5 January 2023 

CleanTech Lithium PLC ("CleanTech Lithium" or the "Company")

Scoping Study Confirms Potential of Laguna Verde as a Major New Sustainable

Lithium Supplier with Robust Economics:

Post-tax NPV₈ of US$1.83 billion and IRR of 45.1%

CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM:CTL), an exploration and development company, advancing the next generation of sustainable lithium projects in Chile, announces the results of a recently completed Scoping Study for the Laguna Verde Project, which confirms the project's outstanding economics and ESG credentials.

Highlights:

·    Supports the potential for Laguna Verde to become a major supplier of battery grade lithium to European and US markets based on sustainable direct lithium extraction ("DLE") technology

·    Based on annual production of 20,000 tonnes of battery grade lithium carbonate for an operational life of 30 years based on Measured + Indicated resource

·    Calculates accumulated net cashflows (post-tax and royalties) of US$6.3 billion to be generated over the operational life with low operating cost of US$3,875 per tonne of lithium carbonate

·    Estimated capital expenditure of US$383.6m, based on DLE plant using SunResin Materials existing DLE technology

·    Attractive economics with post-tax NPV of US$1.83 billion using a discount rate of 8%, post-tax IRR of 45.1% and a payback period of 1 year and 8 months - based on a long-term lithium carbonate price of US$22,500 per tonne from 2027

·    Industry leading ESG credentials, a critical advantage for the EU market, based on utilising DLE which returns spent brine to the basin aquifers, and renewable energy for processing power via connecting with the Chilean grid and its abundant renewable energy supply

·    The report assumes commencement of production in 2026, Company Board and management continue to target late 2025  

·    Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") to commence immediately, targeted for completion in 2H 2023.  The PFS will also address conversion of lithium carbonate to potentially more attractive lithium hydroxide, and

·    The economics represent only one of CleanTech Lithium's projects, the Francisco Basin project provides further upside   

Commenting, Aldo Boitano, Chief Executive Officer, of Cleantech Lithium PLC, said:

"The Scoping Study provides added confidence in the robust economics of the Laguna Verde project; based on low operating and capital costs, with a post-tax NPV of US$1.83 billion and IRR of 45.1%, and a payback period of 1 year and 8 months. The study further advances the process and technical design concept for the project, with strong ESG principles incorporated at each step. With the completion of this study, the Company is proceeding to a Pre-Feasibility Study (PFS) for the project. The PFS will utilise technical data generated by our planned pilot plant, the DLE unit of which was recently ordered from SunResin, to produce a high level of process design verification for a PFS level study.

"This Scoping Study marks a major milestone for the Company and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Scoping Study consultant, Chilean based lithium sector experts Ad-Infinitum, as well as our technical team for their hard work in completing the study. The Scoping Study outlines a plan to produce battery-grade lithium with a low environmental footprint, which positions the Company extremely well to supply the EU and US markets. 

"Ad-Infinitum have already commenced work on the Francisco Basin Scoping Study and our Board is hopeful that the economics and ESG credentials prove to be as attractive as we've seen for Laguna Verde.  We expect to announce the results of that scoping study in H1 2023."

Further Information

Summary of Key Scoping Study Outcomes

A summary of the outcomes for key operational and economic analysis metrics derived from the completion of the scoping study are presented in the table below.

Information on Study and Contributors

The study was undertaken by Ad-Infinitum, a Chilean engineering services company/technical consultant with over 30 years of experience in the lithium sector with clients including SQM, Albemarle and Galan Lithium.  Ad-Infinitum specialise in processes and operations involving the processing of brines and minerals that contain Lithium, Potassium, Sulfate, Nitrates and other elements; and provide specialist technical solutions that contribute to the development of projects in all their stages, as well as the improvement of operations.  Since 2014, Ad-Infinitum has worked on lithium production processes from brine on different projects in Chile, Argentina, China, Korea and elsewhere.

The capital cost estimates for the DLE plant were contributed by SunResin, the leader in commercial scale DLE plants. The lithium price cost curve estimate used in the study is based on estimates by Canaccord Genuity, a market leading broker with considerable experience in the lithium sector.  The key study contributors are further summarised in the table below.

The Mineral Resource underpinning the production target is based on the Laguna Verde updated JORC resource estimate, reported by the Company in September 2022 and limited to the Measured and Indicated component of the sub-surface resource estimate.  This estimate was prepared by an Independent Competent Person, Christian Feddersen, in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code.

