- Business
- South Star Battery Metals Corp. (TSXV:STS) is a Canada-based battery metals project developer focused on the acquisition and development of near-term production graphite projects in the Americas. The company owns and operates the Santa Cruz Graphite Mine in southern Bahia State, Brazil, producing natural flake crystalline graphite concentrate with flake sizes ranging from fines (-325 mesh or 44 microns) to large flakes (+30 mesh or 600 microns) and carbon grades of 87% to 96%; products include high-purity concentrates for lithium-ion batteries, alkaline batteries, fuel cells, graphene production, carbon raisers and additives for specialty steel, refractories such as monolithic and magnesia carbon bricks, crucibles, continuous casting molds, and industrial applications like carbon brushes, brake pads, powder metallurgy, foils, and pencils. It also holds the BamaStar Graphite Project, a historic surface-mine asset on the Alabama Graphite Belt in Coosa County, Alabama, USA, featuring friable outcropping mineralization averaging 3-5% graphitic carbon suitable for low-cost open-pit extraction. Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia, South Star targets clean energy markets including electric vehicles and green technologies with operations centered in Brazil and the United States. Recent developments include the oversubscribed US$4.8 million private placement financing in 2025 to fund plant upgrades at Santa Cruz following operational challenges, enabling a targeted restart of Phase 1 production at 5,000 tonnes per year in Q2 2026; a successful 100-tonne sale of natural flake graphite concentrate to a U.S. customer after product qualification; closing of the first tranche of a non-brokered private placement in October 2025; an indicative term sheet for US$4 million debt financing and appointment of a new CFO in August 2025; selection under the BNDES-FINEP partnership for investments in production and innovation in June 2025; and Q3 2025 financial results confirming resolution of plant issues under Interim CEO Tiago Cunha.