Mr. John Wisbey reports

EXPANSION OF CRITICAL MINERALS PORTFOLIO WITH THE HIGHLY PROSPECTIVE FIRESTEEL COPPER-COBALT PROJECT NEAR UPSALA, ONTARIO

International Lithium Corp. has entered into a purchase and sale agreement to acquire a 90-per-cent interest in a highly prospective grassroots copper and cobalt property in Northwestern Ontario.

The Firesteel project, previously referred to as the Honeyjack project, is located less than 10 kilometres directly west of Upsala along Highway 17, and stretches for 16 km to the Firesteel River.

Under the terms of the agreement, the company will acquire an undivided 90-per-cent right, title and interest in Firesteel by:

• Paying on the effective date $55,000 in cash to the vendor (paid);
• Within 15 calendar days of exchange approval of the agreement:
  • At the discretion of the company, either (a) paying $110,000 in cash, or (b) paying $65,000 in cash and issuing common shares with an aggregate value of $45,000 to the vendor;
• Granting the right to receive the following milestone payments:
  • If International Lithium establishes a resource calculation equal to or exceeding 10 million metric tonnes (Mt) at 1 per cent copper (Cu) (the first resource bonus threshold), the company shall pay, at its sole discretion, any one of: (i) $1-million in cash; or (ii) such number of common shares having an aggregate value of $1-million; or (iii) a combination of cash and common shares having an aggregate value of $1-million;
  • If International Lithium establishes a resource calculation equal to or exceeding 15 million metric tonnes at 1 per cent copper (the second resource bonus threshold), the company shall pay, at its sole discretion, any one of: (i) a further $1-million in cash; or (ii) such number of common shares having an aggregate value of $1-million; or (iii) a combination of cash and common shares having an aggregate value of $1-million.

The agreement was signed on Feb. 16, 2024. No finder's fees were paid to facilitate this transaction.

Project highlights:

• Resident geologist's program site visit confirms:
  • Up to 2.8 per cent Cu at the Roadside 1 occurrence on Highway 17;
  • 5,802 parts per million (ppm) Cu with 217.5 ppm cobalt (Co), and 1,728 ppm Cu with 309 ppm Co at the Roadside 2, approximately 2.8 km west (along strike) from the Roadside 1 occurrence.
• 2.6 per cent Cu in a historical sample at the Roadside 2 occurrence;
• 316 mining claim units covering an area of approximately 6,600 hectares;
• Excellent infrastructure, and access to technical and logistical support services;
• 16 km of strike potential for VMS (volcanogenic massive sulphide)-style Cu-Co mineral deposits in parallel structures.

The company completed a 1,392 line km airborne magnetic and electromagnetic (EM) survey utilizing the Resolve frequency domain electromagnetic system. The data will be interpreted to identify near-surface highly conductive zones that may represent massive sulphide mineralization consisting of pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite, pyrite and bornite, as witnessed at the Roadside 1 occurrence.

Several conductive zones, including one coincident with the Roadside 1 and 2 occurrences, are evident in the raw data. Final products from the airborne data are expected in the next month. Following the review of these data, the company will follow up with prospecting and ground geophysics in preparation for drill testing later in 2024.

Project overview

The project consists of 73 mining claims, making up 316 mining claim units covering an area of approximately 6,600 hectares in Northwestern Ontario. The property is adjacent to Highway 17, less than 10 km west of Upsala, Ont. It stretches westward to the Firesteel River for approximately 16 km.

The Trans Canada natural gas pipeline and CP Rail corridor transects the project, making for easy access to existing infrastructure.

The project is located within the central Wabigoon subprovince at the eastern limit of the Lumby Lake greenstone belt. The Lumby North assemblage in the vicinity of Upsala is described in "Stone, D. 2010; Precambrian geology of the central Wabigoon Subprovince area, Northwestern Ontario; Ontario Geological Survey, open file report 5422, 130 pages," as mafic sequences interlayered with iron formation and quartz arenite adjacent to the Marmion batholith. It contains massive mafic flows or gabbro interspersed with thin felsic metavolcanics and rare pillowed mafic units.

