South Star Battery Metals Corp. (TSX-V:STS, OTCQB:STSBF) said it has finalized an agreement to purchase the land required for the construction of a Phase 1 mine and plant facilities at its Santa Cruz Graphite Project in Bahia, Brazil.
The purchase also covers the first two to three years of operations, the company said.
South Star submitted the planned economic analysis (PAE) and a request for the final mining license for the Phase 1 facilities to the Brazilian Mining Authority (ANM) on Monday. The proposed PAE doubles the Santa Cruz production capacity in the previous prefeasibility study released in March 2020 and incorporates a third phase of project development.
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The planned production schedule is as follows: two years with 5,000 tonnes of concentrate per year in Phase 1; two years with 25,000 tonnes per year in Phase 2; and 50,000 tonnes for the life of the mine (Phase 3).
The environmental field work for all three phases is scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2022, and the company plans to submit the environmental documents for review by the first quarter of 2023.
“The initial land purchase agreement for Phase 1 operations of approximately 325 hectares has been finalized and registered at title office so that all the Phase 1 operations will be on our own property,” South Star CEO Richard Pearce said in a statement. “It is always advantageous to have the mine and facilities under our direct control.”
“The municipal building permit is the final approval we need to start the Phase 1 construction. The permit fee was paid, and we anticipate the approval in short order. We continue to execute our business plan in a disciplined, responsible manner on our march to being the first new graphite production in the Americas. Site preparation, grading and earthworks, as well as security installations, roads and other infrastructure will be the first order of business ... and we look forward to beginning Phase 1 commercial production in mid-2023,” he added.
South Star said it plans to submit a PAE and a request for the final mining license for four additional claims within 10 days and all remaining claims by the end of the year.
South Star is a Canadian battery metals project developer focused on the selective acquisition and development of near-term production projects in the Americas.
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