Canada’s Sigma Lithium commissions crushing circuit in Brazil, eyes launching battery-grade metal production in April

Canadian miner Sigma Lithium announced on Monday it had completed commissioning of a crushing circuit and pump water system at its Grota do Cirilo project in Brazil’s Minas Gerais, and remained on track for launching production in April.

The company also commenced detailed engineering and capex costing for phases II and III of its Greentech Plant expansion project.

Why it matters

Sigma Lithium has been producing environmentally sustainable battery-grade lithium concentrate at Grota do Cirilo on a pilot scale since 2018. It plans a larger-scale commercial operation of 270,000 tonnes of metal (36,700 tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent, or LCE) annually in Phase I, then increasing it further to 766,000 tonnes (104,200 tonnes of LCE) in Phase II and III.

The company estimates its reserves at 85.6 million tonnes of concentrate.