VANCOUVER, BC, Oct. 12,
2022 /CNW/ - South Star Battery Metals Corp.
("South Star" or the "Company") (TSXV: STS) (OTCQB: STSBD), is
pleased to announce that it has submitted the Planned Economic
Analysis ("PAE") and the request for the final mining license
("concessão de lavra") to the Brazilian Mining Authority ("ANM") on
September 28th, 2022 for
two additional claims (871.052/2011 & 872.874/2010), which are
east and west extensions on strike of where the Phase 2 and 3
facilities are planned. This brings the total to 7 of the 13 mining
claims submitted and now encompasses the entirety of the
8-kilometer strike that has been identified (see the August 15th, 2022 press release). The
proposed PAE doubles the Santa
Cruz production capacity presented in the previously
released PFS (March 2020) and
incorporates a third phase of project development. The planned
production schedule follows:
- 2 years with 5,000 tonnes per year ("tpy") of concentrates
(Phase 1);
- 2 years with 25,000 tpy of concentrates (Phase 2); &
- Life of mine ("LOM") with 50,000 tpy of concentrates (Phase
3).
In addition, the Company has selected the environmental
consultants for the Phase 2/3 environmental permitting, and they
are expected to mobilize for field inventories in October 2022. The environmental studies and
documents are expected to be completed and submitted for review and
comment in January 2023.
The pilot scale metallurgical testing program for the Alabama
Graphite Project is underway at North Carolina
State University and is on schedule to deliver approximately
15-18 kg of ROM concentrate samples by the end of November 2022. Once finalized, the concentrate
samples will be sent for physical and chemical characterizations as
well as testing for a variety of value-add and battery
applications.
The maiden drilling campaign is underway and a rubber track
mounted drill rig is scheduled to be on site in Alabama this week. The drill pads are prepared
and drilling is expected to be completed by November 2022. The Alabama exploration program includes:
- Drilling 10-15 holes (HQ) along 1.5 km of strike;
- Logging & Assays;
- QA/QC Program with Blanks, Duplicates and Standards;
- Background Water Quality Testing;
- Geotechnical Drilling / Installation of a Piezometer to Monitor
Groundwater Levels; &
- Drill Pad Construction and Reclamation.
Richard Pearce, CEO of South
Star, said, "At Santa Cruz we have submitted to the ANM all the
priority PAEs along the 8 km strike asked for the full mining
license for 50,000 tpy of concentrates. We will continue to submit
additional PAEs throughout the remainder of 2022. The environmental
consultants for the Phase 2/3 permitting effort have been selected
and will be in the field in October
2022. Our goals are to have the Phase 2 & 3 mining and
environmental permits and mining licenses in hand around the same
time we are commissioning the Phase 1 plant so we can quickly
advance financing alternatives to scale the production. In
Alabama we are very excited to get
the drills turning for our maiden resource estimate in Alabama, and the met pilot testing program is
underway and on schedule. We are aiming to get a maiden 43-101
resource estimate for Alabama out
early Q1 2023 and a 43-101 PEA delivered end of year 2023. Exciting
times as we race to be the first new graphite production in the
Americas in over a decade."
About South Star Battery Metals
Corp
South Star Battery Metals Corp. is a Canadian battery metals
project developer focused on the selective acquisition and
development of near-term production projects in the Americas. South
Star's Santa Cruz Graphite Project, located in Southern Bahia,
Brazil is the first of a series of
industrial and battery metals projects that will be put into
production. Brazil is the
second-largest graphite-producing region in the world with more
than 80 years of continuous mining. Santa
Cruz has at-surface mineralization in friable materials, and
successful large-scale pilot-plant testing (>30t) has been
completed. The results of the testing show that approximately 65%
of Cg concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95%-99% Cg.
With excellent infrastructure and logistics, South Star is carrying
its development plan towards Phase 1 production projected in Q4
2023.
South Star's next project in the development pipeline is a
project in Alabama located in the
middle of a developing electric vehicle, aerospace and defence hub
in the southeastern United States.
The Project is a historic mine active during World Wars I & II.
Trenching, sampling, analysis and preliminary metallurgic testing
has been completed. The testing indicated a traditional
crush/grind/flotation concentration circuit achieved grades of
approximately 96-97% with approximately 86% recoveries. South Star
is executing on its plan to create a multi-asset, diversified
battery metals company with near-term operations in strategic
jurisdictions. South Star trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under
the symbol STS, and on the OTCQB under the symbol STSBF.
South Star is committed to a corporate culture, project
execution plan and safe operations that embrace the highest
standards of ESG principles based on transparency, stakeholder
engagement, ongoing education and stewardship. To learn more,
please visit the Company website at
http://www.southstarbatterymetals.com.
This news release has been reviewed and approved by Richard
Pearce, P.E., a "Qualified Person" under National Instrument 43-101
and President and CEO of South Star Battery Metals Corp.
On behalf of the Board,
Mr. Richard Pearce
Chief Executive Officer
Twitter: https://twitter.com/southstarbm
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/southstarbatterymetals
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/southstarbatterymetals/
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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.
Forward-Looking
Information
This press release contains "forward-looking statements"
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 in this press release
include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: moving
Santa Cruz into production and
scaling operations as well as advancing the Alabama project; and the
Company's plans and expectations.
Forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks
and 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; risks
related to the outcome of legal proceedings; political and
regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks
related to the maintenance of stock exchange listings; risks
related to environmental regulation and liability; the potential
for delays in exploration or development activities or the
completion of feasibility studies; the uncertainty of
profitability; risks and uncertainties relating to the
interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity
of mineral deposits; risks related to the inherent uncertainty of
production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected
costs and expenses; results of prefeasibility and feasibility
studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development
or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's
expectations; risks related to 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 new events or circumstances. Actual events or results could
differ materially from the Company's expectations or
projections.
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SOURCE South Star Battery Metals Corp.