Giyani Metals Corp (TSX-V:EMM, OTC:CATPF) CEO Charles FitzRoy talked with Proactive about the company’s recent progress securing financing and advancing its manganese operations.
The company has received a letter of interest from the Export–Import Bank of the United States for a potential loan of up to $225 million over 15 years.
FitzRoy emphasized that while the offer remains subject to due diligence and the completion of its definitive feasibility study (DFS), the long-term nature of the loan could significantly lower annual payments.
Giyani is actively pursuing offtake agreements, especially with US companies. FitzRoy confirmed that sample oxide products have already been shipped to potential offtakers, with high-purity manganese sulphate monohydrate production scheduled for Q3 this year.
The DFS remains on track for completion in Q1 2026, following adjustments informed by the company’s demonstration plant operations in Johannesburg.
Proactive: Hello you're watching Proactive, joining me is Giyani Metals Corp CEO Charles FitzRoy. Charlie, very good to speak to you. And let's start with today's big news. What is the receiving this letter of interest from EXIM mean for Giyani at this stage?
Charles FitzRoy: It's good to talk as always. So this is a very positive step forward for Giyani. The EXIM you refer to is the Export–Import Bank of the United States government. United States EXIM launched a program earlier this year to help secure supply of critical minerals for the US supply chain. They've given us a potential loan of up to $225 million over a 15-year period, which is fantastic for us. Obviously, this is a letter of interest now, and there's still due diligence. This is subject to our definitive feasibility study, which is ongoing now. But this is very positive. Fifteen years is a long time for a loan, especially a loan of this size. That means we can reduce our annual payments. It’s also a very positive thing that the US government has done some due diligence on our project and has interest. So it's fantastic news and it really is a step getting us closer to getting this project funded.
I mean, offtake agreements with US companies are key to unlocking the EXIM funding. Charlie, can you give us an update on discussions or interest you're seeing on that front?
Yes. So that's obviously a key thing. We have made some oxide products, which we shipped off to offtakers. Some of those groups are in the US, and we will be making a sulfate product — High-Purity Manganese Sulphate Monohydrate (HPMSM) — in Q3 this year. Again, that will be going off to US groups, and US groups are very much part of the key strategy of Giyani. It's somewhere where we're seeing big growth in the market. For example, recently this year we've seen large groups in the US like Ford and GM have announced breakthroughs in high manganese content battery chemistry, and other groups are developing as well. So there is a big shift in the US towards higher manganese content. It is a market we see as hugely strategic and interesting for Giyani.
You mentioned the definitive feasibility study, which is underway. How is that progressing, and are you still on track to complete it in the first quarter of next year?
Yes, the DFS is due for Q1. We had to revise guidance because of all the learnings from our demonstration plant, which is in Johannesburg. The demo plant, which I never talked about before, is the largest of its kind outside of China for battery manganese. We're really lucky to have that. The fact we've managed to go from our lab scale to the demo scale gives us quite an advantage. We've managed to learn a lot from it, and the DFS now is firmly on track for Q1 in 2026.
You're currently in Botswana, Charlie, so you're there for the Future Minerals Summit. Tell us a bit about that and what you'll be presenting?
Yes. So it's very exciting. This is a Future Minerals Summit in Gaborone. This is the biggest conference of the year in Botswana. We'll be presenting Giyani. Giyani is a very well supported group in Botswana, both at government level and local level. We will be fully beneficiation products, going from mine to market in-country. We have just under 1,900 square kilometers of licenses in Botswana. Our process will be in Botswana adjacent to our assets and will make an end product there. That is the idea of the Botswana government. They are very keen to support that and encourage groups to do things like that — actually beneficiation in-country.
Quotes have been lightly edited for clarity and style