Spod Lithium Receives $200,000 Grant From Ontario Junior Exploration Program to Advance North Nipigon-Niemi Project

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, March 20, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SPOD LITHIUM CORP. (“SPOD” or the “Company”) (CSE: SPOD) (OTCQB: SPODF) is pleased to announce that it has been selected to receive a $200,000 Ontario Junior Exploration Program ("OJEP") grant from the Government of Ontario to support its exploration efforts on its North Nipigon -Niemi Project in the Georgia Lake Pegmatite field (the "Project"). SPOD is earning a 100% interest in the Niemi Block, which is adjacent to Imagine Lithium’s Jackpot Project and owns 100% interest in the North Nipigon Block A, B and C that border the east side of Rock Teck Lithium’s Nama Creek Deposit.

The project was selected for the grant under OJEP's critical mineral stream, which is aimed at facilitating the exploration of critical minerals within Ontario. Pursuant to the OJEP grant, SPOD Lithium Corp. can receive up to $200,000 to cover 50% of certain eligible exploration costs on the Project. An exploration program including geological mapping and litho-geochemical sampling was conducted during the 2023 field season that identified four areas for priority work in the 2024 field season.

“Early exploration projects being undertaken by companies such as SPOD Lithium Corp. are vital to tapping into the potential of the critical minerals in the north,” said George Pirie, Minister of Mines. “Through OJEP, our government is creating the conditions to ensure the continued success of the mining industry in order to keep Ontario’s mines running for generations to come.”

Chris Cooper, Spod Lithium’s CEO commented, "Spod Lithium would like to acknowledge the Government of Ontario for its financial support which has allowed the Company to expand on its North Nipigon-Niemi mineralized area where we have recently had success sampling 1.507% Li₂O in our latest exploration program. The receipt of the grant funding demonstrates Ontario’s commitment to developing a critical minerals strategy with the junior mining sector.”

The OJEP funding has contributed to evaluating historical occurrences on the project, including the Niemi occurrence (MDI42E05SW00017) which is slated for bedrock stripping and channel sampling in the 2024 field exploration season. During the 2023 field season, Spod Lithium made its own discovery of a spodumene bearing pegmatite boulder on the south shore of Jean Lake, in the north-central portion of Block B that returned 1.28% Li₂O (Figure 1). A summary of assay highlights from the 2023 field season is included in Table 1.