Sigma Lithium

What Sigma Lithium does

Sigma Lithium Corporation (NASDAQ: SGML) is a Canadian-incorporated mining company that operates the Grota do Cirilo hard-rock lithium mine in the Jequitinhonha Valley of Minas Gerais, Brazil, and is the largest lithium producer in the Americas. The company processes spodumene ore through its Greentech Industrial Plant using proprietary dense media separation (DMS) technology, producing high-grade lithium oxide concentrate at SC5 (5% Li2O) and SC6 (6% Li2O) grades, and a secondary lithium fines product (1% Li2O) derived from reprocessing dry-stacked tailings. Current nameplate capacity is 270,000 tonnes per year, with Greentech Plant 2 under construction to lift capacity to 520,000 tpa and a Phase 3 roadmap targeting 770,000 tpa by year-end 2027.

The company sells directly to global commodity traders (Glencore being the principal named counterparty) and undisclosed battery manufacturers through long-term offtake agreements with prepayment components, with shipments routed through the Port of Vitoria, Brazil. Revenue is commodity-indexed (Q1 2026 realized price of $1,790 per tonne for SC5 concentrate) and supplemented by lithium fines sales at $50-140 per tonne. The model is capital-intensive, with funding assembled from a BNDES development loan (BRL 487M), ESG trade finance credit lines (USD 90M), a USD 100M collateralized bank guarantee, a USD 96M production-backed revolver, and Glencore prepayment facilities. Customers are global EV battery manufacturers and commodity trading houses seeking Western Hemisphere lithium supply diversification away from Chinese-dominated processing.

The business carries meaningful operational and regulatory risk: a January 2026 Labor Ministry shutdown of waste piles was reversed after ANM confirmed safety, but ongoing court proceedings in Aracuai (BRL 50M environmental deposit order), a Pomerantz LLP securities investigation, a Blue Orca short report, and a Bank of America downgrade to Underperform reflect unresolved scrutiny. Q1 2026 delivered record margins (61% gross, 39% EBITDA, 26% net) following operational remobilization, but FY2025 results were materially impaired by the shutdown, illustrating execution fragility alongside the growth thesis.

Name

Sigma Lithium

Legal name

Sigma Lithium Corporation

Website

https://sigmalithiumresources.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

Sigma Lithium Corporation (NASDAQ: SGML) operates the Grota do Cirilo hard-rock lithium mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and is the largest lithium producer in the Americas. It sells lithium oxide concentrate and lithium fines under long-term offtake agreements to global EV battery manufacturers and commodity traders such as Glencore.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Lithium Mining and Battery-Grade Concentrate Production

NAICS

Other Metal Ore Mining (212290), Support Activities for Metal Mining (213114)

SIC

Metal Mining (1000)

akta.pro primary industry

Lithium Mining & Brine Extraction (IMAKAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Battery-Grade Chemical Processing (LiOH/Li2CO3, Ni/Co Sulfates, Mn Sulfate) (IMAKAFAI), Battery Raw Materials Mining & Refining (Lithium, Nickel, Cobalt, Manganese, Graphite) (EUAFABAA), Mine Development & Processing EPC (Critical Minerals) (IMAKAFAM)

Keywords

• Lithium oxide concentrate
• Battery grade lithium
• Hard rock lithium mining
• Lithium fines reprocessing
• Greentech lithium processing

Headquarters

HQ city

Toronto

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Operations, Supply Chain, Personnel, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Lithium Oxide Concentrate Sales: Sale of high-grade lithium oxide concentrate (SC5) produced at the Greentech Industrial Plant, the primary revenue driver. Q1 2026 generated $42M in revenue from sale of 23,000 tonnes at a realized price of $1,790 per tonne.
2. Lithium Fines Sales: Sale of high-purity low-grade lithium fines from the Greentech Plant, including inaugural sales of 400,000 tonnes at $50/tonne, additional 100,000-150,000 tonnes at $125-140/tonne, and option agreements for additional volumes. Creates a secondary revenue stream from previously untapped tailings.
3. Trade Finance Credit Lines: ESG-oriented trade finance credit facilities providing working capital. Sigma closed USD 90 million in ESG-oriented trade finance credit lines and received increased prepayment terms from Glencore, reflecting sustainable practices.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Sigma Lithium mines hard-rock lithium ore at the Grota do Cirilo operation in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and processes it at its Greentech Industrial Plant using dense media separation technology to produce battery-grade lithium oxide concentrate (SC5 at 5% Li2O and SC6 at 6% Li2O). It also reprocesses previously untapped dry-stacked tailings into high-purity lithium fines, selling the output via direct offtake agreements to global battery manufacturers, commodity traders, and lithium chemical processors at port-delivered terms.

