MINAS GERAIS, Brazil and
VANCOUVER, Canada, May 24, 2018 /CNW/ - Margaux Red Capital Inc.
(TSXV-SGMA) and its wholly-owned subsidiary Sigma Lithium
Resources Inc. ("Sigma") announce an important step
towards completing the feasibility study
of Sigma's foothold deposit at its Grota do Cirilo
Property in Minas Gerais state, Brazil. Sigma has finalized
the environmental licensing process for its Dense Media Separation
(DMS) pilot plant and expects to complete its
construction in June 2018.
The pilot plant flowsheet was designed after Sigma
conducted successful metallurgical tests for over eight months,
producing high-quality battery-grade lithium spodumene concentrate
above 6% Li2O at SGS laboratories in Canada and Brazil.
The pilot plant will have a capacity to produce up to 12,000
tonnes of lithium spodumene concentrate per year at the rate of 10
tonnes per hour. The pilot plant will consist of a two-stage
crushing circuit with a capacity of 30 tonnes per hour, a
magnetic separation unit and a DMS unit, which will produce a
coarse concentrate of +4mm to -15mm size fraction. Sigma is
currently conducting tests of ore sorter
technology, which will be later added to the pilot plant.
Sigma's premium lithium spodumene concentrate samples
produced by the plant will be sent to prospective
clients for validation and certification purposes. "The pilot
plant is an important milestone on the path to becoming a fully
operational world-class lithium producer by
2020. The metallurgic tests to date
have produced a coarse
lithium spodumene concentrate above 6%
Li2O, using simple DMS processing technology,
validating the superior quality of our
lithium," says CEO Calvyn
Gardner.
"With the advent of electric cars, most of the growth in lithium
demand is coming from the chemical producers of lithium hydroxide
supplying the battery cathode industry. Sigma is uniquely
positioned to cater to this growing demand, due to our ability to
produce in-spec 6% lithium concentrate from our high-grade
high-purity spodumene ore. Lithium is not rare, but Sigma's
differentiation comes from the high quality and purity of our
foothold deposit at 1.56% average grade of lithium for our
estimated Measured and Indicated Resources," he adds.
Brazil-based Sigma President
Itamar Resende says: "The
superior metallurgy of our spodumene concentrate was
demonstrated by the excellent 73% recoveries
obtained, using just the one-stage DMS, for ore sizes
crushed at both 6.5 and 9.5mm. As a result, Sigma can build a
low-capex DMS commercial processing plant with superior
productivity and recoveries. Flotation tests of the middlings from
the DMS also produced a fine concentrate with Li2O above
6% with exceptional recoveries of 86%."
Sigma's larger-size spodumene concentrate, especially at
9.5mm particles, is seen to be a premium product because it
increases the recovery rates achieved by chemical producers of
lithium hydroxide in their calcination process within their
kilns.
Itamar adds: "The superior quality of our spodumene
lithium concentrate provides Sigma with a
competitive advantage when marketing to customers in the chemical
industry as they experience excellent recovery rates and higher
productivity. As producers of battery grade lithium
hydroxide can take up to 12 months to validate a new supplier, our
goal is to be qualified well before we start production, which we
are targeting to be by the end of 2019."
Sigma plans to implement advanced green and sustainable mining
processes at its Minas Gerais operation. The electricity
on site is generated by a clean hydroelectric
power plant and Sigma will recycle 100% of the
water utilized in the plant, while the waste
system will stack the mining tailings in
dry piles, hence avoiding tailings dams.
ABOUT SIGMA
Sigma is a mineral development company
that is advancing into pilot production stage an environmentally
focused lithium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil to produce battery grade spodumene
concentrate from its high-quality deposits. Sigma corporate purpose
is to execute its strategy while embracing environmental, social,
and governance ("ESG") principles.
Sigma has 28 mineral rights in four properties spread over 188
km2 and 18,887 hectares -with over 200 lithium bearing
pegmatites and 11 former historical lithium mines. The Grota
do Cirilo property, Sigma's primary focus, includes 10 mining
concessions (mining production authorizations) and is
currently undergoing a 20,000m
drilling campaign for resource expansion.
Sigma has a National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101")
technical report on the Grota do Cicilo property prepared by
SGS Canada-Geostat ("SGS"), which includes estimated
measured and indicated resources of approximately 12,900,000 tonnes
for its main deposit (8,502,000t measured and 4,385,000t
indicated), with a high average grade of 1.56% (for
approximately 5,000,000t of LCE). The technical report also
includes estimated inferred resources of 608,348t and further notes
the potential for significant resource expansion.
QUALIFIED PERSON
The resources estimates in this news
release are included in (and the estimated LCE is derived from the
resource estimates included in) the technical report titled
"Technical Report Northern and Southern Complexes Project, Araçuai
and Itinga, Brazil, Sigma Lithium
Resources Inc." which has an effective date of January 29, 2018 and was prepared by Marc-Antoine Laporte, P.Geo, M.Sc. of SGS. Mr.
Laporte is a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101 and is
independent of Sigma. The report is available at
www.Sedar.com.
CAUTIONARY NOTE REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release contains forward-looking statements relating
to completion of pilot plant construction, plant capacity,
continuing superior product quality, metal recovery, and other
statements that are not historical facts. Readers are cautioned not
to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can
be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon
which they are based will occur. By their nature, forward-looking
statements involve numerous assumptions, known and unknown risks
and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to
the possibility that the predictions, forecasts, projections and
other forward-looking statements will not occur, which may cause
actual performance and results in future periods to differ
materially from any estimates or projections of future performance
or results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.
These assumptions, risks and uncertainties include, among other
things: the state of the economy in general and capital markets in
particular and investor interest in the business and future
prospects of Margaux Red Capital Inc. ("Margaux") and
Sigma.
The forward-looking statements contained in this news release
are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by
law, Margaux disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by applicable securities law. Additionally, Margaux
undertakes no obligation to comment on the expectations of, or
statements made, by third parties in respect of the matters
discussed above.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or
accuracy of this news release.
SOURCE Sigma Lithium Resources Inc.