Scoping Study Summary

Project Description and Geology

The Laguna Verde project is located in the northern Atacama Region of Chile at an altitude of over 4,300m above sea level.  The project area is located 275km east of the capital city of the region, Copiapó, and is adjacent to the paved highway Route 31, which crosses the Argentina border 23km east of the project.  The project is within a closed hydrographic basin of approximately 1,075km², surrounded by a series of volcanoes, and features an active geothermal system with surface manifestations.  Figure 1, below, provides a regional map, which additionally shows that Laguna Verde is approximately 100km from CleanTech Lithium´s second project, Francisco Basin.

Figure 1: Regional Map of Laguna Verde Project

Mineral Property and Title

Under Chilean law, exploration and exploitation of mineral resources are granted through mining concessions.  CleanTech Lithium, via its 100% owned subsidiary Atacama Salt Lakes SpA, owns either directly or via an exclusive purchase option a total of 52 exploitation and exploration concessions in the Laguna Verde Project with a total area of 107km². This comprises 23 mining exploitation concessions, held via an option agreement, with a total area of 29km², and 29 mining exploration concessions which are held directly and have a total area of 78km².  The map of concessions is shown in Figure 2.

Under Chilean law, the exploration and exploitation of lithium can be executed by a Special Operation Contract for Lithium (CEOL), under the terms and conditions established by the President of the Republic. The Study assumes the Company intends to submit a CEOL application for the Laguna Verde Project in the coming months.

Figure 2: Tenement map of Laguna Verde Project Mining Concessions

Mineral Resource Estimate

An updated JORC compliant resource estimate for the Laguna Verde project of 1.51 million tonnes of LCE was published on 13 September 2022.  This estimate was based on the sub-surface resources targeted by a resource drill programme undertaken in January - May 2022. A total of four wells, designated LV01 - LV04, were completed during the programme with recorded drilling depths and aquifer thickness as per Table 1 below.

Table 1: Laguna Verde Resource Drilling - Well Depth and Aquifer Thickness

The resource estimate is classified in the categories of 'Measured + Indicated' and 'Inferred'.  Of the total 1.51 million tonne resource, 0.8 million tonnes are classified in the Measured and Indicated categories, shown in Table 2 below, which has been used in the Scoping Study as the basis for estimating the 20,000 tonne per annum production rate over an operational life of 30 years.

Table 2: Laguna Verde JORC Resource Estimate

Mining Method

Lithium enriched brine occurring within the porous sub-surface sediments is to be extracted utilising a well field located around the Laguna Verde perimeter.  A total of twenty-three extractions wells have been considered in the study, with the area of the well field shown in red in Figure 3. The extracted brine will be transferred to a tank to be mixed prior to being fed into the first stage of plant processing, which is the DLE adsorption columns. The spent brine from the adsorption process, which is the brine with lithium removed, will be reinjected into the salar basin through deep wells, in areas where the mineral resource will not be affected by dilution. The area considered in the Scoping Study for reinjection wells is shown in Figure 3.  Further hydrogeological work is required to develop the extraction and reinjection model for the production phase of the project.

Figure 3: Scoping Study Wellfield Infrastructure Layout Plan

Process Recovery Method

The Company has carried out a series of laboratory and bench scale tests to trial the processing of brine from the Laguna Verde Project and confirm the feasibility of obtaining battery grade lithium carbonate. In 1H 2022 trials on a 2,000L brine sample were undertaken by Beyond Lithium, a Chilean-Argentinian lithium processing consultant, to produce 1kg of battery grade lithium carbonate at its facilities in Salta, Argentina. 

The test work showed that the DLE process was efficient in capturing the Li ion from the brine and also selective in rejecting major contaminants such as magnesium. The lithium in eluate from the DLE was 4.6 times that of the head brine whilst 97.5% of the magnesium was rejected into the spent brine. DLE is primarily a cleaning stage and subsequent concentration stages increase the lithium concentration to about 1% Li. The main impurities of magnesium and calcium were then almost completely removed by precipitating with a soda ash/sodium hydroxide solution. Traces of these together with boron are removed using ion exchange and then carbonation of the solution with soda ash produces a lithium carbonate precipitate.

