Sigma Lithium to decide on Grota do Cirilo expansion this month

Sigma Lithium Resources (TSXV: SGML; NASDAQ: SGML) is set to reveal details of its second and third phase expansion plans at its Grota do Cirilo lithium project in Minas Gerais state, Brazil, by the end of September.

The project began production in April, with expected production this year of 130,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium concentrate.

“The formal investment decision and kick-off of earthworks and ordering of long-lead items [is] expected to occur by the end of September,” Sigma said in a statement. “The company is engaged with Brazilian and global development financing institutions to fund the production expansion.”

If it decides to push ahead with the expansion after completing a feasibility study, the next two phases of the project are expected to increase production to 766,000 tonnes per year or 104,200 tonnes per year of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE).

The company also said it is planning to publish an updated resource estimate, including the areas at the projected fourth phase, in the coming weeks.

Currently the production from Grota do Cirilo is exported for battery production in China but part of the new output could also be used at the domestic market, as electric vehicles are gaining scale in Brazil.

In July, BYD Co. announced a 3 billion reais (US$624 million) investment in Brazil to build its first electric car plant outside Asia.

The city of São Paulo also approved a plan to have 2,600 electric buses by the end of next year, Gilberto Natalini, the city’s climate change secretary, told BNamericas. 

In 2022, sales of EVs in Brazil reached a record 49,245 units, up from 34,990 in 2021, according to the Brazilian electric vehicle association.

In August, Reuters reported that Sigma is taking its former co-CEO Calvyn Gardner and his daughter-in-law Luisa Valim, to court in the United States. The company has alleged that Valim stole information from the company and sought to thwart a sale of Sigma. Gardner and current CEO Ana Cabral-Gardner are in the midst of a divorce.