08:41 AM EDT, 04/05/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Sigma Lithium ( SGML ) will not be sold as long as lithium prices remain low and will instead focus on expanding, the company's Chief Executive Ana Cabral-Gardner told Reuters in an interview, according to a report on Thursday.

"At these prices, we are not selling," Cabral-Gardner told Reuters. "I am building a business, so I'm doubling capacity."

The company's main business is hard rock lithium mining in Brazil. It began searching for buyers last year but shifted its strategy after prices faced pressures amid slower-than-expected adoption of electric vehicles worldwide. Lithium is a metal key for electric vehicle batteries, the report said.

The CEO said Bank of America was still conducting a strategic review of the company but did not provide details, according to the report.

Meanwhile, the company is planning to double increase its production to 520,000 metric tons per year by 2025 from the current 270,000 metric tons, and will spend $100 million to install a second production line in Brazil, Reuters reported.

Sigma did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Shares of the company added nearly 3% in recent premarket activity on Friday.

Price: 14.18, Change: +0.41, Percent Change: +2.96