LithiumBank Reports US$2.7 Billion Pre Tax NPV From Preliminary Economic Assessment on a 31,350 TPA LHM Operation at Boardwalk Lithium Brine Project, Alberta, Canada

LITHIUMBANK REPORTS US$2.7 BILLION PRE TAX NPV FROM PRELIMINARY ECONOMIC ASSESSMENT ON A 31,350 TPA LHM OPERATION AT BOARDWALK LITHIUM BRINE PROJECT, ALBERTA, CANADA

Calgary, Alberta. May 25, 2023 – LithiumBank Resources Corp. (TSX-V: LBNK) (OTCQX: LBNKF) (“LithiumBank” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the highlights from the initial Preliminary Economic Assessment (“PEA”) for the Boardwalk lithium brine project located in west-central Alberta, Canada. The completed NI 43-101 PEA Technical Report will be filed on SEDAR within 45 days of this announcement.

Boardwalk Highlights[i]

-          31,350 metric tonnes per year of battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate (“LHM”)[ii] over a 20-year period, the largest proposed LHM production in North America

-          USD $2.7 Billion NPV8 and 21.6% IRR on a pre tax basis

-          USD $1.7 Billion NPV8 and 17.8% IRR on an after tax basis

-          OPEX of USD $6,807/tonne LHM

-          Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) used to process Boardwalk brine will require less fresh water and have a surface footprint that is a fraction of hard rock or evaporation lithium production.

-          Located in Tier 1 jurisdiction, west-central Alberta, that has a long history of resource extraction, well established infrastructure, and an actively supportive government.

-          Power to be generated on site using high-efficiency gas turbines with steam cogeneration that will lower the project’s overall carbon footprint. The proposed gas turbine units may be run on 80% hydrogen when a reliable supply is available.

-          Multiple opportunities to significantly enhance project economics through optimization, further engineering, and pending incentive tax credit.

-          Project economics used USD $26,000/t LHM and provides strong leverage to higher lithium prices.

“We are very pleased to provide one of a handful of economic studies of DLE based lithium projects in the world. Over the last 15 months, our PEA has rigorously tested or assessed over a dozen DLE technologies, completed multiple trade off studies and has established Boardwalk as an economically viable project in the new post-pandemic financial environment,” commented Paul Matysek, Executive Chairman LithiumBank. “Boardwalk is unique with an uncomplicated mineral title containing a 6.2M tonne LCE brine resource that has the potential to produce battery grade LHM for 20 years, right here in North America. Furthermore, there is potential for substantial upside on these economics from the recently announced Canadian Investment Tax Credit and other numerous optimization opportunities.”

Near Term PEA Enhancements

-          The Government of Canada announced an Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for Clean Technology Manufacturing in its Budget 2023. Refundable tax credit will be applied on capital expenditures for the extraction and processing of critical minerals (ITC link - https://shorturl.at/elGTY)

-          Use of smaller electrical submersible pumps (ESPs) that could fit in reduced diameter well casing throughout the network that would significantly reduce capital expenditures.

-          Leveraging of existing wells and surface infrastructure including roads, well pads, pipelines, and utilities.

-          Reduction of well and power requirements through enhanced 3-D reservoir modelling and new drilling information.

-          Next generation sorbent being developed by Conductive, the provider of the lithium brine DLE technology chosen for the PEA, is expected to reduce costs, increase efficiency and reduce reagent consumption.

-          Alternative DLE technology trade-off studies.

-          Utilise ZS2 Technologies Inc. to capture and sequester CO2 emissions to produce carbon credits, extract magnesium from barren brine to produce low carbon cement products that will lower brine reinjection amounts by at least 10%.

-          Additional trade-off studies aimed at streamlining pipeline infrastructure.

“The Boardwalk PEA marks a significant milestone for LithiumBank” commented Rob Shewchuk CEO Director of LithiumBank. “It sets the stage for our team to now pursue lithium resource development in Western Canada with a significantly enhanced ESG profile compared to other forms of lithium mining.  We will leverage this PEA to expedite an additional PEA on Park Place lithium brine project only 50 km to the south. By the end of 2023, we expect to commence pilot plant studies on both Boardwalk and Park Place in tandem. In parallel, we will be working to capture the near-term enhancement opportunities we have already identified in this study that we expect to drive significant incremental NPV and IRR performance. We believe this has the potential to position both the Boardwalk and Park Place districts among the most attractive direct brine projects in North America.”

