Lithium Ionic Awarded Water Rights for Bandeira Lithium Project, Minas Gerais, Brazil

TORONTO, May 02, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Ionic Corp. (TSXV: LTH; OTCQX: LTHCF; FSE: H3N) (“Lithium Ionic” or the “Company”), is pleased to report that it has received approval to draw water (“Water Rights”) from the local Piauí River for its 100%-owned Bandeira Lithium Project (“Bandeira”) in Minas Gerais, Brazil.

The approval granting the right to use local water resources was granted on April 25, 2024, by the Minas Gerais Institute of Water Management (“Instituto Mineiro de Gestão das Águas” or “IGAM”), which authorizes a flow rate of 101.6 m³/hour, meeting the typical maximum consumption needs of the future Bandeira lithium operation.

Blake Hylands, P.Geo., CEO of Lithium Ionic, commented, “This approval marks another significant step towards our goal of becoming a near-term lithium producer. Securing water rights for the Bandeira Project is an important permitting milestone which underscores not only the excellent work by our team but also the value of operating in one of the top mining jurisdictions in the world.”

On April 12, 2024, the Company reported an updated NI 43-101 compliant mineral resource estimate (“MRE”) for Bandeira of 23.68 million tonnes (“Mt”) at an average grade of 1.34% Li₂O, with an additional 18.25Mt of Inferred MRE grading 1.37% Li₂O, for a total of 41.93Mt. Bandeira represents approximately 70% of the Company’s total global mineral resources of 60.1Mt*

A Feasibility Study for Bandeira is expected for completion this month. Furthermore, the Company expects an approval for the Concomitant Environmental and Installation License (“LAC”, or Licença Ambiental Concomitante in Portuguese) in early Q3 2024, which would provide authorization to begin construction.

*See press release dated April 12, 2024 for details related to the Bandeira mineral resource estimate (effective date of January 10, 2024; QP: Carlos Silva, MAIG#7868); press release dated April 4, 2024, for details related to the Salinas MRE (effective date of January 4, 2024; QP: Leonardo Soares, P.Geo., M.Sc., of GE21), and the NI 43-101 compliant technical reports related to the Outro Lado deposit titled “Mineral Resource Estimate for Lithium Ionic, Itinga Project” (effective date of June 24, 2023; authored by Maxime Dupéré, B. Sc., P.Geo. and Faisal Sayeed, B. Sc., P.Geo).