Critical Elements Lithium Announces Appointment of Mr. Andy Fortin as Senior Process and Commissioning Director

MONTRÉAL, QC / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2022 / Critical Elements Lithium Corporation (TSX-V:CRE)(OTCQX:CRECF)(FSE:F12) ("Critical Elements" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Andy Fortin, Metallurgical Engineer, as Senior Process and Commissioning Manager.

Mr. Andy Fortin holds a bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Laval University in Québec City. Mr. Fortin brings to the Company a solid operational experience acquired in Northern Québec and Nunavut. He has over 25 years of experience in leading continuous improvement of metallurgical processes, asset management, health and safety culture and risk management. He has been involved in numerous projects in process design, commissioning to achieve production capacity and operational improvement, notably with Québec Iron Ore, Newmont / Goldcorp, Agnico-Eagle Mines and Inmet Mining Corporation.

Yves Perron, Vice President Engineering, Construction and Reliability, declared: "I am proud to announce this new addition to the Critical Elements' team. We welcome Mr. Andy Fortin, as Senior Director of Process and Commissioning. Andy will be part of our engineering, construction, and commissioning team for the Rose Lithium-Tantalum project. He will solidify the process design team already in place and will be one of the leaders in driving our company to operational excellence, making this project a success."

"As one of the few lithium projects in North America with key environmental authorization in place," added Chief Executive Officer Jean-Sébastien Lavallée, "Critical Elements is assembling its owners' team at the right pace to be ready to build on making a Final Investment Decision. The current market for top mining and processing specialists in Québec is extremely tight and competitive; we are extremely pleased to attract quality members like Andy, Hughes and Yves to our team at this time."

About Critical Elements Lithium Corporation

Critical Elements aspires to become a large, responsible supplier of lithium to the flourishing electric vehicle and energy storage system industries. To this end, Critical Elements is advancing the wholly owned, high purity Rose lithium project in Québec, the Corporation's first lithium project to be advanced within a land portfolio of over 850 square kilometers. On June 13^th, 2022, the Corporation announced results of a feasibility study on Rose for the production of spodumene concentrate. The after-tax internal rate of return for the Project is estimated at 82.4%, with an estimated after-tax net present value of US$1.9 B at an 8% discount rate. In the Corporation's view, Québec is strategically well-positioned for US and EU markets and boasts good infrastructure including a low-cost, low-carbon power grid featuring 93% hydroelectricity. The project has received approval from the Federal Minister of Environment and Climate Change on the recommendation of the Joint Assessment Committee, comprised of representatives from the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada and the Cree Nation Government and also received the Certificate of Authorization pursuant to section 164 of Québec's Environment Quality Act from the Québec Minister of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parcs.