Mr. John Wisbey reports

INTERNATIONAL LITHIUM FILES PEA TECHNICAL REPORT FOR RALEIGH LAKE LITHIUM PROJECT - OUTLINES HIGHLY FAVOURABLE AFTER-TAX NPV (DISCOUNTED AT 8%) OF CAD$342.9 MILLION AND AFTER-TAX IRR OF 44.3% P.A.

The National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects) technical report for the preliminary economic assessment for International Lithium Corp.'s proposed lithium mining operation to produce spodumene concentrate at Raleigh Lake has been filed on SEDAR+.

Further to the company's news release dated Dec. 4, 2023, the Raleigh Lake project, located 25 kilometres west of Ignace, Ont., has demonstrated a highly favourable economic scenario based on the production of a spodumene concentrate containing 6 per cent lithium oxide (SC6).

The PEA relies on recent metallurgical testwork (phase 1), which indicates that SC6 can be produced using a simple crushing circuit and heavy liquid separation techniques. In the phase 1 tests, lithium recoveries were above 81 per cent while iron oxide content remained within acceptable limits. As originally foreshadowed, the very near proximity of Raleigh Lake to existing service infrastructure along the Trans-Canada Highway corridor affords significant logistical and economic advantages to the project.

This PEA only considers spodumene concentrate -- that is, lithium -- as a revenue source. The company continues to investigate the potential value associated with the extraction of rubidium from the microcline zone within the spodumene deposit.

PEA highlights

Economics (discounted at 8 per cent per year):

• Pretax cash flow equals $709.4-million, net present value equals $385.1-million and internal rate of return equals 46.5 per cent per year.
• After-tax cash flow equals $634.0-million, NPV equals $342.9-million and IRR equals 44.3 per cent per year.
• Price assumptions are $3,139 per tonne for 6-per-cent-lithium-oxide concentrate ($2,325 (U.S.) per tonne).

Capital expenditures/operating expenditures:

• Total preproduction capital costs: $111.9-million;
• Total sustaining capital: $17.5-million;
• Total life-of-mine operating costs: $381-million (including concentrate transport);
• Average operating costs: $94.38 per tonne milled and $993 per tonne SC6.

Mining method:

• Traditional open-pit drilling and blasting followed by load and haul;
• The plant feed production rate is proposed to be 540,000 tonnes per year;
• This LoM mine plan is proposed to mine 57 million tonnes of material over the mine life, which will be composed of four Mt of mill feed and 53 Mt of waste with an average strip ratio of 13.2 to 1;
• Life of mine is forecast at nine years, and project duration is 11 years.

Process plant:

• The base-case process plant is designed to crush 1,500 tonnes per day and process 1,500 tpd in a dense media separation plant to produce a nominal 56,000 tonnes per year of 6 per cent Li2O at 81-per-cent recovery.
• Process engineering and design were developed to a scoping level based on the results of the SGS laboratory testing. The SGS lab tests obtained 22.9 weight percentages of 6-per-cent-lithium concentrate and estimated 81-per-cent lithium recovery.
• A design factor of 10 per cent is applied on nominal requirements to ensure that the process equipment has enough capacity to take care of the expected feed variation.
• Total production for LoM is 414,904 tonnes of 6-per-cent-lithium-oxide-spodumene concentrate.

A copy of the report, "The Raleigh Lake Project, NI 43-101 Technical Report -- PEA," was filed on SEDAR on Jan. 18, 2024.

Raleigh Lake is 100 per cent owned by International Lithium, and there are no overriding royalties. The company's vision for Raleigh Lake is a low-risk, low-impact, small-scale mining operation that can begin to provide critical minerals necessary to fulfill Canada's critical mineral strategy in a shorter time frame than would be required for a much larger-scale, longer-duration and more remotely located project. Revenues from the mine production would continue to feed back into exploration work to expand International Lithium's drive to become a significant critical mineral supplier in North America.