Boardwalk PEA

Introduction

The Boardwalk PEA was compiled by Hatch Ltd. (“Hatch”) integrating the work of Hatch and other consultants each having the qualifications necessary to author their respective sections of the PEA. Since their founding in 1955, Hatch has successfully designed numerous large scale industrial projects throughout North America and the world.

LithiumBank Resources Corp. is a lithium brine exploration and development company that is focused on developing their flagship projects in western Canada. The Boardwalk project is based on a lithium hydroxide monohydrate (“LHM”) plant that will use Direct Lithium Extraction (“DLE”) technology. The in-situ lithium-rich brine will be pumped to a processing facility from the Leduc well-field shown in Figure 6. The PEA contemplates the brine will be treated using Conductive Energy Inc.'s Ion Exchange (“IX”) sorbent that will selectively extract lithium from the brine. After passing through the extraction process, the concentrated lithium brine stream undergoes further processing steps including purification, concentration and conversion to produce commercial battery grade lithium hydroxide monohydrate shown in Figure 7.

Economic Analysis

The base case assumes a long term LHM price of US$26,000/t. At this price the project achieves a positive NPV of $2.7 billion on a pre-tax basis at an 8% real discount rate. A summary of key indicators is shown in Table 1.

Table 1 - Boardwalk Economic Summary

The preliminary economic assessment is inherently preliminary in nature. It includes inferred mineral resources that are too speculative geologically to have economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves, and there is no certainty that the results indicated in this preliminary economic assessment will be realized.

Capital and Operating Cost Estimates

The Capital Expenditure (CAPEX) Estimate was prepared in accordance with the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE) Class 5 Study standards, and has an approximate accuracy of +50%, -30%.

The total estimated CAPEX for the project is presented in table 2 below, inclusive of contingency.

Table 2 - Capital Cost Estimate Summary

The Operating Expenditure (OPEX) Estimate for the project was also prepared in accordance with the AACE Class 5 Study standard. The total OPEX is presented below in table 3.

Table 3 - Operating Cost Summary

Returns are highly sensitive to input assumptions and should be viewed in the context of the sensitivity analysis provided in figures 1 through 4 as well as the stated accuracies for items such as capital costs.

The entire press release can be found here: https://www.lithiumbank.ca/news/2023/ithiumankeports27illionreaxromrelimin20230525071202

Environmental and Permitting

The Company considers the environmental and social impacts of the Boardwalk project an integral part in the development process. The Company has made efforts to reduce the surface impact by utilizing multi-well pad designs. The entire project lies within a brownfields area with existing surface disturbance from either agriculture, utilities, and/or the oil and gas industry. The Company has chosen to build a power facility within the fence of the project which allows for power to be used more efficiently by way of steam that is used in the lithium processing and to co-generate additional electricity. The Company has also taken steps toward carbon capture from the power facility. Although not included in the PEA, LithiumBank and ZS2 Technologies signed a memorandum of understanding where, using ZS2’s proprietary technology, CO2 emissions can be captured directly from the power facility and sequestered, using magnesium extracted from barren brine, into a magnesium cement product (news release April 13, 2023).

Following closure operations at the Boardwalk facility, monitoring and reclamation requirements will need to be conducted, including decommissioning of onsite facilities associated with the project, remediating environmental media contaminated as a result of project operations and restoring land that was utilized for project activities.

The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) will be the primary life cycle regulator of the project. To this end, the AER will assess the project under their new directive, Directive 090 – Brine Hosted Mineral Resource Development. In addition to Directive 090, there are several well-established supplementary directives provided by the AER that would apply to the Boardwalk project.

Future advancement of the Boardwalk project is recommended to include the ongoing development, refinement and implementation of a community engagement plan.

The scientific and technical disclosure in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Kevin Piepgrass (Chief Operations Officer, LithiumBank Resources Corp.), who is a Member of the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta (APEGA) and the Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of the Province of British Columbia (APEGBC) and is a Qualified Person (QP) for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Piepgrass consents to the inclusion of the data in the form and context in which it appears.

