Sigma Lithium Corporation is a Canadian-incorporated lithium company.
The company is one of the largest hard rock lithium mining and beneficiation complexes in the Americas, with an environmental sustainability-directed strategy. The Project in Brazil is supplying the rapidly expanding lithium-ion battery supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs) with sustainable 5.1% to 6.0% high-grade lithium concentrate (Green Lithium).
2025 and Next Steps
The company’s mining resources increased to 107 mi...
Sigma Lithium Corporation is a Canadian-incorporated lithium company.
The company is one of the largest hard rock lithium mining and beneficiation complexes in the Americas, with an environmental sustainability-directed strategy. The Project in Brazil is supplying the rapidly expanding lithium-ion battery supply chain for electric vehicles (EVs) with sustainable 5.1% to 6.0% high-grade lithium concentrate (Green Lithium).
2025 and Next Steps
The company’s mining resources increased to 107 million tonnes while Proven and Probable reserves have increased to 76 million tonnes, with a revised long-term cash operating cost (plant-gate) estimate of approximately US$318 per tonne of lithium concentrate. The report also outlines an updated after-tax NPV (at 8%) for Phases 1, 2, and 3, estimated at US$5.4 billion, using Benchmark Minerals Inc.’s price forecast.
2024
On January 31, 2024, Sigma published its updated resource estimate following its 2023 drill campaign. The aggregate measured, indicated and inferred estimate increased to 108.9 million tonnes at an average grading of 1.40% lithium oxide. This was an increase of 27% over the prior estimate of 85.6 million tonnes and a slight decrease in the average grading of lithium oxide at 1.43%. The majority of the revisions were made to the Phase 3 (Nezinho do Chicão) and Phase 4 (Murial) deposits, but the company also announced a maiden resource estimate of 2.1 million tonnes inferred for its Phase 5, Elvira, prospect.
2023
In 2023, Sigma successfully commissioned and began commercial operations at its Phase 1 Greentech Plant and mine. During the year, total lithium concentrate production exceeded 105,000 tonnes, with operations sustaining annualized nameplate capacity utilization rates of 270,000 tonnes for the month of December.
The company also advanced its plans to triple its lithium concentrate production capacity. This included completing engineering to FEL-3 stage precision of its Phase 2 and 3 Greentech Plants. Said plants are to source feedstock ore from the Barreiro and Nezinho do Chicão deposits, which was investigated in the preliminary feasibility study (Phase 2 & Phase 3 PFS) included in the Restated Technical Report filed on June 12, 2023.
Congruent with its efforts to expand its production footprint were initiatives to build upon its existing resource estimate. In 2023, the company completed a 30,000-meter drill campaign which resulted in an increase to its overall, pit constrained, measured, indicated and inferred resource estimate as published on January 31, 2024.
In September 2023, Sigma was also a participant on the Combining Environmental and Social Agendas panel at the Brazil Climate Summit at Columbia Business School.
On June 12, 2023, the company filed the Restated Technical Report on SEDAR and EDGAR, which includes all of the study results and resource and reserve estimates which were included in the Updated Technical Report, and which includes updated information on the licensing and regulatory approval status of the Grota do Cirilo Project and the Murial drilling program. The Restated Technical Report was prepared by independent mining consultancies and the professional services firms Primero Group Ltd (Primero), SGS Canada Inc. (SGS), and GE21 Consultoria Mineral (GE21). Please refer to the Description of the Business – Current Status of the Project. For further information on Sigma’s ESG and sustainability programs, please refer to the most recent MD&A of the company.
On April 17, 2023, the company announced that it had initiated production of spodumene concentrate from its Phase 1 Greentech Plant. Production followed the successful commissioning of the dense media separation line, after having completed construction and commissioning of the crushing circuit earlier in the year.
2022
In 2022, the company’s activity was primarily focused on the construction of the Phase 1 Greentech Plant and pre-mining activities to establish operational readiness ahead of first production. Construction activity progressed throughout the year on schedule, with the company employing a workforce of more than 1,000 by the fourth quarter of 2022 (approximately 40% is consisted of Jequitinhonha Valley region community members, where the Grota do Cirilo Project is located) and crushing circuit commissioning commencing as planned in December 2022.