Executive comment

John Wisbey, chairman and chief executive officer of International Lithium, commented: "As stated in our news release of Dec. 4, 2023, we are really pleased to have brought the first stage of the Raleigh Lake project to the PEA stage in a relatively short time, and it was pleasing to have been able to announce these results despite a considerable fall in the lithium price. Since publication in early December, that price has fallen appreciably further owing, we understand, to destocking in the Chinese battery industry. The lithium price is now back to mid-2021 levels, having been six times higher in late 2022. It is obvious that destocking cannot continue indefinitely, and we hope for a significant price recovery in 2024-2025 given the tremendous progress taking place in new lithium battery technologies and the ever increasing uptake of [electric vehicles] and battery storage based on lithium. At the same time, as we made clear previously, this PEA takes no account of the considerable amounts of rubidium that we have at Raleigh Lake. Rubidium is on the U.S. critical minerals list. We will be actively researching the market for rubidium in the coming months and assessing the real likely annual demand. More news releases on that subject will follow at the appropriate time."

PEA summary

Environmental Resource Management was retained by International Lithium to prepare a preliminary economic assessment in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 for the Raleigh Lake project located near Ignace, Ont., Canada.

The Raleigh Lake project is roughly 25 kilometres west of Ignace and 235 kilometres west of Thunder Bay in the northwestern part of Ontario within the Kenora mining district. It is adjacent to the Trans-Canada Highway (Hwy. 17) with CN Rail, the TC Energy natural gas pipeline and Hydro One 235-kilovolt power lines transcending the property. It is owned 100 per cent by International Lithium Canada Ltd., a 10-per-cent-owned subsidiary of International Lithium. There are no royalties or other encumbrances on the property.

International Lithium identified the opportunity at Raleigh Lake in 2016 but did not begin actively pursuing work on the project until 2021, when an initial test drilling campaign was conducted along with regional lithogeochemical sampling. In 2022, the company completed sufficient drilling to define a maiden mineral resource estimate with resources reported in the measured, indicated and inferred categories (see herein and company press releases dated March 1 and April 13, 2023). Upon analyzing the MRE, the company embarked upon some initial metallurgical and economic studies that culminated in the results presented here. It is the company's opinion that the results to date provide a good basis to pursue a mining operation at Raleigh Lake, and such an operation can be considered low impact due to the existence of well-developed and utilized infrastructure and the path to environmental permitting and eventual production being shorter than if the project were to be more remotely located. The entire operation could be significantly more sustainable than remote operations and have direct economic benefits for the nearby and surrounding communities.

The proposed open-pit mining operation would extract 57 Mt of material over the mine life, which will be composed of four Mt of mill feed and 53 Mt of waste with an average strip ratio of 13.2 to 1. The proposed PEA level mine plan is based around work at a proposed plant feed production rate of 540,000 tpy producing a total of 414,904 tonnes of SC6 concentrate over the mine life. The average mill feed grade is 0.70 per cent Li2O.

A summary of the base-case capital and operating costs calculated and used in the economic analysis exercise is shown herein. Total costs are based on unit cost rates per tonne mill feed multiplied by the total tonnes of mill feed (4.37 Mt).

A summary of the base-case revenues used in the economic analysis exercise is shown herein, and a summary of the pretax and posttax economic analysis results is shown herein.

Resource estimate

The MRE for the Raleigh Lake project that the current PEA study was based on was produced by Nordmin Engineering Ltd., based in Thunder Bay, Ont., which prepared an independent lithium (spodumene-hosted) and rubidium (microcline-hosted) MRE for the project and technical report, "NI 43-101 Technical Report and Mineral Resource Estimate for the Raleigh Lake lithium project, Ignace, Ont.," consistent with the standards and guidelines set out by the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum and in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 (Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects).

In preparation of the MRE and MRE report, Nordmin applied processes that were appropriate for lithium pegmatite-style deposits. The report is available on SEDAR+. The effective date for the report was April 13, 2023.

Detailed summaries of the MRE report can be found in the company news releases dated March 1 and April 13, 2023. A tabulated listing of the MRE for both lithium in spodumene and rubidium in microcline is given herein.

Preliminary economic assessment

The project:

• Is 100 per cent owned by International Lithium and is not subject to any offtake agreements, partnerships or royalties;
• Consists of 48,500 hectares (485 square kilometres) of adjoining mineral claims;
• Is located approximately 25 kilometres west of the township of Ignace, Ont.;
• Distinguishes itself from other lithium projects in Canada by being very well situated near to major public infrastructure:
  • The Trans-Canada Highway, with direct access to Thunder Bay on Lake Superior, is fewer than six kilometres north of the project;
  • The Canadian Pacific Railway, natural gas pipelines and Hydro One power transmission lines (115 and 230 kilovolts) are just a few kilometres from the project.

