South Star Mining Announces Approval of Environmental Permit for Pilot Plant Operations for Santa Cruz Graphite Project
South Star Mining Announces Approval of Environmental Permit for Pilot Plant
Operations for Santa Cruz Graphite Project
T o r o n t o , O N , M a r c h 3 , 2 0 2 0 – South Star Mining Corp. (‘South Star’ or ‘the Company’) (TSX-V: S T S ) ( O T C :
STSBF) is pleased to announce the approval of the simplified environmental license for the Phase 1 – Pilot Plant
operations for its 100%-owned Santa Cruz Graphite Project (“Pro ject”) located in Southern Bahia, Brazil. The
license is valid for 1 year and is renewable on an annual basis.
The results of the PFS were announced on February 5 th. Phase 1 consists of a pilot plant with the capacity to
produce 5,000t of concentrate per year, and the simple layout i ncludes a small open-pit processing plant with
filtered tails technology, waste storage facility for co-dispos al of waste rock and filtered tails and civil
infrastructure. The goal of the Phase 1 operations is to test a n d o p t i m i z e t h e f l o w s h e e t , d e v e l o p t h e k e y
commercial relationships and optimize the production of product s demanded in the marketplace, given the
inherent, high-quality nature of the concentrates produced to d ate. Detailed engineering of the pilot plant was
completed as part of the PFS.
Phase 2 is a larger plant with similar layout and technology, b ut with a capacity of 25,000t of concentrate per
year. It’s important to highlight that both Phases include the use of filtered tails technology and co-disposal of
tailings with waste rock to avoid the requirement of a Tailings Storage Facility. This is essential in facilitating the
on-going permitting requirements and decreasing the environmental footprint of the facility.
Richard Pearce, President and CEO of South Star , commented: “I am proud to be making this announcement
and want to extend a special thank-you to our team, our consult ants and the Municipal Environmental
Permitting Agency for Itabela, Bahia for all their hard work an d effort throughout this process. Their dedication
and professionalism in handling this critical permitting proces s in a responsible, efficient and transparent
manner were essential in the successful outcome. We look forwa rd to working with the local communities,
stakeholders and regulators as we move forward towards production.
Pilot plant operations with a very modest CAPEX are expected to provide short-term cash flow and allow us to
qualify bulk samples in the marketplace and establish future, f irm offtake agreements. We have been working
diligently to develop commercial relationships with key players , both in Brazil and internationally, and have
received excellent feedback on our sample materials shipped to date. We will continue to monitor closely the
trial mining licensing process and will be using the first half of 2020 to get the financing in place to construct
and commission the pilot plant facilities. Phase 1 construction is expected to take approximately 8-10 months.
We are excited to be moving past project development and focusi ng all our efforts and attention on near-term
construction, commissioning and production.”
About South Star Mining Corp.
South Star Mining Corp. is focused on the selective acquisition and development of near-term mine production
projects in Brazil to maximize shareholder value. STS has an ex perienced executive team with a strong history
of discovering, developing, building and operating profitable mines in Brazil.
The Santa Cruz Graphite Project is located in Southern Bahia in the third largest graphite producing region in
the world with over 70 years of continuous mining. The Project has at surface mineralization in friable
materials, and successful large-scale pilot plant testing (>30t ) has been completed. The results of the testing
show approximately 65% of Cg concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95-99% Cg. With excellent
infrastructure and logistics, South Star is carrying its development plan towards production projected at the end
of 2020.
To learn more, please visit the Company website at http://www.southstarmining.ca.
On behalf of the Board,
Mr. Richard Pearce
Chief Executive Officer
Email: [email protected]
For additional information, please contact:
CHF Capital Markets
Cathy Hume, CEO
Phone: 416-868-1079 x231
Email: [email protected]
Mr. Dave McMillan
Chairman
Email: [email protected]
Mr. Eric Allison
Director
Email: [email protected]
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FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION
The information contained herein contains "forward-looking stat ements" within the meaning of applicable securities
legislation. Forward-looking statements relate to information t hat is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of
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Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks an d uncertainties which could cause actual events or results to
differ from those reflected in the forward-looking statements, including, without limitation: risks related to failure to obta in
adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms; r isks related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political
and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; ri sks related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings;
risks related to environmental regulation and liability; the po tential for delays in exploration or development activities or
the completion of feasibility st udies; the uncertainty of profi tability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretatio n of
drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral dep osits; risks related to the inhe rent uncertainty of production
and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and e xpenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility studies, and
the possibility that future explo ration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's
expectations; risks related to gold price and other commodity price fluctuations; and other risks and uncertainties related to
the Company's prospects, proper ties and business detailed elsew here in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or
more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should un derlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those described in forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned against attributing undue certainty
to forward-looking statements. T hese forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does
not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect n ew events or circumstances. Ac tual events or results could
differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.