Sigma Lithium jumps as Brazil court clears Grota mine restart
Appeals court lifted a September emergency order, allowing Grota do Cirilo’s restart as Sigma aims for major production boost.
Sigma Lithium's shares surged 5.9% in pre-market trading on Wednesday following a Brazilian appeals court decision upholding environmental licenses for its flagship Grota do Cirilo lithium mine. The court overturned an emergency order issued in September that suspended the licenses due to a lawsuit by Ngolo, an association representing local Quilombola communities.
The court reasoned that a prolonged shutdown would inflict significant economic harm in the Vale do Jequitinhonha region of Minas Gerais state. The Grota do Cirilo mine, regarded as one of the world's largest and highest-grade hard-rock lithium deposits, is crucial to Sigma's plans to achieve an annualized lithium oxide concentrate production rate of 330,000 tonnes by the end of 2027.
Sigma has the capacity to reach this target without expanding operations, relying on its existing Mine 1 South Pit and Cleantech Industrial Plant. Production at the plant surpassed 950 tonnes per day following a technology upgrade in Q4 2024, with brief periods exceeding 1,000 tonnes. The mine restart refocuses attention on Sigma's capacity to ramp up production using existing infrastructure, potentially limiting additional capital requirements to meet its 2027 production goals.
As of the New York market opening, Sigma shares were trading at $10.29, up from Tuesday's close of $9.56. The lithium miner's market value stood at approximately $1.52 billion.
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