Mining methods

The mining method selected for this project will use traditional open-pit drilling and blasting followed by load and haul. The primary mining production will be executed using hydraulic excavators, front shovels and/or wheel loaders as appropriate to the terrain and depending on the major production equipment available for the project. The material will be hauled from the bench to the crusher, ROM stockpiles or waste dump depending on the material type. Furthermore, ancillary equipment, such as bulldozers, graders and a range of vehicles, is employed to perform functions related to maintenance, support, services and utilities.

The proposed PEA level mine plan is based around work at a proposed plant feed production rate of 540,000 tpy.

This LoM mine plan is proposed to mine 57 Mt of material over the mine life, which will be composed of four Mt of mill feed and 53 Mt of waste with an average strip ratio of 13.2 to 1.

The open pit created for the Raleigh Lake deposit covers about 800 metres in length and 450 metres in width at the surface. The pit's lowest point extends to a depth of 330 metres above sea level, while the entrance to the pit is positioned at 475 metres above sea level. The pit incorporates two entrance ramps, with the first granting access to the southern section of the pit and the second facilitating entry to the northern part.

The approach selected for the storage of tailings generated at the concentrator and the waste rock from the mine will be co-disposal. This co-disposal method involves containing filtered tailings within designated waste rock cells. This approach offers the benefit of enhancing overall stockpile stability and the efficiency of water drainage. The primary goal is to guarantee long-term physical and geochemical stability.

Mineral processing

The Raleigh Lake orebody contains two metallurgical domains, the lithium spodumene domain and the rubidium microcline domain. These two separate domains represent zones in the Raleigh Lake orebody that require customized process flow sheets to be developed for each zone. For the lithium domain, the objective is the recovery of spodumene to 6-per-cent-lithium-oxide-concentrate grade, while the rubidium-bearing microcline domain objective is to develop a flow sheet for extraction of the rubidium from the microcline.

The current focus was to perform mineralogy and mineral processing testing to develop the flow sheet for the lithium zone (Li head) and do a literature review to begin to investigate the flow sheet development of the rubidium zone (Rb head). Samples of the lithium and rubidium domains were sent to SGS Canada in August of 2023 to perform phase 1 mineralogy tests with follow-up mineral processing testing and literature review. The Li head and Rb head were collected from the Raleigh Lake deposit and were received by the SGS Lakefield Canada advanced mineralogy facility for mineralogy. Mineralogy was conducted to determine liberation, mineral assemblages which would help to support and guide the metallurgical testwork.

The lithium Li head sample assayed 1.59 per cent Li2O and 0.56 per cent Fe2O3, while the rubidium head sample graded 6,580 grams per tonne Rb (equivalent to 0.72 per cent Rb2O) with 0.12 per cent Li2O and 0.24 per cent Fe2O3.

The main objective of the phase 1 scoping level mineral processing test investigation was to provide a preliminary indication of the lithium beneficiation of the Li head by heavy liquid separation.

The metallurgical target was the preparation of spodumene concentrate grading greater than 6.0 per cent Li2O while maximizing lithium recovery.

The pegmatite Li head sample was initially stage crushed to 100 per cent passing 12.7 millimetres, homogenized and split into 10-kilogram test charges. One of the 10-kilogram charges was subsampled 500 g for head assays, and the remaining was screened at 16 mesh to remove the minus-one-millimetre fraction for mineralogy.

From the 10-kilogram charges, the minus 12.7 mm plus one mm fraction was further screened at one-fourth of an inch (6.3 mm) to generate two fractions of minus 12.7 mm plus 6.3 mm and minus 6.3 mm plus one mm. The two coarse fractions, minus 12.7 mm plus 6.3 mm and minus 6.3 mm plus one mm, were submitted for heavy liquid separation testing.

The HLS testing results at SG 2.85, a 6.0-per-cent-lithium-oxide-concentrate grade of 14.9 weight per cent with global lithium recovery of 53.0 per cent, were obtained in the fraction of minus 12.7 mm/plus 6.3 mm.

