Mr. Rob Gamley reports

EMP METALS ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL DLE PILOT PROJECT AND PRODUCTION OF BATTERY GRADE LITHIUM CARBONATE; PROVIDES UPDATE ON PEA

EMP Metals Corp. has provided an update on significant advancements and milestones of its lithium project: (i) successful results from a direct lithium extraction (DLE) pilot project; (ii) successful production of pure battery-grade lithium carbonate; (iii) expected timing of direct lithium extraction field pilot; (iv) increased acreage in core operating area; and (v) update on the delivery of the preliminary economic assessment (PEA).

Direct lithium extraction: pilot test results

Hub City Lithium Corp. (HCL), a subsidiary company to EMP, has successfully completed a large-scale pilot using the ILiAD DLE platform developed by Energy Source Minerals (ESM), a privately held process technology company focusing on direct lithium extraction in North America. The pilot, which processed 87,000 litres of brine from the Viewfield project area, successfully recovered 8,300 litres of concentrated eluent with an average lithium concentration of 1,430 milligrams/litre (representing a 7.5 times concentration from the feed brine provided). An average lithium recovery of greater than 90 per cent and an impurity rejection rate of 99.62 per cent were also verified by ESM. HCL plans to ship the highly concentrated eluent to a third party for refinement into battery-grade lithium carbonate.

Production of battery-grade lithium carbonate

HCL has confirmed successful production of 99.95 per cent pure battery-grade lithium carbonate (Li2CO3), the company's first brine-to-battery-grade lithium carbonate production.

Saltworks Technologies Inc., a global leader in designing and delivering industrial waste water treatment and lithium refinement solutions, saw brine sourced from wells in HCL's Viewfield project area refined into battery-grade lithium carbonate. The Viewfield lithium-containing brine represents the highest concentrations of lithium discovered in Canada to date with minimal pretreatment requirements.

After DLE, the eluent was refined into battery-grade chemicals at Saltworks' headquarters in British Columbia. This work was executed with Saltworks' proprietary concentrating, refining and converting technology and expert technical team, employing novel technology that lowers the cost and greenhouse gas impact of lithium chemical production.

This project tested and derisked the end-to-end flowsheet, resulting in multiple samples of battery-grade lithium carbonate, which have been analyzed and validated by an independent third party laboratory. The captured data enable the acceleration of a full-scale plant design and dispatch.

Rob Gamley, chief executive officer of EMP Metals, commented: "The results of our DLE to battery-grade lithium project exceeded expectations. Our partnership with Saltworks has proven to be a powerful collaboration, setting the stage for future advancements in the Canadian lithium industry. This achievement fuels our confidence in a dynamic future for all involved and the Canadian mineral sector."

Megan Low, Saltworks Technologies vice-president of process solutions lithium and industrial water, commented: "The Saltworks team is proud to continue to support EMP Metals and ROK Resources to develop an important Canadian brine-to-battery chemicals project. We've been impressed by EMP Metals' methodical but rapid approach to take the right steps to derisk their project and merge commercial innovations into their flowsheet that improve economics and scalability."

Viewfield field pilot

HCL is currently undergoing a treatability study with Koch Technology Solutions (KTS) to test 1,000 litres of feed brine from the Viewfield project area. The study is in preparation for a DLE field pilot (one of the first in Saskatchewan) on the HCL well that previously tested 258 mg/L of lithium. The pilot, scheduled to begin in Q1 2024, will treat Viewfield brine and convert it into a highly concentrated lithium chloride eluent. It is expected to run for three to four months and will operate 24/7, processing approximately 6,500 to 9,000 litres of feed brine per day.

Viewfield acreage purchase

At the November, 2023, Crown public offering HCL increased its landholdings in its Viewfield project area by 4,065 net acres (7-per-cent increase) to 59,000 net acres (23,900 hectares), for total consideration of $1.17-million.

HCL now holds greater than 196,000 net acres (79,300 net hectares) of subsurface dispositions and numerous strategic wellbores in Southern Saskatchewan.

Preliminary economic assessment update

The PEA, which focuses on a phase 1 development at Viewfield, is nearing completion with anticipated final approvals and release in January, 2024. The release delay can be attributed to capital and operating cost adjustments within the PEA, a result of the continuing Viewfield brine testing and processing with multiple DLE vendors.

Lithium brine properties joint venture

The lithium brine properties consist of more than 196,000 net acres (79,300 net hectares) of subsurface Crown mineral dispositions in the Williston basin of Southern Saskatchewan.

EMP holds 75 per cent of the joint venture with ROK Resources holding the balance.

Qualified person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Greg Bronson, PGeo, a qualified person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101.

About EMP Metals Corp.

EMP Metals is a Canadian-based lithium exploration and development company focused on large-scale resources using direct lithium extraction (DLE). EMP Metals, in partnership with ROK Resources, currently holds 196,000 net (79,300 hectares) acres of subsurface dispositions and strategic wellbores in Southern Saskatchewan.

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