SIGMA Lithium Resources Corporation (“
Sigma” or
the “
Company”) (
TSX-V: SGMA)
(
OTC- QB: SGMLF) would like to announce a
management appointment, technical committee appointments and an
update on its Board of Directors (the “
Board”), in
preparation for the upcoming construction of the first phase of its
Grota do Cirilo project (the “
Project”) and the
commencement of the environmental licensing process for the second
phase of the Project.
MANAGEMENT: APPOINTMENT OF CHIEF
SUSTAINABILITY OFFICER
Sigma has appointed Maria Jose Salum to the
senior executive role of Chief Sustainability Officer. In that
capacity, Maria will oversee Sigma’s entire breadth of ESG-centric
activities, including not only environmental strategy, regulatory
and licensing for the Project, but also community relations and
impact investing in the Vale do Jequitinhonha region, as part of
the Company’s comprehensive social responsibility program.
- Maria is a
prominent environmental & social responsibility professional in
Brazil. She has held a number of roles during her 40-year
remarkable technical career in public service and in the private
sector.
- In public
service, her roles included Director of Sustainable Development in
Mining at the Ministry of Mines and Energy and Senior
Representative for the Ministry at the Nacional Council for the
Environment (CONAMA). She was also the second woman in 60 years to
serve as Deputy Minister of Mining and Mineral Transformation at
the Ministry of Mines and Energy.
- Maria has had an
active academic career, holding several senior roles at the Federal
University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), a centre of excellence for
mining and metallurgy research in Brazil, including Head of
Department for Mining Engineering. She has a PhD in mineral
technology.
- Since retiring
from public service in 2018, Maria has worked as a consultant,
advising some of the largest global mining companies on
environmental matters in Brazil.
“As Sigma moves forward and initiates the
environmental licensing process and impact studies for its second
phase of production, Maria will have a key role in leading all of
these workstreams. Maria as Chief Sustainability Officer was the
first of a series of new executive appointments that we plan to
make entering into construction phase. Her seniority and experience
underscore our commitment to executing an ESG-centric production
strategy for Sigma,” said Calvyn Gardner, Sigma’s CEO and
Co-Chairman.
BOARD & TECHNICAL COMMITTEE
UPDATES
Sigma has appointed Wes Roberts and Vicente Lobo
as the new Co-Chairs of the Company’s Technical Committee. They
will act as senior advisors to the Board and, in that capacity,
will advise and support Calvyn Gardner.
- Vicente has over 30 years of
executive operations experience at major Brazilian natural resource
companies, serving as COO of Bunge Fertilizantes and COO of Vale
Fertilizantes. He has specialized in building and operating mines
as well as developing mineral, metallurgical and chemical
processing and beneficiation. He started his career as a process
engineer at Paulo Abib Engenharia S.A. and also served as board
member for the specialty steel engine parts producer Tupy S.A. He
is currently a Managing Partner at the mining consultancy firm Lobo
Engenharia and advises on technical matters some of the largest
mining companies globally.
- Wes has over 35 years of technical
experience in the Canadian mining industry focused on mining
operations, project engineering and project management in base
metals and industrial minerals. His roles in an executive and
advisory capacity include project controls, special projects and
project evaluation. He was with Vale-Inco Ltd. from 2001 to 2006
and Heenan Blaikie LLP from 2008-2014 and more recently held
various management and consulting roles with mining companies,
private equity firms and indigenous organizations. Wes holds an
M.Sc. in Mining Engineering from Queen’s University.
“We are honoured and enthusiastic to welcome two
highly technically experienced and accomplished professionals in
the Canadian and Brazilian mining industries. Vicente and Wes bring
the perfect mix of expertise to Sigma at a critical juncture, when
the Company is transitioning from developer to emerging lithium
producer on a large scale, planning the construction in
back-to-back sequence of the first and second production phases of
its Project. As Sigma is currently undergoing detailed engineering
and pre-construction activities in preparation to initiate the
construction of the first phase of the Project, we believe that Wes
and Vicente will be valuable technical resources to support the
Company in executing these multiple initiatives,” said Calvyn
Gardner.
“Both Vicente and Wes have significant alignment
of purpose with Sigma’s ESG operations, focused on social and
community engagement. Wes represents several First Nation
communities in Canada, providing them with technical context and
advice in the negotiation of their impact benefit agreements with
mining companies. Vicente is an advisor to the environmental
department of Fundação Gorceix in Brazil, a not for profit that
supports training in the mining sector”.
