{"id":5837,"date":"2024-01-31T08:01:30","date_gmt":"2024-01-31T11:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sigmalithiumresources.com\/sigma-lithium-significantly-increased-audited-mineral-resource-by-27-to-109mt-grota-do-cirilo-in-brazil-becomes-worlds-4th-largest-operating-industrial-pre-chemical-lithium-beneficiation-mini\/"},"modified":"2024-01-31T08:01:30","modified_gmt":"2024-01-31T11:01:30","slug":"sigma-lithium-significantly-increased-audited-mineral-resource-by-27-to-109mt-grota-do-cirilo-in-brazil-becomes-worlds-4th-largest-operating-industrial-pre-chemical-lithium-beneficiation-mini","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sigmalithiumresources.com\/sigma-lithium-significantly-increased-audited-mineral-resource-by-27-to-109mt-grota-do-cirilo-in-brazil-becomes-worlds-4th-largest-operating-industrial-pre-chemical-lithium-beneficiation-mini\/","title":{"rendered":"SIGMA LITHIUM SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AUDITED MINERAL RESOURCE BY 27% TO 109Mt: GROTA DO CIRILO IN BRAZIL BECOMES WORLD’S 4TH LARGEST OPERATING INDUSTRIAL PRE-CHEMICAL LITHIUM BENEFICIATION & MINING COMPLEX; GROTA DO CIRILO EXPECTED TO FURTHER INCREASE TO 150Mt"},"content":{"rendered":"
INVESTOR VIDEO CONFERENCE CALL AUDITED NI 43-101 MINERAL RESOURCE UPDATE VALIDATES SIGNIFICANT SCALE <\/b><\/p>\n UPGRADE OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO RESERVES<\/b><\/p>\n GROTA DO CIRILO MINERAL RESOURCE EXPECTED TO FURTHER INCREASE TO 150Mt<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n DRILLING OF ADDITIONAL 57 TARGETS LOCATED ON SIGMA MINING CONCESSIONS<\/b><\/p>\n SAO PAULO<\/span><\/span>, Jan. 31, 2024<\/span><\/span> \/CNW\/ — Sigma Lithium Corporation<\/b> (“Sigma Lithium<\/b>” or the “Company<\/b>“) (NASDAQ: SGML, BVMF: S2GM34, TSXV: SGML), a leading global lithium producer dedicated to powering the next generation of electric vehicles with carbon neutral, responsibly sourced lithium materials, is pleased to announce a significant increase of its mineral resource estimate to 109 million tonnes at its Sigma Brazil, 100% owned Grota do Cirilo operation at Vale do Jequitinhonha: composed of 94.3Mt of measured & indicated (“M&I”) mineral resource at an average grade of 1.40% Li2<\/sub>O, together with additional 14.6Mt of inferred mineral resource at 1.37% Li2O.<\/p>\n AUDITED NI 43-101 MINERAL RESOURCE UPDATE VALIDATES SIGNIFICANT SCALE <\/b><\/p>\n The revised audited mineral resource estimate represents a 27% increase when compared to the last technical report, dated January 2023<\/span>. The new estimate maintains the high average lithium oxide grade of the Company’s measured and indicated mineral resources at 1.40% Li2<\/sub>O, above global peer average as per Figure 1.<\/p>\n Figure 1: Grota do Cirilo is the world’s 4th largest lithium industrial beneficiation & mining complex currently in operation<\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Ana Cabral-Gardner<\/span>, Co-Chairperson and CEO <\/b>commented: “We are delighted to announce that Grota do Cirilo became the world’s 4th largest operating industrial pre-chemical lithium beneficiation complex by mineral resource scale, transforming Sigma Lithium into one of the largest operating integrated producers in the global lithium industry. None of this would be possible without the relentless dedication of our multi-disciplinary team over the years to firmly place Brazil<\/span> as a sustainability leader in the global lithium supply chain. Sigma Lithium is the only remaining fully integrated producer of significant scale wholly owned by financial sponsors, which represents tangible synergistic value for our potential strategic partners. Over the course of the last year, we managed to fully integrate and operate a state of the art Greentech lithium industrial beneficiation plant with our Grota do Cirilo mining operation while validating a sizable 109Mt<\/span> of mineral resources. Our competitive advantage is now well established, as we have been delivering the most sustainable lithium concentrate in the world, the “Quintuple Zero Green Lithium”, while maintaining low production costs. Together, this supports resilience in our business model, especially at the current point in the lithium cycle.”