Sigma Lithium Corp (TSX-V:SGML, NASDAQ:SGML) told investors it expects to start earning revenue from phase 1 of its Grota do Cirilo project in Brazil in the second quarter of its fiscal year 2023.
Releasing its 2022 financial results and milestones, the company reiterated its guidance for 130,000 tonnes of green lithium in calendar year 2023 and said it is on track to achieve full Phase 1 run-rate production capacity of 270,000 tonnes per annum in 3Q 2023.
It expects to reach Phase 2 and 3 full production capacity of 766,000 tonnes a year in 2024 if an assessment currently being conducted by DRA Global supports an investment decision, which would position it as one of the world's largest lithium producers, it added.
"This is an exciting time for Sigma Lithium as we ramp up production to full capacity and prepare our very first shipment of green lithium to be delivered this month, becoming the first new producer to successfully enter the battery-grade lithium market in five years," Sigma Lithium CEO Ana Cabral-Gardner said.
"Sigma Lithium is leading the charge in establishing a sustainable global value chain for electric vehicles to meet the accelerating global demand for green lithium. Our unique operating model enables cost-efficient production of high-grade, high-purity lithium and proves that lithium extraction can be done in a way that is both environmentally and socially responsible and sustainable.”
Significant progress
The company said it has made significant strategic and operational progress, enabling it to successfully transition from developer to producer by achieving key milestones safely, sustainably and on schedule.
Production of its high-purity 5.5% battery-grade sustainable lithium started in April, with future shipments of the green lithium targeted at a globally diversified customer base.
Due to the successful implementation of the environmental dry stacking circuit it developed, it said it has successfully sold its high-purity, zero chemicals, approximately 1.3% lithium oxide (Li2O), hypofine tailings, delivering on its ‘zero tailings’ strategy and becoming the first lithium operation in the world to not require tailings dams.
The company also noted that a preliminary feasibility study in January 2023 confirmed the positive economic results of its December 2022 production expansion study, tripling the project’s net present value (NPV) to US$15.3-billion and production capacity to 766,000 tonnes per annum.
"We have a significant growth opportunity well beyond phase 1 production, and we plan to complete the detailed engineering for the construction of the expansion of the production capacity of the Greentech plant (phases 2 and 3) in the third quarter of 2023," Cabral-Gardner added.
The company said other upcoming milestones include further exploration to further increase the project’s estimated mineral resources, and the initiation of earthworks for phase 2 and 3 expansion of the Greentech production plant in 3Q 2023.
Social and environmental programs
Meanwhile, it also made progress with its social and environmental programs, which it has developed to ensure the sustainable construction of the project and development of the Jequitinhonha Valley region where it operates, including the social advancement of its population. With its transition from developer to producer, it said it scaled up its social commitments.
Amongst others, it noted that it increased its microcredit program to 10,000 credit lines for female entrepreneurs; signed a donation agreement to become the second-largest anchor donor to the Columbia University Climate Hub in Brazil, and it announced a partnership with the State Attorney General of Minas Gerais to jointly combat domestic violence in the region.
The company noted that it will also be featured again at COP 28 in Dubai as a case study in achieving net zero in the critical minerals supply chain.
It ended 2022 with cash and cash equivalents of $96.4 million and had cash of $67.1 million as of June 9, 2023.
Sigma's US-listed shares were 2.1% higher in New York on Tuesday, while its Toronto-listed shares had advanced 1.3%.
Contact the author at stephen.gunnion@proactiveinvestors.com