On December 4, 2022, the results of the Phase 2 & 3 PFS highlighted a combined project net present value and internal rate of return of US$15.3 billion and 1,273%, respectively, along with a maiden Phase 3 proven and probable mineral reserve estimate of 21.2 Mt grading at 1.45% Li2O, which included 2.2 Mt of proven mineral reserves grading at 1.53% Li2O and 19.0 Mt of probable mineral reserves grading at 1.44% Li2O. The Company later filed the associated Updated Technical Report on SEDAR and EDGAR on January 16, 2023. The Updated Technical Report was prepared by independent mining consultancies and professional services firms Primero, SGS, and GE21. This approach resulted from a thorough review of the Company’s strategic priorities, aiming to respond to a significant increase in demand from potential customers and solidify its market position as a future supplier of 5.5% battery-grade lithium concentrate (Green Lithium).
Additionally, on December 4, 2022, the company secured a US$100,000,000 pre-export financing agreement with Synergy Capital, one of its current investors based in the United Arab Emirates (the Synergy Financing). The Synergy Financing is a senior secured facility available through a multi-draw term loan that contemplates a 48-month term and a borrowing rate of twelve-month BSBY plus 6.95% per annum.
In November 2022, the company actively participated with its entire ESG leadership team at COP-27 in Egypt. The team collectively participated in more than 25 events, panels, and workshops. Ana Cabral-Gardner was invited by UN-DESA to host a workshop at the SDG Pavilion at COP-27, where a framework was presented to apply UN-SDGs to mining projects globally to measure sustainability and overall economic and social impact. Additionally, Ms. Cabral-Gardner made the keynote presentation on circular economy at COP Investments (hosted by the World Climate Fund), presenting the company’s strategy to become the first Zero Tailings lithium producer by upcycling 100% of its hazardous chemicals-free tailings from the Greentech Plant. Ms. Cabral-Gardner also participated at the Acceleration to Net Zero Series of McKinsey & Co. at COP-27 with leading sustainability professionals across fields.
On June 22, 2022, the company estimated a maiden Phase 3 mineral resource of 23.3 Mt of measured and indicated resources grading at 1.49% Li2O and 3.5 Mt of inferred resources grading at 1.48% Li2O. The Company later filed the associated technical report on SEDAR and EDGAR on August 4, 2022.
On May 25, 2022, the company filed a technical report associated with an updated Phase 1 feasibility study (the Phase 1 FS), a maiden Phase 2 proven and probable mineral reserve estimate of 21.8 Mt grading at 1.37% Li2O, 16.9 Mt of proven mineral reserves grading at 1.38% Li2O and 4.8 Mt of probable mineral reserves grading at 1.29% Li2O, and a Phase 2 preliminary feasibility study (the Phase 2 PFS) on SEDAR and EDGAR.
Description of the business
The company’s existing Phase 1 operations and planned tripling of capacity through Phase 2 and 3 expansions represent one of the largest hard rock lithium mining and beneficiation complexes in the world. Through its vertically integrated mining and processing operations, the company produces Green Lithium and a low-grade, high-purity, zero-chemical, hypofine by-product (Green By-Products) at approximately 1.3% lithium oxide. Depending on market conditions, these Green By-Products can be sold to strengthen Sigma’s ESG-centric approach to pioneer a zero tailings environmental sustainability strategy, minimizing the environmental footprint of tailings storage with a positive ecosystem impact, while also generating an additional revenue stream to the company.
Lithium Properties
The company’s assets are located in the municipalities of Araçuaí and Itinga in the northeastern part of the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, approximately 25 km east of the town of Araçuaí and 600 km northeast of Belo Horizonte, the state capital. The Project is approximately 700 km from the Port of Vitoria, from where the company ships its concentrate to global markets.
The company owns 100% of the operating assets indirectly through its wholly-owned subsidiary Sigma Mineração S.A. (Sigma Brazil), with the leasehold area is consisted of 29 mineral rights (which include mining concessions, applications for mining concessions, exploration authorizations, applications for mineral exploration authorizations) spread over 183 km², located within the broader 18,277.91-hectare land package held by Sigma Brazil.
Sigma’s mineral concessions is consisted of four properties: Grota do Cirilo (the area of the Project where Phase 1, 2 and 3 are located), and the Sao Jose, Genipapo, and Santa Clara properties.
Licensing Updates
Phase 1 Updates
On November 1, 2024, Sigma submitted a request for the expansion of the Preliminary License (LP), Installation License (LI), and Operating License (LO) for Phase 1 to SUPPRI. The approval of this expansion improves operational performance and better stocking of the waste piles for the Phase 1 north and south pits.
On March 31, 2023, Sigma received an operational license (LO) for the Phase 1 north pit and Phase 1 Greentech Plant, and on April 30, 2023, for the Phase 1 south pit, both with a unanimous vote of approval including all the non-governmental organizations involved. This follows the company filing its request for the LO for the Phase 1 north pit and Phase 1 Greentech Plant on November 16, 2022 and the Phase 1 south pit on January 23, 2023. The receipt of the LO was the last licensing step required for Sigma to produce Green Lithium.
