Clontarf Energy plc

("Clontarf" or the "Company")

Interim Statement for the period ended 30 June 2025

Clontarf Energy plc (AIM: CLON), the energy company focused on clean Bolivian Lithium brines, as well as petroleum in Australia and Africa, announces its unaudited financial results for the six months ended 30 June 2025:

Industry and Company Highlights

Innovating Direct Lithium & Magnesium Extraction from brines:

·    Our confidence in the potential of new Direct Extraction Techniques to transform the industry by increasing purities, minimising deleterious elements, and boosting throughput, has been vindicated through test-work recently undertaken:

·    Laboratory & pilot plant testing of samples provided by YLB, and previous sampling campaigns, as well as synthetic brines, are highly encouraging - as are more extensive brines' production runs, including those based on observed Uyuni chemistries.

·    By solving, together with our technical partners, the need to extract 100% of contained Magnesium, we have opened up potentially two independent income streams - both Lithium and Magnesium.

·   The initial pilot plant of our JV technical partner NEXT-ChemX is progressing well at a trusted partner's industrial site in India.  We now have the technical and commercial confidence to build larger-scale production plants, whether in Bolivia or elsewhere, as soon as legal and commercial requirements are satisfied.

·   The Magnesium breakthrough may enable development of salares, in additional countries, that would not have been economic at current prices through production of their Lithium content alone.

·    Concern over security of supply of both mining and processing of Critical Resource Minerals is now mainstream - not just in Japan and China, but also in the USA and Europe.  Off-takers are now more open to financing arrangements for juniors, while EU funding is available for infrastructural development.

·   The next stage is to complete and implement the revised Memorandum of Understanding, and process further even larger brine volumes containing Magnesium as well as traditional salts through the pilot-plant in India.

·  There is strong market interest in long-term offtake contracts for reliable, high-purity clean Lithium and Magnesium from brines - at higher than current spot prices.

Chairman's Statement

Recent months have witnessed accelerated work on Clontarf's key projects on several fronts.

Attitudes and management of Critical Resource Minerals are being transformed worldwide, as players grasp the scale and importance of securing adequate supplies of clean materials.  We believe there are inadequate fresh projects to deliver the anticipated demand.

Offtakers worldwide are now keenly aware of the need to secure reliable, clean and competitive materials.  It is hard to express how procurement attitudes have changed since 2000 - prompted by a successful Chinese industrial policy, which Europe and the USA have now been forced to counter.

Historically, Washington and Brussels have been thought of as slow-moving behemoths, but the fast adoption and funding of the USA's Inflation Reduction Act, and the EU Commission's Critical Resource Minerals Act, shows how fast policy-makers can move when realisation of vulnerability dawns.  The EU Commission has pulled together a "Team Europe" of explorers, miners, processors and financiers to deliver some measure of materials diversity. 

The EU Commission's 'dream-team' focuses on practical steps necessary to reduce dependence on mining and processing in potentially hostile regions.  Included are financiers, refiners, chemical production experts, state and EU players, as well as explorers and developers.  It is the Board's belief that operators like Clontarf are key to achieving these objectives.

Bolivia has committed itself to becoming a key supplier to all key markets.  This requires urgent de-bottlenecking of licensing, clearer legal title, financing arrangements and high-throughput production of battery-grade Lithium salts.  For example, Clontarf saw how EU Global Gateway funds can provide 20-year money at circa 3% interest for state-allocated infrastructure projects to support new operations in fresh regions.  This effectively funds two-thirds of total capex, while meeting EU controls and respecting Bolivian sovereignty.

Our process does not use significant volumes of fresh water, involve high electricity use or toxic chemicals, but there are sensitivities surrounding some alternative technologies used by other companies.  Accordingly, all participating companies have been discreet on progress in country.

Since late-2024, the authorities have focused on the maturity of the technology offered, especially whether an operating pilot plant is already commissioned - as well as financial criteria.  This makes sense, since a proven Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") technology can be funded by offtakers, who are keen to secure supplies of battery-grade Lithium.  With proven technologies, many companies will be in a position to negotiate development contracts.

Following technical breakthroughs at our pilot facilities, we have worked on the chemical and operating engineering necessary to scale-up the process, while maintaining high quality and competitive costs.  Once the authorities are comfortable with, and sign-off on this more detailed engineering phase, we anticipate early despatch of large bulk samples, to be followed by site-visits to pilot-plants, as originally planned.

The recent Bolivian elections signalled a shift to more pro-business policies in order to accelerate growth, including the growth of commodity exports as well as to resolve consumer shortages due to a controlled currency and subsidies. 

If confirmed in the second round scheduled for October 2025, it is likely that the new administration will accelerate reform of the Lithium Law.  Similar arguments suggest reform of the Hydrocarbon Law, which would end the 20-year exploration strike and re-open efforts to tap Bolivia's substantial gas and condensate potential.  Last time exploration was pursued vigorously, from 1995 through 2000, Bolivian achieved the world's 2^nd largest addition of oil & gas barrels equivalent (after Angola).

Positive test results have encouraged us to further expand bulk testing, especially for the improved Magnesium extraction techniques.

Clontarf has sourced the required Intermediate Bulk Containers ("IBCs"), to ship the bulk samples to Mumbai, in whatever volumes are agreed.

The Company originally planned to deploy a pilot-plant to one or more Bolivian salares during summer 2024.  Because of logistics and weather issues, the Bolivian authorities opted for the operating companies to remain in their original plant location, until YLB could conduct due diligence visits.

On arrival at our partners' Indian plant which is expected to occur about 2 months after export, the Bolivian bulk samples will be expedited through the production process.  Larger bulk samples will help us plan to optimise recovery and throughput not just for Lithium, but also for Magnesium and other economic minerals.

Assuming positive results, we are proposing to open agreement negotiations as soon as appropriate. Clontarf Energy is hoping to deploy a pilot plant (at a scale of 500 tonnes / year) to a Bolivian site for arrival ideally by mid-2026 (i.e. six to seven months after arrival of the bulk samples at the Indian plant), after which it will be promptly commissioned, connected to power and brine sources, under applicable laws, and start work.  All such schedules are subject to permitting and applicable rules.

Longer-term, the Company plans to deploy an additional production plant to a total of five separate salares, adding a new plant every six months.  Our plant size will accord with any restrictions under law, initially at a scale of 500 tonnes / year.

Clontarf Energy's long-term aim is to produce 150,000 tonnes of LCE by 2030.

Funding

Clontarf has successfully tapped the financial markets when necessary. Subject to technical verification and permitting of its exploration projects, Clontarf is confident of adequate funding, whether in London or Australia, for near to medium-term ongoing activities.  Our preference, where possible, is to avoid dilution by relying on offtakers or EU institutions for necessary infrastructural support.

It is our belief that the projected offtaker demand for clean high-purity Lithium cannot be met without Bolivian supplies. 

David Horgan

Chairman

9^th September 2025