Botswana has awarded Giyani Metals a 15-year mining licence, the company announced on Wednesday, paving the way for it to become the country’s first battery-grade manganese producer.
Manganese is a key component in batteries and its demand is expected to be driven by growth in electric vehicles, among other clean energy applications.
Giyani’s Kgwakwe Hill (K.Hill) project will process manganese oxide material on-site to produce high-purity manganese sulphate, making it one of the few battery-grade manganese projects outside China. The Asian country controls 90% of global high-purity manganese supply.
The K. Hill mine will have an initial annual output of 80,000 metric tons of high purity manganese sulphate monohydrate annually over a 57-year life, according to a 2023 preliminary economic assessment.
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“The next step is production of battery-grade manganese from our demonstration plant, which is under construction in Johannesburg, South Africa,” the Canadian company said in a statement.
The product from the demonstration plant will be used for offtaker qualification, a vital step before offtake agreements can be signed, it added.
Botswana, the world’s biggest diamond producer by value, is heavily reliant on the gems, which contribute 30% of national revenues and 70% of foreign exchange earnings.
The country is looking to diversify within the mining sector with minerals such as copper, nickel, coal and iron ore.
Apart from diamond mines, the country has two operating coal mines and three copper mines.
With global appetite for green minerals on the rise due to the energy transition, the demand for battery metals such as manganese is expected to reduce the country’s reliance on diamonds.
