Nemaska Lithium Successfully Commissions the Electrolysis Cell at its Phase 1 Plant

QUÉBEC CITY, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Feb. 8, 2017) - Nemaska Lithium Inc. ("Nemaska Lithium" or the "Corporation") (TSX:NMX)(OTCQX:NMKEF) announced today that it has successfully commissioned the electrolysis cell of its Phase 1 plant in Shawinigan. Nemaska Lithium continues to make significant progress on construction and commissioning of the Phase 1 Plant. Below are the steps that have been completed to date as well as upcoming steps:

Step 1 - Pressure Testing and Electrical Systems Start-up

The auxiliary systems, piping, holding tanks, etc. have all been pressure-tested using compressed air and water. Systems have performed as expected. Electrical systems have been commissioned.

Step 2 - Membrane Electrolysis Start-Up

The Corporation has begun feeding the electrolysis cell with synthetic lithium sulphate in a closed loop system. The electrolysis cell is successfully converting lithium sulfate solution into lithium hydroxide solution on a continuous basis.

Step 3 - Phase 1 Plant Ramp-up

The next step is to produce lithium hydroxide from lithium sulphate solution provided by a client. This will test the impurity removal systems and the electrolysis cells' handling of this material, as well as the crystallization process.

Step 4 - Lithium Hydroxide Samples to a customer

Initial samples of lithium hydroxide are expected to be sent to a customer in Q1 2017 for quality control purposes and evaluation.

Step 5 - Lithium Hydroxide from Whabouchi Concentrate

The Corporation intends to start processing spodumene concentrate from the Whabouchi Mine into lithium hydroxide samples in Q2 2017 after the commissioning of the calcination and roasting section of the process. These samples will be sent to numerous potential customers globally.

"The successful commissioning of the electrolysis cell clearly demonstrates the core patented technology that we developed to produce lithium hydroxide using commercial scale equipment," said Guy Bourassa, President and CEO of Nemaska Lithium. "We are using a synthetic lithium sulphate solution to begin the commissioning as we believe it is the best way to start the system. As we log hours on the electrolysis cell we will expand the commissioning to include the other sections of the Hydromet plant, including our patented impurity removals systems. This step will use commercial lithium sulphate solution and should demonstrate the system's ability to produce lithium hydroxide monohydrate from a less pristine material."