This DLE based process successfully produced a 1kg sample of high-purity lithium carbonate which was analysed by the Dorfner Anzaplan Laboratory in Germany, confirming very low impurities and a Li₂CO₃ grade >99.9%, exceeding the benchmark for battery grade lithium of 99.5% Li₂CO₃.  This was announced to the market by the Company on 8 June 2022.

Brine processing test design work has progressed emphasising the minimisation of environmental impact, waste disposal and water consumption to ensure high ESG standards for the project.  The process design, based on test work completed, can be described broadly in five stages to produce lithium carbonate as labelled in Figure 4 below, which provides an overview diagram of the process stages. As process work is further advanced the option of producing lithium hydroxide, either via conversion of lithium carbonate or an alternative process route will be further evaluated. 

Figure 4: Process Stages

Ad-Infinitum modelled the production process using SysCAD simulation software and a thermodynamic model. For modelling of the DLE process the data from completed test work and a comparison with projects utilising a similar process were used. Process simulation provided mass and volume values for all streams of the modelled process.

The overall recovery rate used in the study of 85.2% is based on the DLE stage achieving a 90.4% recovery. Treatment of the mother liquor after carbonation to precipitate NaCI and then recirculation of the concentrated solution to the first purification stage allows for the maximisation of process water recovery and overall lithium recovery.  Table 3, below, provides the modelled lithium recovery and loss according to the process stage.

Table 3: Overall Process Recovery

Based on the modelling, the stages with the lowest recovery are the direct extraction and lithium carbonation processes. These process stages will be optimised in the piloting stage. The overall balance of the process for the production rate of 20,000 tonnes of Li₂CO₃ per year is shown in Table 4 below.

Table 4: Summary Mass Balance for 20,000 tpa lithium carbonate production rate

The largest waste product stream is NaCl. This can be used as a construction material for base platforms and road construction/improvement or combined with spent brine and reinjected to the aquifer without changing the original brine chemistry.

Process Work Next Stage - Pilot Plant Including Lithium Hydroxide Evaluation

For the development of more advanced engineering studies the construction and operation of a pilot plant is highly recommended by Ad-Infinitum to validate and adjust, if necessary, the process design. The Company plans to construct a pilot plant with the capacity to produce 1 tonne per month of battery-grade lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. In June 2022, Clean Tech Lithium signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for cooperation with SunResin, a leader in the deployment of commercial-scale DLE plants. The DLE unit for the pilot plant was ordered from SunResin's Belgium facilities in December 2022 and its assembly and commissioning are scheduled for the end of the second quarter of 2023. The downstream processing stages for the pilot plant to produce lithium battery products are in the final stages of specification.

The pilot plant will be designed to test the direct extraction process and different configurations for the removal of contaminants and carbonation. Solutions will be recycled to optimize the consumption of water, reagents and solutions. Figure 5, below, describes the stages in the planned pilot plant to produce lithium carbonate.

Figure 5: Pilot Plant Block Diagram

Based on long-term industry trends, lithium hydroxide is expected to experience higher demand growth than lithium carbonate. Lithium hydroxide can be conventionally obtained by converting the lithium carbonate produced in the first stage of the process with lime.  This will be tested in the pilot plant. A number of other processes to produce lithium hydroxide from brines are in development that will also be considered.

Project infrastructure - Power and Water Supply

The Laguna Verde Project is located 275 km from Copiapó, in a region where the mining sector is the main driver of the economy, which allows access to mining services and specialised infrastructure.  The port of Caldera, 340 km away by road, is a point of entry for supplies and an outlet for products with excellent loading facilities for general cargo and specialty commodities.

The study notes that the Laguna Verde project will use renewable energy for power supply through contracting a supplier of renewable energy via a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). The main electricity transmission line in the area is the Greater North Interconnected System (SING) and a connected line supplies a substation located at the La Coipa Mine, approximately 100km from Laguna Verde (Fig. 6).  The study notes that currently, 60% of the installed capacity in Chile is renewable energy, such as hydropower, solar-thermal, geothermal, wind, and photovoltaic solar (National Electric Authority, Energy Report, historical CEN installed capacity by technology, October 2022), making such a PPA feasible.

Figure 6: Regional Electricity Transmission Map

The project will have installed power capacity of 23.2MW and will require a 110KV high voltage line of approximately 100km to be extended to the east from La Coipa, parallel to the Route 31 highway, to a new substation at Laguna Verde, from where it is distributed to the site.  Total energy consumption is estimated at 170.3GWh annually, with the breakdown by facility provided in Table 5. 

