Sigma Lithium (Margaux Capital) Obtains Environmental License for Pilot Production Plant and Expects to Finalize Construction June 2018 Minas
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Sigma Lithium (Margaux Capital) Obtains Environmental License for Pilot Production Plant and
Expects to Finalize Construction June 2018
Minas Gerais, Brazil and Vancouver, Canada
May 24, 2018
Margaux Red Capital Inc. (TSXV-SGMA) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sigma Lithium
Resources Inc. (“Sigma”) announce an important step towards completing the feasibility
study of Sigma’s foothold deposit at its Grota do Cirilo Property in Minas Gerais state,
Brazil. Sigma has finalized the environmental licensing process for its Dense Media
Separation (DMS) pilot plant and expects to complete its construction in June 2018.
The pilot plant flowsheet was designed after Sigma conducted successful metallurgical tests
for over eight months, producing high-quality battery-grade lithium spodumene
concentrate above 6% Li2O at SGS laboratories in Canada and Brazil.
The pilot plant will have a capacity to produce up to 12,000 tonnes of lithium spodumene
concentrate per year at the rate of 10 tonnes per hour. The pilot plant will consist of a two-
stage crushing circuit with a capacity of 30 tonnes per hour, a magnetic separation unit and
a DMS unit, which will produce a coarse concentrate of +4mm to -15mm size fraction. Sigma
is currently conducting tests of ore sorter technology, which will be later added to the pilot
plant.
Sigma’s premium lithium spodumene concentrate samples produced by the plant will be
sent to prospective clients for validation and certification purposes. “The pilot plant is an
important milestone on the path to becoming a fully operational world-class lithium
producer by 2020. The metallurgic tests to date have produced a coarse
lithium spodumene concentrate above 6% Li2O, using simple DMS processing technology,
validating the superior quality of our lithium,” says CEO Calvyn Gardner.
“With the advent of electric cars, most of the growth in lithium demand is coming from the
chemical producers of lithium hydroxide supplying the battery cathode industry. Sigma is
uniquely positioned to cater to this growing demand, due to our ability to produce in-spec
6% lithium concentrate from our high-grade high-purity spodumene ore. Lithium is not rare,
but Sigma’s differentiation comes from the high quality and purity of our foothold deposit at
1.56% average grade of lithium for our estimated Measured and Indicated Resources,” he
adds.
Brazil-based Sigma President Itamar Resende says: “The superior metallurgy
of our spodumene concentrate was demonstrated by the excellent 73% recoveries
obtained, using just the one-stage DMS, for ore sizes crushed at both 6.5 and 9.5mm. As a
result, Sigma can build a low-capex DMS commercial processing plant with superior
productivity and recoveries. Flotation tests of the middlings from the DMS also produced a
fine concentrate with Li2O above 6% with exceptional recoveries of 86%.”
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Sigma’s larger-size spodumene concentrate, especially at 9.5mm particles, is seen to be a
premium product because it increases the recovery rates achieved by chemical producers of
lithium hydroxide in their calcination process within their kilns.
Itamar adds: “The superior quality of our spodumene lithium
concentrate provides Sigma with a competitive advantage when marketing to customers in
the chemical industry as they experience excellent recovery rates and higher productivity.
As producers of battery grade lithium hydroxide can take up to 12 months to validate a new
supplier, our goal is to be qualified well before we start production, which we are targeting
to be by the end of 2019.”
Sigma plans to implement advanced green and sustainable mining processes at its Minas
Gerais operation. The electricity on site is generated by a clean hydroelectric power plant
and Sigma will recycle 100% of the water utilized in the plant, while the waste system
will stack the mining tailings in dry piles, hence avoiding tailings dams.
ABOUT SIGMA
Sigma is a mineral development company that is advancing into pilot production stage an
environmentally focused lithium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil to produce battery grade
spodumene concentrate from its high-quality deposits. Sigma corporate purpose is to
execute its strategy while embracing environmental, social, and governance (“ESG”)
principles.
Sigma has 28 mineral rights in four properties spread over 188 km2 and 18,887 hectares -
with over 200 lithium bearing pegmatites and 11 former historical lithium mines. The Grota
do Cirilo property, Sigma’s primary focus, includes 10 mining concessions (mining
production authorizations) and is currently undergoing a 20,000m drilling campaign for
resource expansion.
Sigma has a National Instrument 43-101 (“NI 43-101”) technical report on the Grota do
Cicilo property prepared by SGS Canada-Geostat (“SGS”), which includes estimated
measured and indicated resources of approximately 12,900,000 tonnes for its main deposit
(8,502,000t measured and 4,385,000t indicated), with a high average grade of 1.56% (for
approximately 5,000,000t of LCE). The technical report also includes estimated inferred
resources of 608,348t and further notes the potential for significant resource expansion.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The resources estimates in this news release are included in (and the estimated LCE is
derived from the resource estimates included in) the technical report titled “Technical
Report Northern and Southern Complexes Project, Araçuai and Itinga, Brazil, Sigma Lithium
Resources Inc.” which has an effective date of January 29, 2018 and was prepared by Marc-
Antoine Laporte, P.Geo, M.Sc. of SGS. Mr. Laporte is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-
101 and is independent of Sigma. The report is available at www.Sedar.com.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating to completion of pilot plant
construction, plant capacity, continuing superior product quality, metal recovery, and other
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statements that are not historical facts. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance
on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or
expectations upon which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking
statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks and uncertainties,
both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the predictions, forecasts,
projections and other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause actual
performance and results in future periods to differ materially from any estimates or
projections of future performance or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking
statements. These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other things: the
state of the economy in general and capital markets in particular and investor interest in the
business and future prospects of Margaux Red Capital Inc. (“Margaux”) and Sigma.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of
this news release. Except as required by law, Margaux disclaims any intention and assumes
no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of
new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities law.
Additionally, Margaux undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or
statements made, by third parties in respect of the matters discussed above.
For further information, please contact:
Sigma Lithium Resources Inc.
Www.sigmalithiumresources.com
Ana Cabral
Director of Business Development and Investor Relations
55 11 2985-0089
or
Gabriela Forlin
PRC Consulting Brasil
55 11 3078-4461
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the “TSXV”) nor its Regulation Services Provider (as
that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this news release.