Ms. Mary Little reports

SCHLUMBERGER NEW ENERGY TO LAUNCH ITS FIRST LITHIUM EXTRACTION PILOT PLANT AT PURE ENERGY'S CLAYTON VALLEY LITHIUM BRINE PROJECT

Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.'s partner, Schlumberger New Energy, has reached a significant milestone at Pure Energy's 100-per-cent-held Clayton Valley lithium brine project. This week, Schlumberger New Energy announced its plans to develop a lithium extraction pilot plant through its new venture, NeoLith Energy. Construction and development of the pilot plant are planned to occur at the Clayton Valley project, Nevada.

Schlumberger New Energy stated in its news release dated March 18, 2021:

"The NeoLith Energy sustainable approach uses a differentiated direct lithium extraction process (DLE), process to enable the production of high-purity, battery-grade lithium material while reducing the production time from over a year to weeks. This innovative process can create new market opportunities for lithium extraction and battery manufacturing economy, and maximize the value of the lithium-rich resource base in Nevada with cutting-edge extraction technology.

"The demand for battery-grade lithium is projected to grow exponentially, driven by growth in the electric vehicles (EV) market. As EVs greatly depend on Li-ion rechargeable batteries, sustainable and efficient lithium production has become an important topic for regions, industries and technology companies, as well as battery and large automotive manufacturers. NeoLith Energy's pilot plant is a step towards a full-scale, commercial lithium production facility. The pilot plant results will be used to optimize the design of the full-scale production plant. The production plant will utilize an environmentally friendly method for subsurface brine extraction and lithium production that requires a significantly smaller footprint and reduces water consumption by over 85 per cent compared to current methods for lithium extraction from brine.

"'Nevada lithium resources present an excellent opportunity to demonstrate a leap in production efficiency with a more sustainable approach,' said Ashok Belani, Schlumberger New Energy executive vice-president. 'Schlumberger's expertise in the subsurface domain, development of process technology, and global deployment of technology at scale with various partners all play an important role in the innovation and efficiency of our DLE process. We are accelerating the deployment of our pilot plant in response to the high market demand for battery-grade lithium material.'

"The pilot plant's implementation is part of Pure Energy's agreement with Schlumberger New Energy for the development of its Clayton Valley lithium brine property, using advanced technology to process the brine to extract high-purity lithium products, and maximize the lithium resource recovery. Commissioning of the pilot plant will begin following receipt of all necessary permits. NeoLith Energy intends to begin operations before the end of 2021.

"Schlumberger New Energy has invested more than $15-million (U.S.) in this DLE process technology, and the development and operation of the pilot plant in Nevada will require a similar amount of investment. The innovative and sustainable DLE process has the potential to disrupt the lithium economy by opening new opportunities to existing production regions, and to enable new lithium production regions across the globe to meet the growing demand."

Comment by Pure Energy Minerals

"Pure Energy is very pleased with Schlumberger's rapid progress on multiple fronts, including plant design, permitting and DLE brine extraction technology, all moving towards construction of the pilot plant as envisioned by our earn-in agreement. We welcome the progress towards this leading-edge development, which will benefit Pure Energy's Clayton Valley brine project and potentially other projects in Nevada," stated Mary Little, director of Pure Energy Minerals.

Quality assurance

Walter Weinig, professional geologist and qualified person, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information presented in this news release for Pure Energy Minerals as designated by the Mining and Metallurgical Society of America (MMSA registration No. 01529QP). He is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 -- Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Pure Energy Minerals Ltd.

Pure Energy Minerals is a lithium resource developer that is driven to become a low-cost supplier for the growing lithium battery industry. Pure Energy has consolidated a pre-eminent land position at its Clayton Valley project in the Clayton Valley of central Nevada for the exploration and development of lithium resources, comprising 948 claims over 23,360 acres (9,450 hectares), representing the largest mineral landholdings in the valley. Pure Energy's Clayton Valley project adjoins and surrounds on three sides the Silver Peak lithium brine mine operated by Albemarle Corp. The company has completed a preliminary economic assessment (PEA) for the Clayton Valley project (news releases of June 26, 2017, and April 5, 2018).

Pure Energy's strategic partner, Schlumberger Technologies Corp. (SLB), is the operator of the Clayton Valley project. In May, 2019, Pure Energy and SLB signed an earn-in agreement over the CV project which requires significant investment by SLB at the project, to include the design and construction of a pilot plant capable of processing lithium-bearing brines for high-quality lithium hydroxide monohydrate and/or lithium carbonate products at a specified rate. SLB plans to utilize both in-house and commercially available technology in the design of the CV pilot plant. SLB's costs, technical parameters and ultimate technology are anticipated to differ from the published PEA. For further details regarding SLB's participation, please refer to Pure Energy's annual general and special meeting management information circular dated April 4, 2019, available on SEDAR.

On Jan. 3, 2019, the Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) approved and granted a finite term water right to Pure Energy, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Esmeralda Minerals LLC, for the extraction of up to 50 acre feet of water during a five-year period from the CV properties. This water right is deemed sufficient for brine testing requirements and SLB's future pilot plant facility. In July of 2020, the CV-09 well was completed and results were published by Pure Energy on Oct. 14, 2020.

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