South Star Battery Metals CEO Richard Pearce: Fully Permitted and Construction Ready for Graphite Mining in Brazil

South Star Battery Metals (TSXV:STS,OTCQB:STSBF) CEO Richard Pearce believes that graphite is going to play a significant role in the electric vehicle (EV) market, and he’s excited to have a project that's getting ready for construction to be part of the battery metals supply chain.

“When you look out across the EV space and batteries for energy storage, graphite is going to play a significant role," Pearce said. "I don't see anything really replacing graphite in my lifetime. I think the supply chain is going to be one of those things that we're constantly doing battle with. There's going to be a large demand for really high-quality materials across the board. We're just excited to have a project that's getting ready to start construction, and then we can scale it up from there."

South Star is stepping up production in three phases after receiving approval from the Brazilian Mining Authority in February 2022 for the final exploration reports for the remaining six of 13 claims at the Santa Cruz graphite mine in Brazil. The company plans to set up a pilot plant to produce 5,000 tonnes per year in Phase 1, 25,000 tonnes per year in Phase 2 and 50,000 tonnes in Phase 3.

“We set this kind of phased approach in place so we can get our material into the marketplace, develop those important commercial relationships, qualify for planning on toll milling 300 to 500 tonnes of our first year's production and upgrade into value-added material," Pearce said. "The phased approach is a smart way to allocate capital and diminish risks. We're super excited again to have a project that's construction ready and fully permitted. And we should start construction here in the next month and a half.”

According to Pearce, the company plans to start with the pilot plant, which will allow its materials to get into the marketplace. South Star plans to have a large percentage of its production tied up in offtake agreements. Phase 2 and Phase 3 will be sized based on hard commercial terms with real volumes and real pricing in place.

“Our goal is to sell into industrial applications and into expandables. We want to be very diversified in both our products, as well as in our clients and sectors. It took us just over a decade to get it ready to go. We’re fully licensed, permitted and construction ready. I think it's a fantastic time for South Star to have a scalable mine that is basically ready.”

Watch the full interview of South Star Battery Metals CEO Richard Pearce above.

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