AMN - BOTSWANA: Lobatse environment plan approved

The Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) in Botswana has granted Giyani Metals Corp final approval for the Environmental Management Plan (EMP) of its Lobatse manganese prospect. This approval was granted after the customary one-month public review process.

During this process, which began on February 14, 2020, the company was required to advertise the details of the EMP in the government gazette and local newspapers. There were no concerns raised by any stakeholders during that period and, as a result, the DEA issued an official acceptance letter on March 20, 2020.

Giyani CEO Robin Birchall said: "We are extremely pleased with the final Lobatse EMP approval and grateful to the DEA in Botswana for the speed and dedication in which they have completed their review.

"This is another great example of Botswana's dedication to supporting its mining industry, especially as the country has introduced its own in-country restrictions following the COVID-19 global pandemic; measures we are both supporting in-country and applaud. 

"This has been a detailed process with multiple reviews and updates which commenced in early 2019. The environmental framework required to proceed with exploration activities at Lobatse is now in place in order for Giyani to realise its full potential including our efforts to expand the company's manganese resource base in Botswana.

"This approval is the last of the three that we have received across K.Hill, Lobatse and Otse project sites."

The company has also received a letter of interest confirming in-principal project finance support for its K.Hill Manganese Project. The letter was issued by Atradius Dutch State Business, the official administrator of the Export Credit Agency (ECA) of the Netherlands, under the export credit insurance scheme of the Dutch government.

In order to promote Dutch exports, Atradius offers credit insurance products for projects involving the export of goods and services from the Netherlands. ECA Cover from Atradius is often used to assist Dutch exporters in winning export transactions and increasing the capacity to raise finance from banks for projects involving Dutch exports.

Giyani Metals Corp is a Canadian explorer and developer focused on the development of its K.Hill, Lobatse and Otse manganese projects in the Kanye Basin of Botswana. The flagship K.Hill project is a near-surface manganese oxide deposit currently going through a feasibility study to produce high-purity electrolytic manganese metal (HPEMM), a key product needed for batteries in the expanding electric vehicle (EV) market.

www.giyanimetals.com