Clarification of Compensation Paid to Underwriters

As previously disclosed in the Company’s news release dated May 15, 2023, LithiumBank closed a bought deal private placement financing for gross proceeds of $6.9 million (the “Financing”). As compensation pursuant to the Financing, the Company paid to Echelon Capital Markets, Beacon Securities Limited and Red Cloud Securities Inc. (the “Underwriters”) a cash commission equal to 6.0% of the gross proceeds raised under the Financing (subject to reduction to 3.0% in respect of sales to certain president’s list purchasers) and issued to the Underwriters an aggregate of 192,372 non-transferable compensation warrants. In addition, the Company paid to the Underwriters a corporate finance fee in the amount of $75,000. For additional details regarding the Financing, please refer to the Company’s news release dated May 15, 2023.

Contact:

Rob Shewchuk

CEO Director

[email protected]

(778) 987-9767

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This release includes certain statements and information that may constitute forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws. All statements in this news release, other than statements of historical facts, including statements regarding future estimates, plans, objectives, timing, assumptions or expectations of future performance, including without limitation, the initial results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment, including the expected NPV of the Boardwalk project; expectations that commercial production will be achievable within 3 years under new permitting directives; expectations that governmental regulators will be supportive of the Boardwalk project; expectations that the carbon footprint of the Boardwalk project will be reduced through DLE extraction technology and through the use of high-efficiency gas turbines with steam cogeneration; expectations that that the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for Clean Technology Manufacturing will be passed by the Government of Canada; expectations that significantly reduced capital expenditures can be achieved on the Boardwalk projects; expectations that the Boardwalk project will see reduced costs, increased efficiency and reduced reagent consumption through the use of new sorbent; expectations that the Company will pursue and obtain a mineral resource estimate and/or Preliminary Economic Analysis on the Park Place project on the timing anticipated or at all; and expectations that the Company will complete drilling and commence pilot plant studies on both the Board and Park Place projects by the end of 2023 are forward-looking statements and contain forward-looking information. Generally, forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “intends” or “anticipates”, or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results “may”, “could”, “should” or “would” or occur.

Forward-looking statements are based on certain material assumptions and analysis made by the Company and the opinions and estimates of management as of the date of this press release, including that the initial results of the Preliminary Economic Assessment, including the expected NPV of the Boardwalk project, will prove to be accurate; that commercial production will be achievable within 3 years under new permitting directives; that governmental regulators will be supportive of the Boardwalk project; that the carbon footprint of the Boardwalk project can and will be reduced through DLE extraction technology and through the use of high-efficiency gas turbines with steam cogeneration; that the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for Clean Technology Manufacturing will be passed by the Government of Canada; that significantly reduced capital expenditures can be achieved on the Boardwalk projects through the use of smaller electrical submersible pumps that could fit in reduced diameter well casing; that the use of new sorbent will result in reduced costs, increased efficiency and reduced reagent consumption; that the Company will be able to obtain a mineral resource estimate and/or Preliminary Economic Analysis on the Park Place project on the timing anticipated or at all; and that the Company will be able to complete drilling and commence pilot plant studies on both the Boardwalk and Park Place projects by the end of 2023.

These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Important risks that may cause actual results to vary, include, without limitation, the risks that circumstances may arise which require that the Preliminary Economic Assessment be revised; the risk that permitting directives will not accommodate commercial production within 3 years; the risk that governmental regulators will not be supportive of the Boardwalk project; the risk that DLE extraction technology and the use of high-efficiency gas turbines will not reduce the carbon footprint of the Boardwalk project as anticipated; the risk that the 30% Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for Clean Technology Manufacturing will not be passed by the Government of Canada; the risk that smaller electrical submersible pumps will not result in significantly reduced capital expenditures on the Boardwalk project; the risk that the use of new sorbent will not result in reduced costs, increased efficiency and reduced reagent consumption; the risk that the Company is not able to obtain a mineral resource estimate and/or Preliminary Economic Analysis on the Park Place project on the timing anticipated or at all; and the risk that the Company will be unable to complete drilling and commence pilot plant studies on both the Boardwalk and Park Place projects by the end of 2023 or at all.

Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements or forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements and forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that reliance on such information may not be appropriate for other purposes. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statement, forward-looking information or financial out-look that are incorporated by reference herein, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

[i] Readers are cautioned that reliance on information in this announcement without reference to the Technical Report may not be appropriate. The forthcoming Technical Report is meant to be read as a whole, and sections should not be read or relied upon out of context.

[ii] 31,350 metric tonnes lithium hydroxide monohydrate (“LHM”) is equivalent to 28,000 metric tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”)