Canada’s Sigma Lithium has released the results of a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) related to the com-pany’s Grota do Cirilo project in Brazil, indicating the miner could dou-ble the asset’s planned production capacity to some 440,000 tonnes per year.
“Production is planned to increase from 220,000 tpa … planned for 2022 in Phase 1, to 440,000 tpa … within approximately one year,” Sigma Lithium said in a statement. “Phase 2 construction is planned to start once Phase 1 concludes commissioning and ramps up pro-duction in 2022.”
According to the PEA, the project’s phase 2 could potentially double the total estimated net present value (NPV) to some USD 844 million.
Ana Cabral-Gardner, the president and chief operating officer of Sigma Lithium, was quoted in the statement as saying the possible expansion “has the potential to significantly transform our scale and relevance.”