Sigma Lithium Says Technology Will Be Key to Make Lithium Greener and Cheaper at Financial Times LIVE Commodities Summit
SIGMA LITHIUM SAYS TECHNOLOGY WILL BE KEY TO MAKE
LITHIUM GREENER AND CHEAPER AT FINANCIAL TIMES LIVE
COMMODITIES SUMMIT
VANCOUVER. October 15, 2021—Ana Cabral-Gardner, Co-CEO of Sigma Lithium (NASDAQ:
SGML, TSXV: SGML), dedicated to powering the next generation of electric vehicle batteries with
environmentally sustainable and high-purity lithium, joined the October 8 “FT LIVE Commodities
Summit: Enabling the Energy Transition” for the panel, Lithium: Supercharged. During the session,
Cabral-Gardner emphasized the role that will be played by technology to drive greener and less
costly lithium production, paving the way for mass EV adoption.
Participants at the Lithium Supercharged panel were the following leaders in the industry:
• Sinead Kaufman, Chief Executive, Minerals, Rio Tinto plc
• Wang Xiaoshen, Vice Chairman, Ganfeng Lithium Group
• Ana Cabral-Gardner, Co-CEO, Sigma Lithium
• Andrew Leyland, Head of Strategic Advisory, Benchmark Mineral Intelligence
• Michael Willoughby, Co-Head, Metals and Mining-Asia Pacific, Standard Chartered Bank
The session was moderated by Henry Sanderson, metals and mining correspondent of the
Financial Times.
At the summit, she highlighted the four major challenges of the lithium mining industry at the
current juncture of supply tightness:
1. Scaling rapidly and significantly
2. Achieving environmental and social sustainability
3. Producing the highest quality offtake
4. Delivering at the lowest cost
Ana Cabral-Gardner, Sigma Co-CEO said: “Technology is driving electric vehicle innovation and
will drive the future of the lithium industry. It will be key [in the lithium industry], it will help us
make [lithium] greener and cheaper. [Sigma] uses quite a lot of [green] technology: we perfected a
dense media separation plant, digitally controlled it, avoiding a flotation plant altogether and all
the issues that would come with it around wet tailing dams and chemicals. Technology can be the
vector to the spectacular success of the [lithium industry] helping us lower costs and stay greener
or it can also undo [the lithium industry] if it is not disciplined enough to work with downstream
to enable less costly EVs.”
“[Sustainability] is at the center of commercial discussions as a result of Europe becoming such a
large part of [EV] demand, and consumer wishes to see the car becoming increasingly low carbon
itself. In our case, we are pretty much along the way [on green technology] at 100% clean power,
100% of the water being recirculated, not using hazardous chemicals and dry stacking our
tailings,” Ana concluded.
ABOUT SIGMA LITHIUM
Sigma Lithium is a Canadian company developing, with an environmental sustainably ESG focused
strategy, the largest hard rock lithium deposits in the Americas, located in its wholly owned Grota do
Cirilo Project in Brazil (the “Project”). The Company has been producing low carbon high purity
lithium concentrate at an on-site demonstration pilot plant (the “Pilot Plant”) since 2018. This pilot
production has been an important part of the successful commercial strategy of the Company,
shipping samples of its low carbon “green & sustainable” high purity lithium to leading global
potential customers, for product certification and testing, with the goal of participating in the rapidly
expanding electric vehicle (“EV”) supply chain.
The Company is in pre-construction and detailed engineering of an environmentally friendly, fully
automated, dense media separator (“DMS”) production plant, that will apply proprietary algorithms
to digitally control the dense media. The production plant will be vertically integrated into the
Company´s mining operations, exclusively utilizing as feedstock the high purity spodumene ore with
exceptional mineralogy from the Project. The production plant will process the spodumene ore into
a high purity 6% battery-grade lithium concentrate engineered to the specifications of its customers
in the lithium-ion battery supply chain for EVs.
The Company continues to demonstrate its commercial and market relevance by significantly
advancing its strategic goals on three fronts: near-term production scheduled for 2022, completing
the studies for the viability of production expansion contemplated for 2023, and the determination
of the ultimate extent and unique high-purity quality of mineral resources at the Company´s wholly-
owned Grota do Cirilo Project, all while maintaining its strategic leadership in ESG in the lithium
supply chain.
In order to secure a leading position supplying the clean mobility and green energy storage value
chains, the Company has adhered consistently to the highest standards of ESG practices, which were
established as part of its core purpose at inception in 2012. The production process will be powered
by clean energy and the Company will use state-of-the art water recirculation circuits in its processing
combined with dry stacking tailings management. The DMS process of the production plant does not
utilize hazardous chemicals, as a result its tailings are 100% recyclable into ancillary industries, such
as ceramics.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT
SIGMA LITHIUM INVESTORS:
Daniel Abdo
(Sao Paulo) +55 11 2985-0089
Vitor Ornelas
(Sao Paulo) +55 11 2985-0089
SIGMA LITHIUM MEDIA:
Colleen Robar
(United States) +1 313 207 5960
SIGMA LITHIUM SOCIAL MEDIA:
LinkedIn: @SigmaLithium
Instagram: @sigmalithium
Twitter: @SigmaLithium
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation including
statements relating to the ultimate duration, impact and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic (including its impact on
financial markets and national and multinational economies generally, and its impact on the growth of the electric vehicle
market and other impacts on the demand for lithium products) and other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject
to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ
materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that address future plans,
activities, events, or developments that the Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are forward-looking
information, including statements regarding the potential development of resources and drilling plans which may or may
not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions
regarding, among other things, the ability to complete the Annual Filings and Interim Filings; the market price of the
Company's securities, metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and
development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental
risks, title disputes, litigation risks, failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, accidents, labour
disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in national and local
government regulation of mining operations, and regulations and other matters including the COVID-19 pandemic. There
can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially
from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward -looking
statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether
as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. For more information on the risks,
uncertainties and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ from current expectations, please refer to our
public filings available at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX
Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.