Disputed Sigma Lithium Land Has "Probable" Reserves: Brazil Study Shows

Sigma Lithium, the biggest player in Brazil's lithium industry, told regulators late last year it had found likely mineral reserves on two plots of disputed land, about a month after it said they held "no mineral reserves and resources," according to previously unreported regulatory documents, Fabio Teixiera reported for Reuters.

Since last year, the mineral rights for that land have been caught up in a legal dispute between Sigma Chief Executive Ana Cabral and her ex-husband Calvyn Gardner, a former co-CEO. I Photo: Sigma Lithium Resources

The documents, which were filed by Sigma with Brazil's mining regulator in November and have not been made public, show the firm had found "probable" mineral reserves on the land.

Reuters could not determine at what date that finding was made. Since last year, the mineral rights for that land have been caught up in a legal dispute between Sigma Chief Executive Ana Cabral and her ex-husband Calvyn Gardner, a former co-CEO.

The legal battle that was touched off by the couple's divorce proceedings rattled Sigma's share price in September, when Reuters first reported on a Brazilian court injunction halting the sale or mining of the land where Sigma has been planning open pits while exploring options to sell itself.

The existence of lithium strengthens Gardner's case that the land might hold value, according to his lawyers who have asked the injunction that limits Sigma's control over the land to be upheld and for a formal geological assessment of it to be made.