Brazil begins exporting green lithium to China

Brazil has initiated its first exports of green lithium to China, a key component in the production of electric vehicle batteries.

It was named green lithium or zero-carbon because the exploration plant does not have a tailings dam.

In addition, the company recycles the water used in the lithium purification process, which does not involve chemical agents. The tailings are dry stacked and sold for the recovery of residual minerals.

The operation is considered strategic for the entire chain of energy transition inputs, from sustainable sources, in addition to increasing the product’s added value.

This week, the first 30,000 tons were shipped from the port of Vitória, located in the country’s southeastern region.

The departure ceremony, attended by Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin, celebrated this new phase in the Brazilian mining and sustainable development agenda.

The green lithium, supplied by Sigma Lithium, was extracted from the Jequitinhonha Valley in Minas Gerais, a southeastern state in Brazil.

Sigma Lithium is committed to environmentally friendly and socially responsible extraction, producing lithium for next-generation electric vehicle batteries.

This shipment contained 15,000 tons of high-purity, sustainable lithium for batteries, and an equal amount of chemical-free, high-purity, dry-stacked, ultra-fine waste material known as “Green Tailings” from the Grota do Cirilo project.

The lithium was processed by Sigma Lithium, a Canadian company listed on the Nasdaq index and recently listed on the São Paulo stock exchange, in a facility in Minas Gerais that it has invested US$635 million (R$3 billion).

Ana Cabral, CEO of Sigma Lithium, stated, “Brazil is emerging in the industry and is becoming the new global paradigm for socio-environmental sustainability within global supply chains for electric vehicle batteries”.

As the largest country in South America, Brazil is a significant producer of minerals like iron and holds the 15th largest lithium reserves in the world, estimated at 730,000 tons by the US Geological Survey.

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