Mr. Blake Hylands reports

LITHIUM IONIC: 2025 YEAR IN REVIEW - ADVANCING TOWARD CONSTRUCTION IN BRAZIL'S LITHIUM VALLEY

Lithium Ionic Corp. has provided a year-end review of its key accomplishments in 2025 and an outlook on priorities for 2026.

The past year marked a pivotal transition for Lithium Ionic, defined by continued mineral resource growth, the delivery of a materially improved feasibility study, strengthened technical leadership and successful financing execution. Together, these milestones have positioned the company to enter 2026 focused on advancing permitting to completion, finalizing detailed engineering, securing project financing and progressing predevelopment activities to advance its flagship Bandeira lithium project into the construction phase. With a robust technical foundation in place and lithium market fundamentals strengthening, Lithium Ionic is well positioned to emerge as a near-term supplier of high-quality spodumene concentrate to the global battery supply chain.

Blake Hylands, PGeo, chief executive officer of Lithium Ionic, commented: "Lithium Ionic has moved decisively beyond concept and optimization, and is now firmly in an execution phase. Bandeira is a technically mature, economically compelling project located in one of the world's lowest-cost hard-rock lithium regions and our focus is on converting that strength into a producing operation. As lithium market fundamentals continue to tighten, we believe Bandeira is well positioned to enter the market at scale and deliver high-quality spodumene concentrate into global battery supply chains. Our objective is clear: advance through permitting and financing, and bring this project into construction with discipline and confidence."

2025 highlights

Mineral resource growth across portfolio of properties

Two thousand twenty-five marked a year of meaningful mineral resource growth for Lithium Ionic, further establishing the company as one of the largest hard-rock lithium developers in Brazil's Lithium Valley. Through continued exploration success and resource expansion at its core assets, Lithium Ionic significantly increased its consolidated global mineral resource base.

Following updated mineral resource estimates at its flagship Bandeira project and the Baixa Grande project, Lithium Ionic now reports consolidated global mineral resources of 36.76 million tonnes grading 1.31 per cent Li2O in the measured and indicated (M&I) category, plus an additional 31.87 million tonnes grading 1.19 per cent li2o in the inferred category, underscoring the scale and long-term development potential of the company's portfolio.

Bandeira project -- flagship asset

In May, 2025, Lithium Ionic reported a substantially expanded mineral resource estimate for its Bandeira project, outlining 27.27 million tonnes measured and indicated at 1.34 per cent Li2O (901,000 tonnes LCE (lithium carbonate equivalent), plus 18.55 million tonnes inferred at 1.34 per cent Li2O (615,000 tonnes LCE).

The updated Bandeira MRE (mineral resource estimate) represented a 30-per-cent increase in measured and indicated tonnage compared with the resource supporting the May, 2024, feasibility study, and provided the foundation for the optimized feasibility study delivered in September, 2025, which extended mine life and materially improved project economics.

Baixa Grande project -- continued growth and optionality

In January, 2025, the company also reported an updated mineral resource estimate for its Baixa Grande project, demonstrating continued exploration success and future growth optionality beyond the flagship development.

The updated Baixa Grande MRE outlined 6.52 million tonnes grading 1.11 per cent Li2O in the measured and indicated category and 12.90 million tonnes grading 0.96 Li2O in the inferred category, representing increases of 11.3 per cent in M&I and 45 per cent in inferred resources compared with the maiden estimate reported in April, 2024.

Advancing toward construction: technical derisking and optimization

Strategic engagement of RTEK

In April, Lithium Ionic engaged RTEK International DMCC as a strategic adviser to support construction readiness and operational execution at Bandeira. This partnership integrated RTEK's deep expertise in lithium project engineering, construction execution and spodumene concentrate marketing directly into the company's owners team, strengthening technical oversight as the project transitions from feasibility toward execution and commercial production. Brian Talbot, RTEK's partner and an experienced lithium project developer and operator, is overseeing the project development and will be personally involved in the implementation of Bandeira project.

Optimized feasibility study

In September, 2025, the company delivered an updated National Instrument 43-101 feasibility study for Bandeira, reflecting a larger mineral resource and reserve base, optimized mine sequencing, and a simplified, lower-risk plant design. In parallel with the study, the company advanced basic and detailed engineering, reaching approximately 38 per cent completion of all engineering activities by year-end, further strengthening execution readiness.

Key outcomes of the updated study included:

• Mine life extended to 18.5 years, up from 14 years;
• Posttax NPV (net present value) (8 per cent) of $1.45-billion (U.S.), despite more conservative price assumptions;
• Posttax IRR of 61 per cent, up from 40 per cent;
• Initial capex reduced to $191-million (U.S.), down approximately 28 per cent from the prior study;
• Site operating costs of $378 (U.S.) per tonne spodumene concentrate;
• Payback reduced to 2.2 years.

