Calvyn Gardner

Calvyn Gardner is a mining executive with nearly 20 years of experience in global and junior mining companies. He held executive positions at Anglo American Group and Trans Hex Group, served as General Manager of Operations at Highveld Steel, and was CEO of Trans Hex Group. He co-founded and was managing partner of Hardac Investments, a private equity firm focused on investing in junior mining companies in Africa, with major co-investors including Lazare Kaplan International and Mvelaphanda Holdings. Gardner holds an MBA from the University of South Africa and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand. He co-founded Sigma Lithium Corporation with his then-wife Ana Cabral-Gardner, serving as co-CEO until January 2023. According to legal correspondence and trading data reported by Reuters in November 2023, Gardner was dismissed from Sigma Lithium for trading shares during a quarterly earnings blackout period earlier in 2023. Specifically, he sold 500,000 shares for approximately 13.3 million dollars. In August 2023, Sigma Lithium filed a lawsuit in federal court in Manhattan against Gardner, alleging he stole trade secrets to undermine the company's sale efforts. The lawsuit also named his daughter-in-law Luisa Valim as a defendant. Gardner subsequently initiated legal actions in Brazil and the United States seeking restitution of rights. Gardner and Ana Cabral-Gardner, who remains CEO of Sigma Lithium, are in the process of divorcing. Through their fund A10 Investimentos, they jointly held a 44% stake in Sigma Lithium, with Cabral-Gardner owning 76% of the fund and Gardner owning 24%. Gardner maintains financial interests and rural properties in the Jequitinhonha region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, including farms leased to Sigma Lithium.