South Star Mining Announces Environmental Permitting Update for 25,000 tpy Phase 2 Plant Operations for the Santa Cruz Graphite Project
NEWS RELEASE
South Star Mining Announces Environmental Permitting Update for 25,000 tpy Phase
2 Plant Operations for the Santa Cruz Graphite Project
Toronto, ON, March 29, 2021 – South Star Mining Corp. (‘South Star’ or ‘the Company’) (TSX‐V: STS) (OTCQB:
STSBF) is pleased to announce that it has received the environmental permitting terms of reference for the
25,000 tonne per year (“tpy”) Phase 2 plant operations from the municipality of Itabela, Bahia (“Itabela”). The
Phase 2 environmental permitting process for the Santa Cruz Gra phite Project (“Project”) will follow an
approach and level of studies similar to that of Phase 1.
The Phase 1 operations for the 5,000 tpy pilot plant operations are fully licensed, and the Company is preparing
to start construction in Augus t 2021 with commercial production targeted for Q4 2022. Phase 2 operations will
represent a larger scale concentration plant currently planned to produce between 25,000 to 30,000 tpy of
concentrate. The sizing of Phase 2 plant could be increased dep ending on the successes of the Phase 1
operations, on‐going development of commercial relationships, and market conditions. Additional details on
the Phase 2 operations are available in in the Press Release dated February 5, 2020 and in the NI43‐101
Prefeasibility Report issued in March 2020.
The Phase 2 environmental work program will kick off in April 2021 and should include an approximate 7‐8‐
month study and documentation phase to prepare all the required reports, followed by submittal to Itabela for
r e v i e w a n d c o m m e n t . F o r r e f e r e n c e , t h e P h a s e 1 s t u d i e s w e r e s u bmitted in August 2019, and the
environmental permit was approved and published in March 2020.
Richard Pearce, President and CEO of South Star, commented: “I am pleased to announce that the Board of
D i r e c t o r s h a s a u t h o r i z e d t h e a c c e l e r a t i o n o f t h e s t a r t o f t h e environmental permitting for the Phase 2
operations more than a year ahead of the original schedule. We will start the work shortly and plan to submit
the documents for review and comments by December 2021. ESG and environmental compliance are core
Company values. We will work diligently in partnership with the permitting and licensing agencies to complete
all the required studies and ensure a smooth licensing process. Once again, I would like to thank our team for
their hard work and the Municipality of Itabela for their ongoi ng support and effort in handling our submittals
and reviewing the documentation in a timely, professional manne r. We are swiftly moving into the construction
and production phases as we intend to become the first new grap hite mine in continuous commercial
production in the Americas in over a decade, and one of the ver y few new operations worldwide. This
accelerated permitting effort has the potential to significantly advance our roadmap for Phase 2 production.”
About South Star Mining Corp.
South Star Mining Corp. is focused on the selective acquisition and development of near‐term production
projects in Brazil. STS is driven to create fundamental value in the battery metals sector for clients and investors
with real projects that have strong intrinsic financial and ope rating metrics, and that can be profitable
throughout the resource cycle. STS has an experienced executive team with a strong history of discovering,
developing, building and operating profitable mines in Brazil.
The Santa Cruz Graphite Project, located in Southern Bahia, is the first of a series of battery metals projects that
will be put into production. Brazil is the second largest graphite producing region in the world with over 80
years of continuous mining. The Project has at‐surface minerali zation in friable materials, and successful large‐
scale pilot plant testing (>30t) has been completed. The result s of the testing show that approximately 65% of
C g c o n c e n t r a t e i s + 8 0 m e s h w i t h g o o d r e c o v e r i e s a n d 9 5 ‐ 9 9 % C g . With excellent infrastructure and logistics,
South Star is carrying its development plan towards Phase 1 pro duction projected in Q4 2022, pending
financing. To learn more, please visit the Company website at http://www.southstarmining.ca.
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard Pea rce, P.E., a "Qualified Person" under National
Instrument 43‐101 and President and CEO of South Star Mining.
On behalf of the Board,
Mr. Richard Pearce
Chief Executive Officer
For additional information, please contact:
CHF Capital Markets
Cathy Hume, CEO
Phone: 416‐868‐1079 x251
Email: [email protected]
Mr. Dave McMillan
Chairman
Email: [email protected]
Twitter: https://twitter.com/southstarmining
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/southstarmining/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/south‐star‐mining‐corp/
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture
Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.
This news release and the Updated Technical Report contain refe rences to inferred resources. T he Report is preliminary in
nature and includes inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic
considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves.
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 that is based on assumptions of management, forecasts of
future results, and estimates of amounts not yet determinable. Any statements that express predictions, expectations,
beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions or future events or performance are not statements of historical fact and
may be "forward‐looking statements."
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 obtain
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 studies; the uncertainty of profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the interpretatio n of
drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral dep osits; risks related to the inherent 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 expl oration, development or mining results will not be consi stent 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, properties and business detailed elsewhere in the Company's disclosure record. Should one or
more of these risks and uncertainties materialize, or should underlying 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. These 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. Actual events or results could
differ materially from the Company's expectations or projections.