Toronto-listed Giyani Metals Corp. has signed a nondisclosure agreement with Volkswagen AG to supply manganese to the German automaker, Giyani Metals CEO Robin Birchall said July 13.

Giyani Metals disclosed in February the signing of an NDA with a "major electric vehicle producer." Speaking July 13 at an industry conference hosted by Red Cloud Securities, Birchall was asked by a panel moderator whether the company would publicly disclose whether they have become a "tier supplier of manganese" to any automakers, including Volkswagen.

The executive confirmed the company referenced in Giyani Metals' press release was Volkswagen. "We can't put out a press release. They won't let us. But we can tell people it's Volkswagen," Birchall said. "We're not constrained by the NDA."

Volkswagen executives have been tight-lipped so far about the company's deal-making within the evolving global EV supply chain. Thomas Schmall, a member of Volkswagen's board, told Reuters in June that the company was in talks with suppliers to secure access to raw materials through project partnerships.

"Apart from cell manufacturing, which is a new area of business for us, we need to move into vertical integration more strongly, procuring and securing raw materials. This can happen via various forms of cooperation," Schmall told Reuters.

Giyani manages the K.Hill manganese project in southern Botswana, after selling its stake in the Rock Island gold exploration project in 2019. A 2019 preliminary economic assessment of K. Hill estimated a net present value of US$285 million, after taxes and discounted at 10%. The open-pit mine is expected to produce 245,000 tonnes of high-purity electrolytic manganese metal.

Addressing the equity market, Birchall said Giyani is in talks with the Toronto Stock Exchange for an uplisting. Those conversations will continue beyond issuance of a feasibility study for K. Hill, the executive said.