<\/i><\/p>\n She added, “The sheer scale of the mineral resource revisions increases Sigma’s strategic flexibility to consider a fourth Greentech industrial pre-chemical beneficiation line, while also contemplating additional industrial integration further downstream into the production of low-cost lithium sulphate chemicals. The potential expansion of our current operations will benefit from significant economies of scale, including existing infrastructure and cost sharing, as compared to our initial phase 1 development at Grota do Cirilo. All together, the conclusion of this year-long drill campaign represents tangible value creation for Brazil<\/span>, for our communities at Vale do Jequitinhonha and our global shareholders.” <\/i><\/p>\n Iran Zan, MAIG, co-Head of Geology and co-General Manager, <\/b>stated: “Once again, our team of veteran Sigma geoscientists delivered to stakeholders. We believe we have proved our long-held belief in the existence of a sizable lithium corridor at the Sigma mineral concessions.<\/i> In a little over seven years, Grota do Cirilo went from drill core samples to one of the largest lithium mineral resources in the world, with some of the highest grades and a growth potential to 150Mt<\/span>. This is thanks to the relentless work of our outstanding geology, mineralogists, and geoscientists teams. With today’s Mineral Resource update, we are just beginning to demonstrate the sizeable potential of our lithium corridor, and will be targeting some of the 57 high priority (of 200 mapped) pegmatites in the 2024 campaign.” <\/i><\/p>\n Dyonne Hage<\/span>, co-Head of Geology <\/b>commented: “We demonstrated the interconnectivity of Grota do Cirilo’s “J-shaped” strike anchored by the 3 large ore bodies at Barreiro and NDC-Murial. As drilling advances, we look forward to delivering on our exploration target of reaching 150Mt<\/span> in Grota do Cirilo by extending Barreiro westwards and developing Phase 5.” <\/b><\/i>He added, “We are also very optimistic about the NDC-Murial strike, which remains open to the east and is accessible through open pit mining. The deposits show consistent grades and coarse spodumene crystal quality throughout intercepts.”<\/i><\/p>\n Figure 2: Sigma Lithium mineral concessions and the Grota do Cirilo “J-shaped” lithium corridor. <\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The results of the 2023 drill campaign helped prove the interconnectivity of the Phase 3 and 4 NDC-Murial mineral resources and its subordinated mineralized pegmatites, which had been only partially delineated in previous drilling campaigns (mainly focused on the anchor ore body of NDC).<\/p>\n In the 2023 campaign, the Company intercepted additional spodumene bearing pegmatite zones at NDC, including a new deposit of substantial width and lithium oxide grading. Neighboring subordinated resources have also grown in scale, such that Sigma Lithium is changing its mine plan as the optimized structure for Phase 3 will now encompass these neighboring pegmatites through a singular open pit. As a result, the Company believes the increased mineral resources can be seamlessly incorporated into its mineral reserves by extending the current NDC mining open pit shell, validated by the current Pre-Feasibility Study.<\/p>\n UPGRADE OF MINERAL RESOURCES TO RESERVES.<\/b><\/p>\n This “New NDC” pit contains a total of approximately 40Mt of mineral resource, comprised of 37.8Mt of M&I resource at 1.42% Li2<\/sub>O and an additional 2.3Mt Inferred at 1.26%. Given geological consistencies and proximity of the resources, a singular pit is the most efficient design. Additionally, this plan is expected to save on stripping costs and enable the NDC pit to access the new pegmatite mineralization while sharing mining infrastructure.<\/p>\n The 2023 drill campaign also increased the scale of the Murial deposit, which sits just 330 meters north of the newly enlarged NDC resource. The Murial deposit is increasing in size to approximately 16Mt, comprised of 13.5Mt of estimated M&I resource at 1.25% Li2<\/sub>O with an additional 2.6Mt inferred at 1.29%.<\/p>\n Confidence in the additional scale of Murial, as well as the location of the pegmatite and proximity to NDC, validates the following geological elements:<\/p>\n (i) Presence of a structural, “J-shaped” lithium corridor that runs through Grota do Cirilo. Figure 3:<\/b> Optimized open pit structures for NDC – Murial <\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Figure 4: The NDC-Murial strike extends 3.2 kilometer North-South. <\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Drilling confirms that the Murial pegmatite (as well as the new NDC) remain open at depth, to the west and to the east, leaving room for resource expansion over time. The Company’s 2024 drill campaign will include step-out drilling to help prove a link between NDC and Murial and build resource density along the 3.2km NDC-Murial strike.