Sigma Lithium has shipped its first product from the Grota do Cirilo lithium mine in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

This Thursday, a ship is due to leave the Port of Vitória, in Espírito Santo, with 15,000 tons of battery-grade (5.5%) lithium concentrate and an equal amount of byproducts from the operation that must be refined to also become lithium concentrate.

This first shipment was produced at Sigma Lithium’s Greentech plant, the first lithium project in the world without a tailings dam. Under an offtake agreement with China’s Yahua, the company sells its high-purity tailings grading around 1.3% lithium oxide, as a byproduct for further processing.

Remaining tailings are dry-stacked. The company said it also offset its carbon footprint with 59,000 tonnes of carbon credits purchased from Carbonext, resulting in the company reaching net zero this year.

Sigma obtained premium pricing calculated at the benchmark of 9% of lithium hydroxide price (average China, Japan, South Korea) for what it’s termed its “Triple Zero Green Lithium” and “Triple Zero Green By-Products.”

Sigma Lithium has begun generating revenue from Phase 1 and expects to produce 130,000 tonnes of spodumene concentrate in the calendar year 2023 as it ramps up to full-scale Phase 1 production.

The company expects to reach Phase 2 and 3 full production capacity in 2024, positioning it as one of the world’s largest lithium producers.