Sigma Lithium Corp (TSX-V:SGML, NASDAQ:SGML) has announced the loading of the first trucks at its Grota do Cirilo lithium project in Brazil as it prepares for the inaugural shipment in May of green lithium and tailings.
The company said a total of 10 trucks were loaded on schedule this week, starting on Monday, April 24, including four trucks with approximately 146 tonnes of green lithium and six trucks containing green tailings to be upcycled into battery grade lithium concentrate.
"We are thrilled to achieve this milestone, which demonstrates our continued progress and rapid ascent to become one of the world's largest lithium producers," Sigma Lithium CEO Ana Cabral-Gardner said in a statement.
"We are proud that our project will enable Brazil to be a leader in the energy transition as a key supplier of raw materials that can be mined and processed in a sustainable way for our environment and our communities.”
Effective logistics chain
Beginning in the plant in Araçuaí, which is specially designed to handle its concentrate and tailings operations simultaneously, Sigma Lithium said its logistics chain has proven effective, with the loading and transition completed quickly and seamlessly from plant to warehouse.
The two products are being stored in a segregated manner and each one has a tailored logistical approach, ensuring safe transport and accurate forwarding of the material. The trucks arrived at the warehouses in Brazil's Vitoria Port on April 26 for discharge, the company said, adding that product shipment volume continues to increase daily and is on track to achieve the expected ramp-up volumes.
The company noted that Phase 1 of the project is expected to produce 270,000 tonnes of green lithium annually (36,700 LCE annually).
Following the successful completion of an ongoing feasibility study, Phases 2 and 3 of the project are expected to increase production to 766,000 tonnes annually (or 104,200 LCE annually). The project produces green lithium in a state-of-the-art Greentech lithium plant that uses 100% renewable energy, 100% recycled water and 100% dry-stacked tailings.
“We look forward to providing a further update at our next earnings announcement as we continue to meet our production targets and ramp up to full production capacity,” Cabral-Gardner concluded.
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