On June 29, 2022, the Grant of Right to Use Water Resources (Outorga de Direito de Uso de Recursos Hídricos) was approved, allowing the company to use pit seepage water for dust suppression and other mining activities.
On June 27, 2022, the company obtained the requested extension of its current environmental licenses for construction, installation and commissioning from State Environmental Policy Council (COPAM). The extension allows for the simultaneous mining of the Phase 1 north pit and south pit and also allows for the company to increase the area utilized for the dry stacking of the tailings of the Phase 1 Greentech Plant.
On June 23, 2022, the State Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage of Minas Gerais (Instituto Estadual do PatrimÔnio Histórico e Artístico de Minas Gerais or IEPHA) approved the Preliminary Cultural Impact Study, which assesses the possibility of impacts of the project on protected cultural assets.
On April 26, 2022, COPAM, through its Biodiversity Protection Chamber (CPB), approved the environmental compensation proposal presented by Sigma for the vegetation suppression to be carried out. According to the proposal, Sigma will compensate for twice the area to be suppressed, through the land regularization of the Mata Escura Biological Reserve, an integral protection conservation unit located in the same hydrographic basin as the Project.
In January 2022, SUPPRI (the Priority Projects Superintendence of Minas Gerais) issued the final request for complementary information (Complementary Information Request). In March 2022, the company fully responded (Complementary Information Reply) to the Complementary Information Request. The Complementary Information Reply included the submission to SUPPRI of the following environmental studies: Plano de Tráfego (updated traffic plan); Mapa Desvio Estrada Municipal (map and plan for deviation of municipal road); Relatório Campanhas de Monitoramento (monitoring campaigns report); Relação de Comunidades (itemization and description of each community affected); Programa de Monitoramento das Águas Superficiais (surface water monitoring program); Programa de Monitoramento das Águas Subterrâneas (underground water monitoring program); Informações Não Contempladas no PCA (additional information non-contemplated at PCA); Caracterização Hidrológica do Córrego Taquaral (hydrogeology study of Taquaral seasonal stream); Prospecção Espeleológica (report of any existing caves in the area); Plano de Reaproveitamento do Rejeito (tailings recycling plan); Drenagem Pilhas de Disposição de Rejeito/Esteril (drainage plan for tailings piles); Implicações Inventário Vegetaçao (vegetation inventory); Programa de Resgate de Especies da Flora Ameaçadas e Endêmicas (program for rescue of eventual endangered species of vegetation); Licença de Pesca Científica (license for scientific fishing); and Pontos de Monitoramento da Herpetofauna (monitoring points of reptile animals of the region).
Phase 2 Updates
On December 21, 2024, Sigma obtained the Preliminary License (LP), the Installation License (LI), and the Operating License (LO) for Phase 2. Once again, the approval was unanimous by COPAM, the board responsible for voting and awarding environmental licenses in the State of Minas Gerais, including the votes of Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) representatives. This milestone enables Sigma to expand its mineral lithium production capacity to up to 5.5 million tonnes per year.
On March 22, 2024, the company’s Board of Directors issued a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Phase 2 project.
On January 31, 2024, Sigma was awarded its preliminary license, along with the installation license and an operational license (LP, LI and LO, respectively) to install and operate its Phase 2 Greentech Plant by the State of Minas Gerais. The company, once again, received unanimous approval by all members of the independent COPAM including the vote of the board members representing the NGOs. The obtainment of the LP, LI and LO for its Phase 2 Greentech Plant allows the company to further expand its industrial beneficiation and processing capacity of lithium minerals to up to a total of 3.7 million tonnes per year.
On August 17, 2022, the company filed at SUPPRI the environmental studies, including, among others, the environmental impact study and environmental mitigation plan (the Phase 2 EIA/RIMA) for a preliminary, installation and operational license (LP, LI and LO, respectively) for Phase 2 and its piles. Once the EIA/RIMA is approved by the environmental authorities, the company will be authorized to commence the construction, installation and operation of Phase 2, if a formal production decision to proceed with Phase 2 & 3 is made.
The company conducted detailed environmental impact studies for the fauna and the flora in the area of Phase 2 where the pit and waste piles will be located. These studies started in the dry season of the second quarter of 2021 and continued throughout the wet season during the third and fourth quarters of 2021.
