Mr. Hendrik van Alphen reports

WEALTH SIGNS FORMAL OPTION AGREEMENT FOR THE ATACAMA LITHIUM PROJECT, CHILE

Wealth Minerals Ltd.'s wholly owned Chilean subsidiary (Wealth Chile) has entered into a formal option agreement with Atacama Lithium SpA, whereby it has been given the exclusive right and option to acquire a 100-per-cent royalty-free interest in 144 exploration concessions referred to as the Atacama lithium project and located in the Atacama salar in Region 2 of Antofagasta, northern Chile.

Also, in conjunction with the completion of its due diligence on a proposed acquisition of Li3 Energy Inc. (see press release dated Feb. 1, 2016), the company has elected not to proceed with the proposed transaction. However, the company continues to monitor projects and developments in the Maricunga salar and other salars for potential acquisition opportunities.

Atacama project option details

In order to exercise the option, the company (through Wealth Chile) must make cash payments and issue common shares as outlined in the attached table. The transaction was conditionally accepted for filing by the TSX Venture Exchange on Oct. 7, 2016, and on Oct. 31, 2016, the TSX-V permitted the transaction to close, subject to the delivery by the company to the TSX-V of a technical report on the project within 90 days of closing.

  
                       PROJECT OPTION PAYMENT SCHEDULE             
                             (in U.S. dollars)
  
Date                       Cash             Wealth common shares   
  
Nov. 1, 2016       $  3,000,000 (paid)                 2,000,000 (issued)
July 1, 2017          3,000,000                        4,000,000          
March 1, 2018         3,000,000                        4,000,000          
March 1, 2019         5,000,000                        5,000,000   
                     ----------                       ----------       
Total                14,000,000                       15,000,000 
                     ==========                       ==========       

Upon payment of $14-million (U.S.) and issuance of 15 million common shares in the capital of Wealth to the project vendor, Wealth will be deemed to have exercised the option and will have earned an undivided 100-per-cent legal and beneficial royalty-free interest in and to the project. Any shares issued to the vendor will be subject to a hold period in Canada of four months and one day from the date of issuance. Wealth is required to keep the concessions in good standing throughout the term of the option. There are no minimum exploration commitments.

Atacama project planned exploration

The company's Chilean staff has completed site visits and is finalizing plans for phase 1 exploration at the project. Exploration will begin with surface water sampling and transient electromagnetic geophysical surveys before commencing an initial drill program of up to 2,000 metres. Initial work will be carried under a Pertinencia, a permit in Chile under which low-impact exploration activities can be carried out.

Atacama project background

The project is located in the northern portion of the Atacama salar, contiguous with Corporacion de Fomento de la Produccion (CORFO)'s lithium-producing leases and exploration properties held by BHP Billiton and Sociedad Quimica y Minera (SQM).

The Atacama salar is large in area and in depth, with basin fill to a depth of at least 975 metres in the centre of the salar, as demonstrated by the Toconao 1 oil exploration drill hole (targeting oil below the salar). Publicly available drilling and geophysical survey information lead to the interpretation that the salar fill underlying the concessions is of a significant thickness in excess of 700 metres.

It is a common misconception that lithium brines are simply pumped from surface "lake" brines, while in fact, lithium brines are pumped from aquifers, which can exist at any depth below surface depending on the geological history of the salar.

In the southern portion of the salar, basin fill is dominated by a nucleus of halite (rock salt) believed to be in excess of 500 metres thick. An SQM drill hole in 2002 did not locate the base of the halite and was abandoned at 500 metres depth. In a dry desert environment like Atacama, evaporation of water results in the concentration of salt and the formation of halite. However, it is not the existence of halite that results in the existence of lithium-bearing brines in the salar. SQM and Rockwood Lithium (now Albemarle) extract lithium from the top 40 metres in the southern portion of the salar. Within the halite zone, porosity and permeability quickly reduced with depth, limiting production pumping to these shallow depths.

In contrast, in the northern portion of the salar, the basin fill consists of various clastic sediments (sands and gravels), clay layers and layers of halite. This type of basin fill is much more typical of lithium-bearing salars in the so called Bolivia-Chile-Argentina lithium triangle.

Sediment and fresh water recharge in the Atacama basin comes from north to south. As a result, surface water and shallow aquifers are relatively fresh (brackish) in composition. In all lithium brine exploration, the location of the freshwater/brine interface is critical. In the Atacama basin, the interface is deeper in the north and shallow in the south due to the north-to-south freshwater recharge and the nature of the basin sediment fill. Clay layers within the northern basin fill is expected to result in the existence of multiple isolated aquifers at depth, and geophysical surveys help interpret the clay layers that will form seals.

The company's primary lithium brine target is interpreted to be between 400 metres and 600 metres from surface. Before drilling, the company intends to complete geophysical surveys to measure the resistivity and conductivity of the basin fill. Lithium-bearing brines have a very high conductivity due to the existence of salts and geophysical surveys allow mapping of these high conductivity layers at depth, which helps to define drill targets. The initial focus of the company's work will be in the southeast part of the project.

Qualified person

Keith Henderson, PGeo, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Mr. Henderson is a consultant to Wealth and a shareholder holding common shares and incentive stock options in the company.

About the Atacama salar

The Atacama salar is the world's highest-grade and largest producing lithium brine deposit, and currently produces approximately one-third of global lithium output from two production facilities operated by SQM and Rockwood. Atacama possesses a very high grade of both lithium (1,840 milligrams per litre) and potassium (22,630 milligrams per litre), has a high rate of evaporation (3,200 millimetres per year), and has extremely low annual rainfall (average of 15 millimetres per year). These characteristics make Atacama's finished lithium carbonate easier and cheaper to produce than its peer group globally. A key factor in lithium production costs is evaporation time, and Atacama salar's evaporation rate is accepted as the highest among similar lithium projects. The salar is located adjacent to International Highway 23, which connects northern Chile and Argentina.

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