Table 5: Project Annual Energy Consumption Breakdown by Facility

Water supply for the process is to come from wells drilled within the Laguna Verde basin and from the recovery of water in the concentration stages of processing.  Purified water will be obtained from the condensates in the forced evaporation and mother liquor treatment stages.  The consumption of process water considers the recovery of 74% of the water used for the elution washing process in the DLE stage and for preparing process reagents that require ultra-pure water. The water recovery stages through reverse osmosis and the condensates from the concentration stages reduce the water requirement such that total water supply of 66 l/s will be required in the production phase, as shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Process Water Supply Metrics

Capital Expenditure

Capital expenditure (CAPEX) estimates are based on an annual production of 20,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate. The cost of the equipment has been obtained by Ad-Infinitum from a combination of data from similar projects and information from supplier quotes.  A summary of the CAPEX by major areas is provided in Table 7.  This estimate was made based on figures for the fourth quarter of 2022 with no projected inflation adjustment. The estimated accuracy is within a range of -15%/+30%.  Maintenance CAPEX is estimated at a total of US$ 63.3 million over the 30-year evaluation period, involving approximately US$12 million CAPEX once every 5 years. 

Table 7: Capital Expenditure Summary Breakdown

The Well Field CAPEX item includes brine extraction wells, spent brine reinjection wells, and water extraction wells as shown in Table 8 below. Twenty-three brine extraction wells have been assumed at an average depth of 350 metres with each well estimated at an average flow rate of 30 L/s.  Sixteen spent brine reinjection wells were assumed with spent brine discharged in two reinjection fields, requiring two main pumps.  Two wells have been assumed for process water supply, with their respective pumps and pipes transporting the water to the lithium carbonate plant area.

Table 8: Well Field Capital Expenditure Breakdown

The Plant CAPEX estimate is made up of the DLE plant, based on a quotation received from SunResin, and a Reverse Osmosis and Chemical plant, based on data from suppliers and developers of the required equipment calculated using Ad-Infinitum's database.   Table 9 shows a further breakdown of the DLE and Reverse Osmosis estimates.

Table 9: Plant Capital Expenditure Breakdown

The Services CAPEX estimate of US$20.7 million includes all the satellite activities that are essential for the operation of the wells and the lithium carbonate plant: electricity supply, boilers, preparation of reagents, water treatment, and fire-fighting system, among others.

The Indirect Costs estimate of US$44.3 million includes all other expenses incurred during the construction period.  The Construction and Operation Camp, and Polyclinic, are the major expense, followed by the Vendor´s technical assistance.

Finally, a 10% Contingency was applied to all CAPEX items by Ad-Infinitum in accordance with industry practice. 

Operating Expenditure

Estimates are based on the design of the production process, considering yields and estimated recoveries, and the estimated consumption and prices for the main reagents used. The estimates of expenses, prices and labour are based on Ad-Infinitum's database for the costs of similar operations in Chile, as of September 2022. Operating expenses are summarised in Table 10. 

Table 10: Operating Expenditure Summary Breakdown

Energy and Reagents are the two largest items representing 32% and 31% of total operating costs.  The unit cost for energy is US$0.1437/kWh consistent with the pricing of similar supply contracts in the Chilean market. The Reagent cost is dominated by Soda Ash used in the Carbonation process, which comprises 57% of the total cost for reagents. 

Manpower costs include an estimated total operational manpower of 163 people with an additional 59 people providing G&A services - totalling 222 personnel supporting the operation of the project.  

Transportation assumes land transportation of the product packed in 1-tonne capacity bulk bags by ramp truck from the plant in Laguna Verde, via Copiapó, to the port at Caldera from where it is shipped in containers to its destination in the EU and/or the USA.  

Cash flow and Economic analysis

The economic analysis carried out in the study included the following basic assumptions:

Table 11: Key Assumptions in Economic Analysis of Laguna Verde project

Cashflows Analysis 

The Scoping Study confirms, based on the assumptions, very strong cashflows from operations from an early stage as shown in Table 12 below.   

