With the approval of the mining license, the Project is now fully licensed and can proceed to the Phase 1 construction, commissioning and operations
South Star Mining announces approval of the mining license for the Santa Cruz Graphite Project. (Credit: Анатолий Стафичук from Pixabay)
South Star Mining Corp. (‘South Star’ or ‘the Company’) (TSXV:STS) (OTC:STSBF) is pleased to announce the approval of trial mining license for a period of 3 years for the Phase 1 Pilot Plant Operations (5,000 tpy of concentrate) for the Santa Cruz Graphite Project (‘the Project’) in Bahia, Brazil. As announced on October 5, 2020, the environmental license for Phase 1 was renewed for a period of 4 years in October of 2020. With the approval of the mining license, the Project is now fully licensed and can proceed to the Phase 1 construction, commissioning and operations.
The Company is advancing with conversations regarding project financing, and as previously announced in October of 2020, the Brazilian Development Bank (BNB) has pre-approved C$7.5M of debt financing. BNB is currently reviewing the technical documents and advancing with the Project credit analysis.
South Star CEO Richard Pearce commented: “We are extremely excited about the approval of the final permitting hurdle for the Phase 1 operations of the Project, and we continue the drive towards 2021 production. We are now in a position to advance towards construction, and the battery metals market appears to be further improving with increasing demand for high-quality concentrate worldwide. South Star can become a provider of high-quality, large-flake Brazilian graphite concentrate for many years ahead.
With the Phase 1 permitting requirements behind us, our next goals will be to focus on arranging an off-take agreement and securing the financing package for the Project construction. The final design package for construction along with selection of the firm responsible for the Engineering, Procurement and Construction Management (EPCM) is estimated to be finalized in March of 2021. I would like to thank our current shareholders and all the Project stakeholders for their continued support and look forward to an exciting 2021.”
Source: Company Press Release