The updated study positioned Bandeira as one of the lowest-cost hard-rock spodumene projects globally, while maintaining a strong ESG-oriented (environmental, social and governance) mine design anchored by underground mining, dry-stacked tailings and reduced surface disturbance. The company expects to complete 100 per cent of basic and detailed engineering by mid-2026, supporting the transition toward construction readiness.

Strengthening ESG leadership and permitting readiness

In 2025, Lithium Ionic further strengthened its leadership team with the appointment of Flavia Veronese as director of ESG. An environmental engineer with more than 15 years of experience in sustainability and environmental permitting, Ms. Veronese is leading the company's ESG strategy and overseeing environmental, social and governance initiatives at the Bandeira project. Her mandate includes supporting the permitting process, advancing structured community engagement and ensuring full alignment with evolving regulatory requirements in Minas Gerais.

During the year, environmental permitting discussions across the state focused on clarifying consultation processes and defining impact parameters for mining projects. These broader regulatory deliberations have since provided greater transparency and predictability, strengthening the overall permitting framework. Lithium Ionic views this period as constructive and believes it has enhanced clarity and confidence in the path forward for Bandeira and other assets in the Lithium Valley. Importantly, the company used this period productively to further derisk the project, advancing detailed engineering, optimizing mine and plant design, and strengthening execution readiness.

Strengthened balance sheet and strategic shareholder support

In late 2025, Lithium Ionic closed an oversubscribed non-brokered private placement totalling $18.3-million, reflecting strong support from long-term strategic shareholders and continued confidence in the company's development strategy and the quality of the Bandeira project. The financing significantly strengthened Lithium Ionic's balance sheet, positioning it to advance permitting, detailed engineering and other key predevelopment activities into 2026.

2026 outlook: transitioning to execution

Entering 2026, Lithium Ionic is focused on completing the final, value-defining steps required to transition the Bandeira project into construction with a clear, disciplined development pathway.

Key priorities include the continued advancement of the permitting process, finalization of the project financing strategy -- including the progression of offtake discussions to final terms -- and the completion of detailed engineering. In parallel, the company is preparing for construction readiness through predevelopment activities such as long-lead equipment procurement and early site works. Together, these efforts are intended to support a final investment decision (FID), marking the formal transition from development into construction.

These initiatives represent the final phase of derisking for Bandeira and position Lithium Ionic to move confidently into construction, reinforcing its strategy to become a near-term, low-cost lithium producer in Brazil's globally significant Lithium Valley.

Lithium Ionic thanks its shareholders for their continued support and enters 2026 focused on disciplined execution, as the company advances Bandeira toward construction and the realization of its long-term value potential.

Termination of K2 claims

The company also reports that it has terminated the option agreement, originally announced on July 3, 2024, with K2 Mineracao e Exportacao EIRELI, Super Classico Comercio, Importacao e Exportacao Ltda. and Minerales Empreendimentos, Mineracao e Participacoes Ltda., covering certain mineral claims located in Itinga, within the Curralinho pegmatite field of the Aracuai pegmatite district, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

As part of the termination, Neolit Minerals Participacoes Ltda., the company's wholly owned Brazilian subsidiary, divested its minority interests in the special-purpose companies (SPCs) associated with the K2 option agreement, completing the company's withdrawal from the transaction.

The decision to terminate the agreement reflects Lithium Ionic's continued focus on disciplined capital allocation and prioritizing its most advanced and value-accretive assets in Brazil's Lithium Valley, including the advancement of the Bandeira project toward construction.

Grant of restricted share units

The company has issued a total of 9.8 million restricted share units (RSUs) to certain directors and officers of the company in accordance with the company's restricted share unit and deferred unit plan. The RSUs will vest annually in equal instalments over a three-year period beginning on the one-year anniversary of the grant date.

The grant of the RSUs is subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

About Lithium Ionic Corp.

Lithium Ionic is a Canadian mining company exploring and developing its lithium properties in Brazil. Its Itinga and Salinas group of properties cover approximately 14,000 hectares in the northeastern part of Minas Gerais state, a mining-friendly jurisdiction that is quickly emerging as a world-class hard-rock lithium district. Its feasibility-stage Bandeira project is situated in the same region as CBL's Cachoeira lithium mine, which has produced lithium for 30-plus years, as well as Sigma Lithium Corp.'s Grota do Cirilo project, which hosts the largest hard-rock lithium deposit in the Americas.

Qualified persons

The technical information in this news release has been prepared by Carlos Costa, vice-president, exploration, of Lithium Ionic, and Mr. Hylands, CEO and director of Lithium Ionic, who are both qualified persons as defined in NI 43-101. Mr. Costa and Mr. Hylands have both read and approved the content in this news release. Mr. Costa and Mr. Hylands are not considered independent of the company.

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