licences and permits; risks related to Giyani's business being subject to environmental laws and regulations; risks related to the Company's mineral properties being subject to prior unregistered agreements, transfers, or claims and other defects in title; risks relating to competition from larger companies with greater financial and technical resources; risks relating to the inability to meet financial obligations under agreements to which they are a party; ability to recruit and retain qualified personnel; and risks related to the Company's directors and officers becoming associated with other natural resource companies which may give rise to conflicts of interests. This list is not exhaustive of the factors that may affect Giyani's forward-looking information. Should one or more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking information or statements.
Giyani's forward-looking information is based on the reasonable beliefs, expectations and opinions of the Company's respective management on the date the statements are made, and Giyani does not assume any obligation to update forward looking information if circumstances or management's beliefs, expectations or opinions change, except as required by law. For the reasons set forth above, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. For a complete discussion with respect to Giyani and risks associated with forward-looking information and forward-looking statements, please refer to Giyani's continuous disclosure documents which are filed on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
