American Lithium Co-recipient of U.S. Department of Energy Grant For US$4.5M Lithium Processing Pilot Plant

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Lithium Corp. (TSXV: LI) (OTCQB: LIACF) (Frankfurt: 5LA1) (“American Lithium” or the “Company”), a global leader in the exploration and development of lithium projects, reports being selected by the U.S. Department of Energy Advanced Manufacturing Office (“DoE”), with co-recipient American Battery Technology Company (formerly called American Battery Metals Corporation) (“ABTC”) and another industry partner, to receive grant funding totalling 50% of the capital cost for a US$4.5 million lithium extraction/hydroxide pilot plant.

The grant provides funding to complete field demonstration of selective leaching, targeted purification, and electro-chemical production of battery grade lithium hydroxide precursor from US claystone deposits, and more specifically American Lithium’s TLC Project, near Tonopah, Nevada (“TLC”). The funding is part of US government agencies’ efforts to reduce American dependence on foreign supply of important critical minerals including battery metals required for American energy storage needs, including the electrification of the vehicle sector. Further details on the project are available here.

Specifically, this project will look to utilize ABTC’s proprietary lithium extraction technologies to extract lithium from American Lithium’s unique TLC claystone deposits. The lithium mineralization at TLC has a number of unique properties and has shown the potential, utilizing more traditional methods of extraction, for fast, efficient, and cost-effective lithium extraction. While the Company will proceed with its own initiatives to establish the best, commercially viable process for lithium extraction from TLC, it will concurrently take part in this DoE funded pilot project utilizing ABTC’s technologies in combination with TLC claystone deposits.

Mike Kobler, CEO of American Lithium, stated, “We are extremely pleased to partner with ABTC on this high profile pilot project with funding from the Department of Energy. We believe that it is a strong validation of the unique characteristics of lithium mineralization at TLC that the US Government selected this project to back and provide funding for. It’s exciting to be working with ABTC and others on this multi-year, industry led partnership to improve the production of lithium hydroxide from domestic sources. Together, we can be leaders in the growth of lithium chemical supply in the burgeoning field of large-scale battery manufacturing in the United States.”