South Star Battery Metals Announces the First Sale of Natural Flake Graphite Concentrate from its Santa Cruz Graphite Mine in Brazil - Seite 2

South Star's commercial strategy is to initially produce high-quality graphite concentrates for various industrial applications and sectors. Concurrently, studies and technical characterization and technical programs are underway to advance midstream and downstream products for value-added applications -- specifically, battery-graphite products, including specialty coated spherical purified graphite ("CSPG") for lithium-ion ("Li-ion") battery applications and conductivity-enhancement products for a wide variety of commercial primary and secondary battery chemistries -- with commercial sales planned for late 2026/early 2027.

Richard Pearce, CEO of South Star, remarked, "We are excited to see our first purchase order finalized and the start of what we hope will be a great partnership with the US Client. As promised, our team is executing our strategy to deliver responsible production with phased, modular plants, scalable assets in Tier-1 jurisdictions, and a go-to-market strategy to take advantage of being one of the first movers in the Americas."

"Santa Cruz has been in development since 2010 and has exceptional quality, crystalline graphite suitable for a broad range of industrial and value-added applications," said Mr. Pearce. "It is very gratifying to see this moment finally arrive for our team, which has worked extremely hard to get us here. The next 18 months will be transformational for South Star as we transition from a development company to a producer and look to scale operations at a critical time for the sector. We look forward to working with great partners to bring our clients the first new graphite production in the Americas since 1996, as well as important tangible benefits to our team, local communities, stakeholders, and shareholders. There is much to be proud of, and thanks to all involved."

ABOUT SOUTH STAR BATTERY METALS CORP.

South Star Battery Metals Corp. is a Canadian battery-metals project developer focused on the selective acquisition and development of near-term production projects in the Americas. South Star's Santa Cruz Graphite Project, located in Southern Bahia, Brazil is the first of a series of industrial- and battery-metals projects that will be put into production. Brazil is the second-largest graphite-producing region in the world with more than 80 years of continuous mining. Santa Cruz has at-surface mineralization in friable materials, and successful large-scale pilot-plant testing (> 30 tonnes) has been completed. The results of the testing show that approximately 65% of graphite concentrate is +80 mesh with good recoveries and 95%-99% graphitic carbon (Cg). With excellent infrastructure and logistics, South Star is fully funded for Phase 1, and the construction and commissioning are underway. Santa Cruz will be the first new graphite production in the Americas since 1996, with Phase 1 commercial production projected in Q3 2024. Phase 2 production (25,000 tonnes / year) is partially funded and planned for 2026, while Phase 3 (50,000 tonnes / year) is scheduled for 2028.