The HLS testing results, interpolated to SG 2.83, a 6.0-per-cent-lithium-oxide-concentrate grade of 8.0 wt per cent with a global lithium recovery of 28.5 per cent, were obtained in the minus 6.3 mm/plus one mm fraction.

Combining the 6-per-cent-lithium-oxide concentrates from the two fractions of minus 12.7 mm/plus 6.3 mm and 6.3 mm/plus one mm generated a combined global lithium recovery of 81.5 per cent.

Above a tailings SG-cut point of 2.70, the HLS middling from each sample contained between 1.27 to 1.69 per cent Li2O with 2.3 to 8.2 per cent of the global lithium distribution. Therefore, the HLS middling can potentially be stage crushed then mixed with the minus one millimetre fines fraction to produce a flotation feed (or gravity feed) grading 1.19 per cent Li2O and 0.59 per cent Fe2O3.

The combined HLS middling and fines fraction contained 16.2 per cent of the lithium distribution grading 1.19 per cent Li2O. This is potential feed for a roll crusher and screening, for flotation feed, or an ultrafines DMS gravity circuit to increase the lithium recovery.

The grade of iron in the spodumene concentrate was approximately 1 per cent Fe2O3, which is acceptable; however, this would likely be reduced by treating the concentrate by magnetic separation.

Recovery methods

The lithium zone flow sheet development testwork showed a viable flow sheet to crush to minus 12.7 mm and screen at one mm, followed by screening again at 6.3 mm, to make two streams (minus 12.7 mm plus 6.3 mm and minus 6.3 mm plus one mm) for HLS (plant DMS). The minus one millimetre fines and HLS middlings (DMS plant middlings) would be stored for future processing and recovery of additional lithium and other minerals of interest. HLS floats (DMS floats) may also be considered for road construction projects.

The base-case process plant is designed to crush 1,500 tpd and process 1,500 tpd in a DMS plant to produce a nominal 56,000 tpy of 6 per cent Li2O at 81-per-cent recovery.

Engineering and design were developed to a scoping level based on the results of the SGS laboratory testing. The SGS lab tests obtained 22.9 weight percentages of 6-per-cent-lithium concentrate and estimated 81-per-cent lithium recovery.

A design factor of 10 per cent is applied on nominal requirements to ensure that the process equipment has enough capacity to take care of the expected feed variation.

Environmental

The preliminary analysis of the project indicates it will be subject to multiple class environmental assessments under the Ontario provincial Environmental Assessment Act. The project is not anticipated to trigger a federal impact assessment under the Impact Assessment Act. Several other permits, approvals or authorizations will be required to continue project development beyond early exploration, including advanced exploration through closure.

At the time of filing, environmental and socio-economic studies have not been initiated for the project although they will be necessary to support and inform environmental assessments and permitting applications. These studies are required to characterize the existing environmental setting of the project and to inform design and/or process considerations.

Once project approvals are secured, International Lithium will be required to comply with any terms and conditions associated with project-specific authorizations issued by provincial or federal authorities, as well as relevant environmental law and regulation.

First nations and Metis communities are situated near the Raleigh Lake property and consider the area part of their traditional territory. International Lithium has identified indigenous groups that may have an interest in the project and has initiated engagement. The lands and community of the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation are the closest to the project, and WLON has been the foremost community for communication and involvement by company representatives.

Capital costs

The Raleigh Lake preliminary economic analysis study involves the development of an open-pit mine, the construction of on-site processing facilities and all infrastructure required to support those activities.

The capital cost estimate for the Raleigh Lake has been prepared to an accuracy of plus 30 per cent/minus 20 per cent based on a 10-per-cent to 40-per-cent engineering completion ratio to conform with the requirements for an American Association of Cost Engineers (AACE) Class 3 estimate.

All capital cost estimates are based on fourth quarter 2023 Canadian dollars and an assumed U.S. to Canadian dollar ratio of $1 (U.S.) to $1.35 (Canadian).

Total preproduction capital costs will be $111.9-million, which includes capitalized operating costs incurred before the open-pit mine moves into the production phase.

Total sustaining capital costs over the mine production phase will be $17.5-million.

Operating costs

The operating cost estimate is based on the total amount of labour, materials and consumables that will be required to fully execute the mining and processing plans as described herein.