Exploration Progress
In 2024, the exploration program focused on the Phase 2 mine target, generating a new pegmatite, known as Filau 14, located at the northern boundary of the Phase 2 deposit. Pegmatite Lagoa do Barro, located some 9km southeast of Phase 3, has been identified as a target of considerable interest, based on the results of soil, mineral and rock outcrop mapping. Furthermore, trenching has expanded the known footprint of three additional mineralized pegmatites. Throughout the studies, underground resources were identified in two phases: Phase 1 and Phase 4. In total during 2024, 3,400 line meters of trenching and 1,100 soil samples were taken, focused on the Grota do Cirilo Project.
Phase 5 is a cluster of large pegmatites located 4km south of Phase 3. The 2023 drill campaign resulted in a maiden resource estimate for Phase 5 of 2.1 million tonnes of inferred lithium resource, at an average grade of 1.16% Li2O. However, the company believes, given drill interceptions to date, that the resource could grow to 20 million tonnes over time.
The company currently plans to drill approximately 10,000 meters in 2025, with the goal of further increasing the company’s estimated mineral resources.
Royalties
The Brazilian government levies a royalty on mineral production: Compensação Financeira pela Exploração de Recursos Minerais (CFEM). Lithium production is subject to a 2% CFEM royalty.
Sigma also pays a royalty to Miazga (as defined below) since Miazga owns the property where the Phase 1 north pit is located. This royalty is established by law and is calculated based on a percentage of the amount paid of CFEM by Sigma.
In addition, the Project is also subject to a net smelter return royalty (NSR Royalty) owed to LRC LP I (a third party) of 1% over the gross revenues of the company from sales of minerals extracted from the Project, less taxes, returns, sales commissions, cost of insurance and freight.
Surface Rights and Other Permitting
Certain surface rights in the Phase 1 area, the current primary focus of the company’s activity, are held by Arqueana Empreendimentos e Participações S.A. (Arqueana), Miazga Participações S.A. (Miazga) and Tatooine Investimentos S.A. (Tatooine).
Sigma Brazil has a mining easement with a total of 413.3 hectares (Servidão Mineral) and aims to cover areas including: waste and tailings piles, Phase 1 and Phase 2 Greentech Plants, all access roads (internal), electrical substation, installation of fueling station and support structures. The Servidão Mineral was published on June 29, 2020 in the Official Gazette of the Federal Government of Brazil.
The company also obtained a key approval by the National Mining Agency on June 4, 2021 for the Phase 2 plan with the Agência Nacional de Mineração (the ANM) approving its economic feasibility study (Plano EconÔmico de Avaliação – PAE). This approval advanced the Phase 2 permitting process to the mining concession request stage (Requerimento de Concessão de Lavra).
The company holds approved economic mining plans (Plano de Aproveitamento EconÔmico or PAE) over the Xuxa, Barreiro, Lavra do Meio, Murial, and Maxixe deposits within the Grota do Cirilo property. The plan was approved on November 16, 2018 by the National Mining Agency.
Property Description and Location
The Project is in northeastern Minas Gerais State, in the municipalities of Araçuaí and Itinga, approximately 25 km east of the town of Araçuaí and 600 km northeast of Belo Horizonte.
The Project is is consisted of four properties held by SMSA and is divided into the Northern Complex (the Grota do Cirilo, Genipapo and Santa Clara properties) and the Southern Complex (the São Jose property).
The Project consists of 29 mineral rights, which include mining concessions, applications for mining concessions, exploration permits and applications for mineral explorations authorizations, spread over 185 km², and includes nine past producing lithium mines and 11 first-priority exploration targets. Granted mining concessions are in good standing with the Brazilian authorities.
To support Sigma’s exploration and development activities within the Grota do Cirilo property, SMSA has entered into surface lease agreements with three related party companies: Arqueana, Miazga and Tatooine, as well as with third-party surface owners in the Project area. There are no conditions limiting the access to the land by SMSA.
SMSA has a mining easement (Servidão Mineral) with a total of 413.3 hectares and aims to cover the areas of waste and tailings piles, production plant, all access roads (internal), electrical substation, installation of fueling station and support structures. The Servidão Mineral was published in the Official Gazette of the Federal Government. It contemplates the mining and processing activities of the Xuxa deposit and processing plant (ANM Process No. 824.692/1971).
The Brazilian Government levies a Compensação Financeira pela Exploração de Recursos Minerais (CFEM) royalty of 2% on mineral production. The Project is also subject to a third-party net smelter return (NSR) royalty of 1%.
History
The company was formerly known as Sigma Lithium Resources Corporation and changed its name to Sigma Lithium Corporation in July 2021.
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