Mr. Simon Clarke reports

UPDATED PEA FOR FALCHANI HIGHLIGHTS ROBUST ECONOMICS AFTER-TAX NPV8% TRIPLES TO US$5.11 BILLION, IRR 32.0% AND LOW OPEX $5,093/T LCE

American Lithium Corp. has released the results of its updated preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Falchani lithium project located in Puno, southwestern Peru. This independent, updated PEA was completed by DRA Global following the updated mineral resource estimate recently completed by Stantec Consulting Services Ltd. (see news release dated Dec. 15, 2023).

The updated PEA demonstrates that, with low initial capex (capital expenditure), the Falchani project has the potential to become a substantial, low-cost, long-life producer of high-purity lithium carbonate (LCE or Li2CO3), with the potential to also produce sulphate of potash (SOP) and cesium sulphate (CsS or Cs2SO4) byproducts alongside LCE. The PEA base case envisions 32 years of mining followed by 11 years of stockpile processing over the potential life of mine (LOM). The PEA alternative case is identical, but with added production of high-purity SOP and cesium sulphate as byproducts from years 6 to 43 alongside the initial expansion. All dollar figures are in U.S. currency.

Falchani PEA highlights (base case -- LCE-only production):

• Pretax net present value (NPV) (8 per cent) of $8.41-billion at $22,500 per tonne LCE;
• After-tax NPV (8 per cent) of $5.11-billion at $22,500 per tonne LCE:
  • NPV has tripled versus 2019 PEA after-tax NPV (8 per cent) of $1.5-billion at $12,000 per tonne LCE;
• Pretax internal rate of return (IRR) of 40.7 per cent;
• After-tax IRR of 32.0 per cent;
• Pretax initial capital payback period of 2.5 years; after-tax payback of 3.0 years;
• Average LOM annual pretax cash flow of $1,019-million; annual after-tax cash flow of $644-million;
• Initial capital costs (capex) estimated at $681-million;
• Total capex LOM estimated at $2,565-million; sustaining capital estimated at $236-million;
• Operating cost (opex) estimated at $5,092 per tonne LCE;
• PEA mine and processing plan produces 2.64 million tonnes LCE LOM over 43 years:
  • Steady-state average of 23,145 tonnes per annum LCE in phase 1, 45,084 tonnes per annum in phase 2 and 72,624 tonnes per annum in phase 3.

Simon Clarke, chief executive officer of American Lithium, stated: "The very large increase in NPV, combined with a low initial capex and robust economics in the updated PEA for Falchani, are the culmination of successful work programs at site and flow sheet optimization over the last couple of years, combined with an improved lithium pricing environment. We are also extremely pleased to now include the compelling strategic and economic value proposition of adding SOP fertilizer and cesium sulphate byproducts to the robust economic potential of core, high-purity lithium production at Falchani. This PEA update is a major step towards completion of prefeasibility work.

"In this PEA, we showcase the existing potential for high annual production and long mine life at Falchani, yet the deposit resource currently remains open to the north and west with the potential for further resource/mine life expansion. The low-operating-cost potential at Falchani with costs of less than $5,100 per tonne LCE puts it among the lowest-cost next-tier lithium projects under development globally. With the potential to also supply significant amounts of SOP to the Peruvian agricultural sector, the project has the unique characteristic of having major positive strategic implications for two key sectors of the Peruvian economy."

Falchani PEA highlights alternative case -- LCE-only in phase 1; SOP plus Cs2SO4 added from phase 2:

• Identical LCE production scenario, but with added average production of 81,556 tonnes per annum of SOP and 3,796 tonnes per annum of Cs2SO4 from years 6 to 43;
• Pretax NPV (8 per cent) of $9.25-billion at $22,500 per tonne LCE, $1,000 per tonne SOP and $58,000 per tonne Cs2SO4;
• After-tax NPV (8 per cent) of $5.58-billion at $22,500 per tonne LCE, $1,000 per tonne SOP and $58,000 per tonne Cs2SO4;
• Pretax IRR of 38.5 per cent;
• After-tax IRR of 29.9 per cent;
• Pretax initial capital payback period of 2.5 years; after-tax payback of 3.0 years;
• Average LOM pretax annual cash flow (excluding initial capital) of $1,227-million; annual after-tax cash flow of $774-million;
• Initial capex estimated at $681-million;
• Total capex estimated at $3,466-million; sustaining capital estimated at $260-million;
• Opex estimated at $5,705 per tonne LCE (for all products);
• Opex estimated at $1,361 per tonne LCE, inclusive of SOP and Cs2SO4 credits;
• PEA mine plan produces 2.64 million tonnes LCE, 3.1 million tonnes SOP and 144,247 tonnes Cs2SO4 LOM over 43 years.