On Oct. 5, 2021, D. Campbell (RRG), accompanied by B. Holbik, completed a property visit on the property (then known as the Honeyjack property). Seventeen samples were collected from historic copper and gold occurrences.

They included various styles of mineralization and alteration, including: i) quartz veins with stringers, blebs and disseminations of pyrite, pyrrhotite and trace chalcopyrite; ii) silicious metasedimentary rocks and iron formations with associated sericite alteration, pyrite, pyrrhotite, trace chalcopyrite and fuchsite; and iii) lenses of semi-massive and net-textured sulphides consisting of pyrite, pyrrhotite, chalcopyrite and bornite, as indicated by the bright peacock colours.

RRG collected six samples of semi-massive and net-textured sulphides at the Roadside 1 Cu zone on the south side of Highway 17, centred at 677465E, 5435937N. The highest copper assay returned 28,637 ppm Cu.

"Historical assay results from samples taken at locations approximately 1.6 km northeast and 2.8 km southwest of the Roadside 1 Cu zone returned values of up to 2.6 per cent Cu and 3.327 ppm Au [gold], and 2.6 per cent Cu and 4.294 ppm Au, respectively (Bumbu 1995). RGP collected two samples (21DCHJ016-017) approximately 2.8 km southwest of the Firesteel Cu zone, returning 5,802 ppm Cu and 217.5 ppm Co, respectively. Approximately 225 m north of sample 21DCHJ017, Bumbu sampling returned 1,728 ppm Cu and 309 ppm Co (D. Campbell, 2022)."

Note: International Lithium has not independently verified samples collected under the resident geologist program and, as with samples referred to as historical above, these analytical results are collectively being treated as historical in nature until the company can carry out its own investigations with quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) protocols under the supervision of a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Mr. Campbell (RRG) summarized,

"The potential for a highly metamorphosed volcanogenic massive sulphide pyrrhotite-chalcopyrite stringer zone, or a volcanic-associated sedimentary copper system, perhaps up to 20 m wide and spanning up to one km or more in length, should not be overlooked."

John Wisbey, chairman and chief executive officer of International Lithium, commented:

"Firesteel is primarily a copper project. Initial studies reveal highly prospective amounts of copper at Firesteel, and there is also a smaller amount of cobalt and some gold there too.

"Exposure to copper fits our battery metals strategy well and is geographically a very natural follow-on for ILC from our investment in 2022 in the nearby Wolf Ridge claims. Moreover, our flagship Raleigh Lake lithium and rubidium project is also only an hour's drive away on a major road. This is, therefore, a very good project for us to add to our exploration portfolio.

"Our key focus remains lithium, but copper is also a vital metal in the battery revolution, so we now have copper and rubidium as important metals in our projects to complement our lithium. The access to infrastructure is, like Raleigh Lake, excellent."

About International Lithium Corp.

International Lithium's key mission in the next decade is to make money for its shareholders from lithium, and other battery metals and rare metals, while at the same time helping to create a greener, cleaner planet and less-polluted cities. The world has seen significant governmental and public drive to move away from the energy market's historic heavy dependence on oil and gas. 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, which contain lithium, rubidium and copper, are strategic in that respect.

The company 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, and fundraising under way in 2024, the board considers that International Lithium is well placed in that respect, with no debt and a strong net cash position.

The company's interests in various projects consist of the projects listed in the associated table, and, in addition, the company continues to seek other opportunities.

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. A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) was published for the company's lithium at Raleigh Lake in December, 2023, with a detailed economic analysis of International Lithium's separate rubidium resource still to come. Raleigh Lake is 100 per cent owned by International Lithium, is not subject to any encumbrances and is royalty free. The project has excellent access to roads, rail and utilities.

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, a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the contents of this news release.

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