<\/p>\n Figure 5: Density of executed drilling at NDC – Murial, demonstrating potential interconnectivity of 3.2 km strike and flanking pegmatites.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n BARREIRO EXTENSION TARGET ZONE IS A CONTINUATION OF THE “J-SHAPED” LITHIUM CORRIDOR<\/b><\/p>\n The Company is also focusing the current 2024 drill campaign on demonstrating that the Barreiro mine extends westwards (“Barreiro Extension”), in a continuation of the existing “J-shaped” lithium corridor. Additional neighboring outcrops and the ongoing drilling west of Barreiro support potential connectivity between the Extension outcrop and Barreiro, akin to NDC-Murial. The Company estimates these Barreiro Extension initiatives may have up to 20Mt of potential additional resource.<\/p>\n Figure 6: Barreiro Extension initiatives extend the “J-Shaped” Grota do Cirilo lithium corridor further west<\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n Figure 7:<\/b> Barreiro Extension <\/b>discovery <\/b>runs parallel to Barreiro, extending the Phase 2 Mine Westwards <\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The Barreiro Extension site is located just west of Barreiro (Phase 2) and represents a continuation of the spodumene mineralization corridor that moves up through Murial. Two additional spodumene outcrops discovered between Barreiro and its Extension inform geology of a target area for further exploration drilling. Prior drilling intercepts from Barreiro also support the thesis of possible connectivity of these resources. Barreiro Extension results to date include the following drilling intercepts:<\/p>\n DH – PRO – 01 – 1.70% Li2O over 15.70m<\/span>, including 1.66% Li2O over 14.53m<\/span> SIGMA’S ESTIMATED MINERAL RESOURCE MAINTAIN HIGH GRADE, EVEN AS CUTOFF GRADE INCREASES<\/b><\/p>\n The sensitivity analysis for Sigma Lithium’s cumulative Grota do Cirilo resource estimate is presented below. At a 0% cutoff grade, the cumulative resource totals 110mn tonnes at 1.386% Li2<\/sub>O. Alternatively, at a high cutoff grade of 1% the cumulative resource totals 92mn tonnes at 1.511%, a reduction of only 16% to total resource over the cutoff window. The exercise displays the consistent, high quality, nature of the Company’s pegmatite resources, and compares favorably to current resource estimates of many peers.<\/p>\n Figure 8: Sensitivity Analysis of Sigma’s estimated mineral resource potential increase at various Lithium Cut Off Grades.<\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n DETAILS ON THE INTERRELATED NDC-MURIAL PEGMATITES (PHASE 3 AND PHASE 4)<\/b><\/p>\n Sigma Lithium’s Phase 3 and 4 pegmatite strike runs parallel to the mine validated at Phase 2 (Barreiro) and are in close proximity to each other.<\/p>\n The 2023 drill campaign was completed as part of a strategy to initially increase the scale of NDC, and demonstrate connectivity to certain other ancillary pegmatites (Maxixe, Tamboril and LDM). The Company believes it has validated the potential connectivity of NDC and said Phase 4 pegmatites given intersecting high quality spodumene crystals and persistent spodumene-rich zones. The new Phase 3 and 4 strike extends 3.2 km along a north-south path (Figure 3) from the bottom of the NDC deposit through Murial. Drilling confirms that the deposits remain open to the west and east.<\/p>\n As prior stated, the campaign has also identified a new pegmatite running underneath the existing mapped NDC deposit. These discoveries support the Company’s belief that the newly published resource estimate is likely to increase with additional drilling.<\/p>\n Below are some of the recent drill results at NDC, with “new pegmatite discovery” denoting the new pegmatite structure below NDC:<\/p>\n DH – NDC – 126 – 1.48% Li2O over 67.33m<\/span>, including 1.57% Li2O over 63.09m<\/span> Figure 9: New enlarged Phase 3 NDC optimized pit shell (L) and resource block model (R)<\/b><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/b>February 1, 2023<\/span>, at 1:00 PM (EST)
Registration Link for Zoom video call below:
https:\/\/us06web.zoom.us\/j\/88211037256<\/a>
Zoom Meeting ID: 882 1103 7256<\/p>\n\n
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(ii) NDC and Murial are likely one continuous principal pegmatite.<\/p>\n
DH – PRO – 02 – 1.49% Li2O over 14.84m<\/span>, including 1.86% Li2O over 10.93<\/p>\n
DH – NDC – 127 – 1.16% Li2O over 15.15 m<\/span>, including 1.89% Li2O over 7.21m<\/span>
DH – NDC – 127 – 1.47% Li2O over 50.06 m<\/span>, including 1.55% Li2O over 47.54m<\/span> – New pegmatite discovery
DH – NDC – 129 – 1.15% Li2O over 21.20 m<\/span>, including 1.54% Li2O over 14.46m<\/span> – New pegmatite discovery<\/p>\n