Sigma Lithium plans to double output in 2024

Canada-based miner Sigma Lithium plans to nearly double its Brazilian lithium production capacity this year while also increasing its mineral reserves.

The company in 2024 plans to spend $100mn to add a second line capable of expanding capacity of lithium concentrate by 250,000 metric tonnes (t)/yr to reach 520,000 t/yr, Sigma Lithium said on Monday. The new line is expected to begin production in the first quarter next year.

Sigma Lithium also expects to increase its mineral reserves of 54mn t by 40pc this year, chief executive officer Ana Cabral Gardner said during the company's earnings call.

Sigma Lithium calls its concentrate "quintuple zero green" lithium, which it began producing last April using 100pc renewable energy, recycled water and 100pc dry-stacked tailings from its Grota do Cirilo Project in Brazil.

The company in the fourth quarter shipped three batches of its quintuple zero green lithium totaling 64,670t for $67.5mn in revenue.

It sold over 102,500t of lithium concentrate in 2023 and revenues for the year reached $135mn. Full year production of lithium concentrate was 105,000t.

Falling lithium prices have dominated headlines in the past year, although prices have risen recently. Some companies remain pessimistic about prices and demand.

Given falling lithium prices, Gardner said she was "proud" of the company's 2023 financial results, which included a loss of $28.3mn.

By Carolina Pulice