Table 12:  Cashflow Forecast Summary  

Economic Evaluation Results: 

Base Case: Based on the post-tax cashflows shown in Table 12 above, the following economic evaluation results were obtained:

Table 13:  Economic Evaluation Results after taxes

Sensitivity Analysis  

A sensitivity analysis was undertaken for the three parameters with the greatest impact on the calculation of the Present Value of the project and the Internal Rate of Return. This analysis was carried out for variations of -25% and 25% regarding the Base Case, with the results being shown in Table 14 below. These sensitivities show the robust economics of the project, even in downside scenarios.   With a current international lithium carbonate sales price in excess of US$70,000 per tonne, there is also large upside potential which is not captured in this analysis.  

Table 14:  NPV and IRR sensitivities over Capex, Opex and Sales Price

Environmental and Social Licence Considerations

The project does not fall within a designated environmental protection area, with fauna being scarce due to the high aridity and extreme climate at the altitude of 4,300m.  The study confirms that the Company is currently developing an environmental baseline study, as well as compiling information for the environmental impact assessment (EIS) which will be necessary for the production phase of the project.  The Company is supported by CYMA Engineering and Management, which specialises in environmental studies and permitting.

For the purpose of assessing possible impacts CleanTech Lithium plans to develop close relationships with project stakeholders. The Company has recently opened an office in Copiapo and is developing an Early Engagement Plan (PACA) that aims to keep an open communication channel with relevant community bodies and organisations and allows for a continuous assessment of the social impact of the project.

Interpretation and Conclusions

Laguna Verde is classified as an immature clastic salt lake basin. The total resource for the Project is estimated at 1,511,880 tonnes of LCE, with 802,602 tonnes being in the Measured + Indicated resource category.   The average lithium value is 205 mg/l Lithium.

Public studies of the lithium market indicate strong demand and sustained high prices during the evaluation period. The demand for electric vehicles continues to increase, and every day more countries declare a ban on the sale of combustion vehicles in the following years, ensuring the elevated levels of demand for lithium.

Chile is one of the few countries in the world where there are lithium deposits in continental brines, so the interest and supply requirements for this material should be of national interest.

The offer of a project with low environmental impact is in line with current requirements, so the environmental procedures should be well considered. At this point, it is necessary to have more information on the reinjection system and the development of a hydrogeological model that confirms the low impact on groundwater and its null impact on lake surfaces.

The exploitation cost, according to what is indicated in the scoping study (-15%/+35% accuracy), of US$ 3,875 per tonne, is a competitive cost for the projected prices, even in comparison with the costs of projects from continental brines and with traditional processes (solar evaporation).

The capital cost of the project is estimated (-15%/+ 30%) at US$ 384 million, considering 10% contingencies.

The economic analysis of the project, after taxes, gives a Net Present Value of US$ 1.83 billion, using a discount rate of 8%, and giving an internal rate of return of 45.1%. The term to recover the investment (payback period) is 1 year and 8 months.

The sensitivity analysis of the economic evaluation model shows that the factor that most impacts the Present Value of the project, for the same variations, is the Price factor. And with respect to IRR, both the Price and Capex are the most influential parameters.

Based on the results of the initial explorations and the future exploration program, it is concluded that the Laguna Verde Project justifies continuing its development to determine if the lithium resource can be turned into a reserve, in terms of economic and technical aspects, and confirm the feasibility of its production on a pilot scale.

Competent Persons

The following professionals act as qualified persons, as defined in the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies (June 2009:

·    Christian Gert Feddersen Welkner: Geologist and Master of Science, major in geology (University of Chile). With more than 20 years of experience, Mr Feddersen is a qualified person independent of the company and a member of the Chile Mining Resources and Reserves Competence Qualifying Commission, a "Recognised Professional Organisation" (OPR). He is registered with No. 132 in the public registry of Competent Persons in Mineral Resources and Reserves, under the Law of Competent Persons and its Regulations in force in Chile. Mr Feddersen, who has reviewed and approved the geological information included in the announcement, has sufficient experience relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and the activity being undertaken and qualifies as a competent person, as defined in the JORC Code.

·    Marcelo Bravo: Chemical Engineer (Universidad Católica del Norte), has a Master's Degree in Engineering Sciences major in Mineral Processing, Universidad de Antofagasta. He currently works as a Senior Process Consulting Engineer at the Ad-Infinitum company. Mr Bravo has relevant experience in researching and developing potassium, lithium carbonate, and solar evapo-concentration design processes in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia. Mr Bravo, who has reviewed and approved the information contained in the chapters relevant to his expertise contained in this announcement, is registered with No. 412 in the public registry of Competent Persons in Mining Resources and Reserves per the Law of Persons Competent and its Regulations in force in Chile. Mr Bravo has sufficient experience relevant to the metallurgical tests and the type of subsequent processing of the extracted brines under consideration and to the activity being carried out to qualify as a competent person, as defined in the JORC Code.

