Sigma Lithium shuffles management ahead of production
Sigma Lithium [SGML-TSXV, NASDAQ] has announced certain leadership changes as it gears up for commercial production at its 100%-owned Grota do Cirilo Project in Brazil.
The company also said it has initiated commissioning of its dense medium separation processing plant, one month ahead of schedule.
Brian Talbot will continue to lead operations at Chief Operating Officer. “Mr. Talbot has been working with the company since 2021, leading the operating team on site and playing an instrumental role in the execution of project commissioning,’’ the company said in a press release. “He also serves on the company’s technical committee.”
Meanwhile, Ana Cabral-Gardiner, previously co-CEO, continues as CEO of Sigma. She will also continue as Co-Chair of the company’s board of directors. Cabral-Gardner has been at the helm of Sigma Lithium since 2018.
Calvyn Gardner, who had been Co-CEO and Co-Chair of the Board, will remain on the board of directors.
As part of the transition, Gary Litwack, currently Sigma’s lead independent board director, has been appointed non-executive Co-Chair of the Board. Rodrigo Menck, who joined the company in 2022, has been named Chief Financial Officer.
Felipe Peres, former chief financial officer, will continue to work closely with the company’s finance team in the capacity of Senior Advisor to the company.
Sigma is focused on powering the next generation of electric vehicles with environmentally-sustainable and high purity lithium. The company is currently in construction at its Grota do Cirilo Project. The project is located in northeastern Minas Gerais State, 450 kilometres northeast of Belo Horizonte. It includes a state of the art, green-tech processing plant that uses 100% renewable energy, 100% recycled water and 100% dry stack tailings. It represents one of the largest and highest-grade hard rock lithium spodumene deposits in the Americas.
The mine layout and operation was based on two independent open pit areas, including Pit 1 in the north and Pit 2 in the south.
In recent news release, the company said consolidated proven and probable reserves stand a 54.8 million tonnes of grade 1.44% Li20.
The company has also said it remains on track to initiate commissioning of the crushing plant by year end, and is planning to commence commercial production in April 2023.
On January 20, 2023, Sigma Lithium shares closed at $40.87, and currently trade in a 52-week range of $54.23 and $10.72.
Sigma recently released the results of a study which forsees a potential increase of battery-grade sustainable lithium concentrates from 270,000 tonnes per year (36,700 tonnes per year LCE) commencing in 2023 to 768,000 tonnes annually (104,200 tonnes per year LCE) in the second year.
The company said the expansion could be achieved via the addition to the Greentech Lithium Plant of a single larger additional dense media separation module paired with a proportional crushing module. The increase in mining feedstock for the integrated production expansion of the Greentech Lithium Plant will be achieved by construction of the Phase 2 and Phase 3 mines.