Sigma would like to announce certain changes to
its Board. Maryse Belanger has resigned as Non-Executive Director
and Vice Chairman of the Board to focus on her newly appointed
executive position of CEO of the U.S. based exploration and
development company Bullfrog Gold Corporation, a portfolio company
of Barrick Gold Corporation. Following her departure, Ana Cabral
Gardner was appointed as Co-Chairman of the Board, joining Calvyn
Gardner, who has become Co-Chairman of the Board.
“On behalf of the Board and the entire team at
Sigma, I would like to thank Maryse for her significant
contribution and commitment to her role in the Board of Sigma
during the last two years, a period during which Sigma has been
completely transformed from a mineral development company to an
effectively fully funded pre-production emerging global lithium
leader. During her tenure, Sigma concluded a feasibility study, and
negotiated an EPC FEED agreement,” said Calvyn Gardner.
“Moreover, Maryse’s stewardship while leading
the Board’s Management Committee during the pandemic of spring
& summer of 2020 was pivotal in enabling the various executive
teams working remotely and the personnel located at the mining site
to collaborate on a fully integrated manner to deliver the
execution of a detailed engineering planning program on a very
tight timetable. As a mining venture capital investor, I have
personally learned a great deal from Maryse and I am honoured to
have served by her side on the Board of Sigma during these two
years,” added Ana Cabral-Gardner, Chief Strategy Officer and
Co-Chairman of the Board.
ABOUT SIGMA LITHIUM
Sigma is a Canadian company and has been
producing environmentally sustainable battery-grade lithium
concentrate on a pilot scale since 2018 and shipping high-quality
above 6% Li2O coarse lithium concentrate samples to potential
customers in Asia. Based on the technical report titled “Grota do
Cirilo Lithium Project, Araçuaí and Itinga Regions, Minas Gerais,
Brazil, National Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on Feasibility
Study Final Report”, dated October 18 2019 and with an effective
date of September 16th, 2019, a larger-scale lithium concentration
commercial production plant will contemplate a capacity of 220,000
tonnes annually of battery-grade low-cost lithium concentrate and
Sigma will be amongst the lowest-cost producers of lithium
concentrate globally.
To secure a leading position supplying the clean
mobility and green energy storage value chain, Sigma has adhered to
the highest standards of environmental practices in line with its
core values and mission since starting activities in 2012. Sigma’s
production process is powered by hydroelectricity and the Company
utilizes state-of-the-art dry-stacking tailings management and
water-recycling techniques in its beneficiation process. Its
corporate mission is to execute its strategy while embracing strict
ESG principles. Sigma’s shareholders include some of the largest
ESG-focused institutional investors in the world.
FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION PLEASE
CONTACT
Sigma Lithium Resources
Corporationwww.sigmalithiumresources.com
Company Contact:Anna HartleyDirector of Investor
Relations(London) +44 7866 458 093anna.hartley@sigmaca.com
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This news release includes certain
"forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities
legislation including statements relating to the ultimate duration,
impact and severity of the COVID-19 pandemic (including its impact
on financial markets and national and multinational economies
generally, and its impact on the growth of the electric vehicle
market and other impacts on the demand for lithium products) and
other forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are
necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that,
while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown
risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual
results and future events to differ materially from those expressed
or implied by such forward-looking statements. All statements that
address future plans, activities, events, or developments that the
Company believes, expects or anticipates will or may occur are
forward-looking information, including statements regarding the
potential development of resources and drilling plans which may or
may not occur. Forward-looking statements and information contained
herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding,
among other things, the ability to complete the Annual Filings and
Interim Filings; the market price of the Company's securities,
metal prices, exchange rates, taxation, the estimation, timing and
amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating
costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory
approvals, environmental risks, title disputes, litigation risks,
failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated,
accidents, labour disputes, claims and limitations on insurance
coverage and other risks of the mining industry, changes in
national and local government regulation of mining operations, and
regulations and other matters including the COVID-19 pandemic.
There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be
accurate, as actual results and future events could differ
materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly,
readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as
required by law. For more information on the risks, uncertainties
and assumptions that could cause our actual results to differ from
current expectations, please refer to our public filings available
at www.sedar.com.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its
Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the
policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for
the adequacy or accuracy of this news release.
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