The total operating costs incurred over the life of the project are based on sufficient mill feed material being available to begin processing plant operations in year 1 of the overall project schedule, which will include the processing of 54,037 tonnes of mill feed stockpiled in year 1 of the preproduction schedule.

Total operating costs for the operation will primarily be those for mining and processing:

• The total LoM operating cost is estimated to be $412.1-million.
• The total LoM operating cost of mining is estimated to be $179-million.
• The total LoM operating cost of processing is estimated to be $124.6-million.
• The total LoM operating cost of general and administrative expenses is estimated to be $77.5-million.
• The total LoM operating cost of concentrate transport is estimated to be $31-million.

Road transportation costs

Road transportation costs incurred over the production life of the project assume that the final technical grade concentrate would be transported by truck to a conversion plant located in Winnipeg or Thunder Bay.

A total cost of $75 per tonne of concentrate was assumed based on a conservative truck haulage cost of $60 per tonne and total loading/unloading costs of $15 per tonne of concentrate produced, or $7.13 per tonne of mill feed, for a total LoM cost of $31.1-million.

Project economics

The economic analysis of the Raleigh Lake project is based on cost models prepared for each major component of the overall project, which includes an open-pit mine, crushing and processing plants, supporting surface infrastructure, and a waste rock/tailings co-disposal facility.

The assumed technical-grade 6-per-cent-spodumene-concentrate product and cost calculations are all expressed in Canadian dollars unless otherwise noted, with an exchange rate of $1.35 (Canadian) to $1 (U.S.) being used for currency conversions.

The calculated internal rate of return of the project does not include potential external financing costs and assumes that all required financing will be equity based. The net present value calculations assumed a discounting rate of 8 per cent per year.

The discounted cash flow model includes revenues, costs, taxes and other known factors directly related to the project but excludes indirect factors such as financing costs, sunk costs and corporate obligations.

The results of the economic analysis yielded a posttax NPV of $342.9-million, an IRR of 44.3 per cent per year and a payback period of four years after construction begins or two years after the start of the production phase of the project.

About International Lithium Corp.

International Lithium believes that the world faces a significant turning point in the energy market's dependence on oil and gas and in the governmental and public view of climate change. In addition, it has seen the clear and increasingly urgent wish by the United States and Canada to safeguard supplies of critical battery metals and to become more self-sufficient. Its Canadian projects are strategic in that respect.

Its key mission in the next decade is to make money for its shareholders from lithium and rare metals while at the same time helping to create a greener, cleaner planet and less polluted cities. This includes optimizing the value of its existing projects in Canada and Ireland, as well as finding, exploring and developing projects that have the potential to become world-class lithium and rare metal deposits. It has announced separately that it regards Zimbabwe as an important strategic target market for International Lithium, and it hopes to be able to make announcements over the next few weeks and months.

A key goal has been to become a well-financed company to turn its aspirations into reality, and following the disposal of the Mariana project in Argentina in 2021 and the Mavis Lake project in Canada in January, 2022, the board of the company considers that International Lithium is well placed in that respect with a strong net cash position.

The company has interests in various projects. In addition, the company continues to seek other opportunities.

The company's primary strategic focus at this point is on the Raleigh Lake project's lithium and rubidium project in Canada and on identifying additional properties in Canada and Zimbabwe.

The Raleigh Lake project consists of 48,500 hectares (485 square kilometres) of mineral claims in Ontario and is International Lithium's most significant project in Canada. Drilling has so far been on fewer than 1,000 hectares of its claims. The exploration results there so far, which are on only about 8 per cent of International Lithium's current claims, have shown significant quantities of rubidium and cesium in the pegmatite, as well as lithium. Raleigh Lake is 100 per cent owned by International Lithium, is not subject to any encumbrances and is royalty free.

With the increasing demand for high-technology rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles and electrical storage, as well as portable electronics, lithium has been designated the new oil and is a key part of a green energy sustainable economy. By positioning itself with projects with significant resource potential and with solid strategic partners, International Lithium aims to be one of the lithium and rare metal resource developers of choice for investors and to continue to build value for its shareholders in the twenties, the decade of battery metals.

Patrick McLaughlin, PGeo, and Garth Liukko, PEng, are qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have verified the disclosed technical information, and have reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

We seek Safe Harbor.