The mining company (whose main activity is the Grota do Cerillo hard rock lithium project in Brazil) is now focused on expanding operations.
Reuters.- The Sigma Lithium CEO will not sell the mining company at current lithium price levels and is focusing on short-term expansion plans, she told Reuters in an interview.
The Vancouver-based company, whose primary business is the Grota do Cerillo hard-shale lithium project in Brazil, began looking for potential buyers about a year ago.
Since then, prices for lithium, the key metal for electric vehicle batteries, have been pressured by slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles around the world, coupled with overproduction in China.
Anna Cabral Gardner, CEO, said her focus is now on expanding operations.
He said: “At these prices we do not sell.” “I'm building a business, so I'm doubling down,” he added.
Cabral Gardner said last July that a Bank of America advisor had held meetings for several months with parties interested in acquiring Sigma, and the company later said it had received proposals from the energy, automotive, battery and lithium processing industries.
In addition to the price decline, Sigma has weathered a series of executive changes, including the firing of former CEO Calvin Gardner early last year, which is being fired by Cabral Gardner, and a series of lawsuits in Brazil and the United States.
Cabral Gardner said Bank of America was still leading a strategic review of the company, but declined to provide details.
“We started a strategic review and said, 'OK, let's see if it makes sense to do something,'” he said. “It was a shame we did it for that price.”
Meanwhile, he said Sigma aims to double its size by next year.
The company said this week that it plans to increase production to 520,000 tons per year by 2025 from the current 270,000 tons, and has spent $100 million to add a second production line at its Greentech industrial plant in Brazil.
Brazil, which relies heavily on biofuels, exports most of its lithium needs.
The company's shares rose amid news of a plan to increase production.
In 2021, Sigma agreed to supply lithium to LG Energy Solutions, although the South Korean company last month began arbitration over what it saw as violations of the agreement. Sigma denied the allegations. It also signed a supply agreement last year with commodity trading company Glencore.
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