Product overview

Sigma Lithium operates a mining and processing business producing lithium oxide concentrate from its Grota do Cirilo mine in Brazil's Minas Gerais state. The company processes ore through its Greentech Industrial Plant, which uses dense media separation technology to produce carbon-neutral lithium products. The product portfolio includes high-grade SC5 and SC6 lithium oxide concentrate, plus a lithium fines product derived from reprocessing dry-stacked tailings. The company is expanding from one Greentech plant (270,000 tpa capacity) to a second plant targeting 520,000 tpa by early 2027, with further expansion planned to 770,000 tpa by end of 2027.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lithium Oxide Concentrate (SC5) High-grade lithium oxide concentrate at 5% Li2O content, produced at Sigma Lithium's Greentech Industrial Plant in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and sold to global battery manufacturers for use in electric vehicle and energy storage lithium-ion battery production. Sold under long-term offtake agreements with prepayment components and port-delivered terms at the Port of Vitoria.
• Lithium Oxide Concentrate (SC6) Premium-grade lithium oxide concentrate at 6% Li2O content, representing the highest-purity product in Sigma Lithium's portfolio, produced at the Greentech Industrial Plant and targeted at battery manufacturers seeking maximum lithium content per tonne.
• High-Purity Lithium Fines Lower-grade lithium fines with 1% Li2O content, produced by reprocessing previously untapped dry-stacked tailings at the Greentech Plant, sold at $50-140/tonne to lithium chemical processors who apply their own dense media separation technology to recover high-grade concentrate at 60% recovery rates with over 4% lithium oxide content.

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Lithium Fines BuyersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorSigma Lithium sold 150,000 tonnes of high-purity lithium fines at $140/tonne to buyers who process the low-grade material using their own dense media separation technology, achieving 60% recovery rates and converting it into concentrate with over 4% lithium oxide content.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Broad incumbents

• Albemarle Corporation: One of the world's largest lithium producers, with operations across hard-rock (spodumene) and brine resources. Albemarle competes directly with Sigma Lithium in the global lithium oxide concentrate market but operates at much larger scale and across multiple geographies and chemistries.
• Ganfeng Lithium: One of the world's largest vertically integrated lithium producers, with operations spanning hard-rock mining, brine extraction, and downstream lithium chemicals. Comparable to Sigma Lithium across the lithium concentrate value chain but with far larger scale, downstream integration, and Chinese ownership.
• Tianqi Lithium: Major Chinese lithium chemicals and resource company with significant spodumene concentrate production and downstream processing capacity. Comparable to Sigma in concentrate production and battery-grade chemical output, though much larger and integrated into the Chinese supply chain.
• Mineral Resources (MinRes): Diversified Australian mining services and resources company with a growing lithium business (Mount Marion JV). Broader incumbent in the mining space with overlapping lithium concentrate offtake relationships and similar exposure to hard-rock spodumene markets, but operates as a diversified mining contractor-plus-producer.
• Allkem (now Arcadium Lithium, acquired by Rio Tinto): Global lithium chemicals producer (now part of Rio Tinto) with operations across Argentina, Australia, and Canada, producing both lithium carbonate and spodumene concentrate. Comparable to Sigma in hard-rock and brine lithium production for global battery customers, but with diversified geography and broader corporate backing.

Direct peers

• SQM (Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile): Major Chilean lithium producer with a global footprint in specialty plant nutrition, lithium, iodine, and industrial chemicals. SQM is a direct peer in lithium carbonate/hydroxide production, serving the same EV battery customer base, though it operates primarily from brine resources rather than hard-rock mining.
• Pilbara Minerals: Australian hard-rock lithium (spodumene) producer operating the Pilgangoora mine, selling spodumene concentrate to global battery and chemical customers. Pilbara is a direct peer to Sigma Lithium in hard-rock concentrate production and offtake structures, though located in a different geography (Australia).
• Lithium Americas: North/South American-focused lithium developer advancing the Thacker Pass (Nevada) and Cauchari-Olaroz (Argentina) projects. Comparable to Sigma in Western Hemisphere lithium production and supply chain diversification positioning, though primarily a brine/lithium carbonate producer rather than hard-rock concentrate.

Emerging players

• Liontown Resources: Australian hard-rock lithium developer with the Kathleen Valley operation producing spodumene concentrate for battery manufacturers. Comparable to Sigma Lithium in hard-rock concentrate product offering and EV battery customer base, though at a smaller scale and earlier in the operational ramp.
• Vulcan Energy Resources: European geothermal-lithium developer producing zero-carbon lithium hydroxide from Upper Rhine Valley brines. Comparable to Sigma in ESG positioning and battery-grade lithium output for European OEMs, though utilizing a fundamentally different (brine/thermal) extraction technology.

Market position

Strengths2 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SigmaLithium
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sigma-lithium-resources

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors8 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Sigma Lithium