Mine life and production:

• Simple drill, blast, truck and shovel open-pit mining of the near-surface, high-grade (greater than 2,700 parts per million) resource the scalable, long-life, lithium project producing approximately 23,000 tonnes per annum LCE over years 1 to 5, expanding to 45,000 tonnes per annum LCE production for years 6 to 10 years, followed by phase 3 expansion producing approximately 84,000 tonnes per annum for years 11 to 32 when mining ceases; rehandling of the less-than-2,700-part-per-million-lithium stockpile allows production to continue for years 33 to 43, averaging 44,800 tonnes per annum over this period;
• Average LOM production of approximately 61,400 tonnes per annum of 99.5 per cent LCE for 43 years;
• Targeted greater-than-2,700-part-per-million-lithium-grade pit-constrained resource supports mining for 32 years and processing less-than-2,700-part-per-million-lithium stockpile for an additional 11 years;
• LOM strip ratio (waste to ore) of 0.60:1 after accounting for processed stockpile material;
• Sulphuric acid leaching using industry-standard techniques and flow sheet produces high-purity lithium carbonate to enable the production of battery-grade LCE;
• Sulphate of potash is an important fertilizer product for specialty crops, especially those grown in Peru (for example, avocado, blueberries, grapes and coffee) with a growing global market; SOP production from Falchani has the potential to satisfy Peru's domestic needs with additional export possibility;
• Cesium is used in high-pressure, high-temperature offshore oil and gas drilling and is used in infrared detectors, optics, photoelectrical cells, scintillation counters and spectrometers; isotopes of cesium are atomic clocks necessary for aircraft guidance systems, global positioning satellites, and Internet and cellphone applications; cesium sulphate produced at Falchani can be further refined by third parties into desired end products.

Sensitivities (base case)

The NPV for the project is most sensitive to LCE/metal selling price but relatively far less sensitive to operating costs, capital costs and main reagent costs. The IRR is most sensitive to capital costs and LCE/metal selling price.

Mining

Based on the analysis completed by DRA Global, the Falchani project is highly amenable for development by conventional open-pit, drill-blast, truck-and-shovel operation. The base case and alternative case have identical LOM production plans and schedules.

The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred resources that are considered too speculative to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves and there is no certainty the estimates presented in the PEA will be realized.

Qualified persons

David Alan Thompson, B-Tech, PrCertEng, SACMA, of DRA Projects SA Pty. Ltd., an independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has prepared or supervised the preparation of or has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information pertaining to mining, mine scheduling and optimization contained in this news release.

John Joseph Riordan, BSc, CEng, FAuslMM, MIChemE, RPEQ, of DRA Pacific Pty. Ltd. and Aveshan Naidoo, MBA, BSc, PrEng, MSAIMM, of DRA Projects SA, independent qualified persons as defined by NI 43-101, have prepared or supervised the preparation of or have reviewed and approved the scientific and technical metallurgical information and financial modelling results contained in this news release.

Ted O'Connor, PGeo, executive vice-president of American Lithium, and a qualified person as defined by NI 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has also reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes inferred resources that are considered too speculative to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty the estimates presented in the PEA will be realized.

In accordance with NI 43-101, the company intends to file the completed technical report on the PEA under the company's profile on SEDAR+ and on the company's website within 45 days from the date of this news release.

About American Lithium Corp.

American Lithium is actively engaged in the development of large-scale lithium projects within mining-friendly jurisdictions throughout the Americas. The company is currently focused on enabling the shift to the new energy paradigm through the continued development of its strategically located TLC lithium project in the richly mineralized Esmeralda lithium district in Nevada as well as continuing to advance its Falchani lithium and Macusani uranium development-stage projects in southeastern Peru. All three projects -- TLC, Falchani and Macusani -- have been through robust preliminary economic assessments, exhibit strong significant expansion potential and enjoy strong community support. Prefeasibility is advancing well at TLC and Falchani.

We seek Safe Harbor.