The information communicated within this announcement is deemed to constitute inside information as stipulated under the Market Abuse Regulations (EU) No 596/2014 which is part of UK law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. Upon publication of this announcement, this inside information is now considered to be in the public domain. The person who arranged for the release of this announcement on behalf of the Company was Gordon Stein, Director and CFO.

Cautionary Statement

As discussed below, the primary purpose of the Scoping Study is to establish whether or not to proceed to a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") and has been prepared to an accuracy level of ±30%. The Scoping Study results should not be considered a profit forecast or production forecast. The Company advises that the Scoping Study referred to in this announcement is based on lower-level technical and preliminary economic assessments, and is insufficient to support estimation of Ore Reserves or to provide assurance of an economic development case at this stage, or to provide certainty that the conclusions of the Scoping Study will be realised. The Production Target referred to in this announcement is solely based on the Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources for the Laguna Verde project.

Important Information for this Announcement

The Scoping Study has been prepared and reported in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code (2012).  The primary purpose of the Scoping Study is to establish whether or not to proceed to a Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") and has been prepared to an accuracy level of ±30%, the Scoping Study results should not be considered a profit forecast or production forecast. As defined by the JORC Code, a "Scoping Study is an order of magnitude technical and economic study of the potential viability of Mineral Resources. It includes appropriate assessments of realistic assumed Modifying Factors together with any other relevant operational factors that are necessary to demonstrate at the time of reporting that progress to a Pre-Feasibility Study can be justified."

The Modifying Factors included in the JORC Code have been assessed as part of the Scoping Study, including mining (brine extraction), processing, metallurgical, infrastructure, economic, marketing, legal, environmental, social and government factors. The Company has received advice from appropriate experts when assessing each Modifying Factor.

Following an assessment of the results of the Scoping Study, the Company has formed the view that a PFS is justified for the Laguna Verde project, which it will now commence. The PFS will provide the Company with a more comprehensive assessment of a range of options for the technical and economic viability of the Laguna Verde project.

The Company has concluded it has a reasonable basis for providing any of the forward-looking statements included in this announcement and believes that it has a reasonable basis to expect that the Company will be able to fund its stated objective of completing a PFS for the Laguna Verde project. All material assumptions on which the forecast financial information is based are set out in this announcement.

Some of the statements appearing in this announcement may be in the nature of  "forward-looking statements" which include all statements other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's financial position, business strategy, plans and objectives of management for future operations, or any statements preceded by, followed by or that include the words "targets", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "will", "may", "anticipates", "would", "could" or similar expressions or negatives thereof. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors beyond the Company's control that could cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Group to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions regarding the Company's present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future. These forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this document. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to disseminate any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the Company's expectations with regard thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law or the AIM Rules.

Notes

CleanTech Lithium (AIM:CTL) is an exploration and development company, advancing the next generation of sustainable lithium projects in Chile.  The Company's mission is to produce material quantities of battery grade lithium by 2025, with near zero carbon emissions and low environmental impact, offering the EU EV market a green lithium supply solution.

CleanTech Lithium has two prospective lithium projects - Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin projects located in the lithium triangle, the world's centre for battery grade lithium production. They are situated within basins entirely controlled by the Company, which affords significant potential development and operational advantages. The projects have direct access to excellent infrastructure and renewable power.  In addition, the Company has applied for a further 119 exploration licences at Llamara, as a low cost and commitment greenfield project to complement the existing more advanced projects.

CleanTech Lithium is committed to using renewable power for processing and reducing the environmental impact of its lithium production by utilising Direct Lithium Extraction. Direct Lithium Extraction is a transformative technology which only removes lithium from brine, with higher recoveries and purities. The method offers short development lead times, low upfront capex, with no extensive site construction and no evaporation pond development so there is no water depletion from the aquifer or harm to the local environment.

**ENDS**

List of Abbreviations used in Scoping Study

JORC Code, 2012 Edition - Table 1 report template

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

(Criteria in this section apply to all succeeding sections.)

Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

(Criteria listed in the preceding section also apply to this section.)

Section 3 Estimation and Reporting of Mineral Resources

(Criteria listed in section 1, and where relevant in section 2, also apply to this section.)