Granting of Licenses and Operation Plans in Llamara

clean tech lithium (TARGET:CTL)an exploration and development company, advancing the next generation of sustainable lithium projects in Chile, announces that all exploration licenses in the prospective greenfield project covering a total area of ​​more than 344 km² (the “Llamara Project”) that the Company applied for in the second quarter of 2022, have been granted by the Chilean authorities. The Company plans to commence an exploration drilling program at the project in the coming weeks.

Reflexes:

· The Llamara Project is located within the Lithium Triangle in northern Chile, 600 km north of the Company’s two flagship projects, Laguna Verde and Cuenca Francisco

Historical geophysical lines completed by an oil exploration company show an extensive zone of low resistivity in the subsurface that is interpreted as a brine aquifer in the project area with an aquifer thickness of several hundred meters

· The aquifer has not been sampled for lithium, however high grades of lithium are recorded in surface evaporite deposits, indicating a source of lithium within the basin

· A drilling program to test the underground aquifer will begin in the coming weeks with the drilling of a low-cost exploration well, subject to obtaining the necessary local approvals

The drill site was selected based on information from a geophysical survey interpreting a thick hypersaline aquifer in place from a depth of approximately 240 m

Separately, a geology consultant was engaged to complete a field and desk study of the potential for near-surface evaporitic lithium ore in the project area

If a lithium resource is established at the greenfield project, either based on the underground aquifer or surface evaporites, direct lithium extraction (“DLE”) is expected to be used for processing to minimize the impact lithium extraction environmental

· With drill programs underway at the most advanced Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin projects, the Company is extremely active and resource drill programs are expected to progress on all three projects simultaneously shortly.

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

“We are very pleased that the Chilean authorities have granted us the Llamara licenses, allowing us to move forward with an exploration drilling program. This is a large license area covering 344 km² within which a historical geophysical survey interprets a thick subsurface brine aquifer. The planned drilling will aim to establish whether the brine aquifer is lithium-enriched. We will also conduct a field and desktop study of the potential for a shallow evaporite lithium deposit in the project area.

“Drill programs to expand existing resource estimates at our Laguna Verde and Francisco Basin projects are ongoing and Llamara provides additional exploration potential. We are not aware of any exploration companies in the lithium sector that have made progress in the last few years. resource drilling programs on three projects at the same time, which further highlights the quality of the team we have in Chile.

“We will endeavor to keep the market updated with our progress and expect to announce initial drilling results at Llamara early in the second quarter of 2023.”

More information:

Exploration drill program to test the subsurface brine aquifer

The primary exploration objective at the Llamara Project is to test for lithium enrichment of a subsurface brine aquifer interpreted from historical geophysical surveys. Within the project area, an oil exploration company has completed two pipelines of transient electromagnetism (“TEM”)-based geophysics. The location of Lines 45 and 24 in relation to the license area is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Historical geophysical lines that intersect the project area

TEM-based geophysics provides a resistivity signal with the lowest resistivity correlated to brine aquifers, since dissolved salt ions in brine are highly transmissive. Figure 2 presents the resistivity profile of several TEM stations on the east side of Line 24, which are located in the recently granted license area. The lower resistivity band shown in the light magenta color scheme measuring resistivity <1.0 ohms is interpreted as a correlation to highly concentrated brine. An exploration drill hole LM01 is planned at the TEM 39 station location, where the resistivity profile indicates that the brine aquifer has an initial depth of approximately 240 m.

Figure 2. Historical geophysical lines that intersect the project area

An Aircore drilling rig will be mobilized to the site in the coming weeks with the capacity to drill to a depth of 700m. The exploration well will not initially be cased or developed as it is a relatively low-cost drilling method designed to cross the brine aquifer, collect brine samples and test for lithium enrichment. The results of this initial drill program are expected in the early second quarter of 2023 and will be reported to the market.

Assessment of lithium resource potential from surface evaporite

The Company engaged a Chilean geological consultant to conduct a field and desk study to assess the lithium resource potential of any near-surface evaporite ore, formed by natural evaporation of brine, in the project area. A private Chilean company with licenses immediately west of the CleanTech Lithium project has reported an NI43-101 compliant resource of 1.2 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”) grading 956 ppm Li (average grading). 3560 ppm Li peak) based on an evaporite deposit.

If a lithium resource is established at the project, either based on the underground aquifer or surface evaporites, the DLE would be used for processing to minimize the environmental impact of lithium extraction.

Competent person

Christian Gert Feddersen Welkner: Geologist and Master of Science in Geology (Universidad de Chile). With more than 20 years of experience, Mr. Feddersen is a Qualified Person, as defined in the AIM Note for Mining, Oil and Gas Companies (June 2009), independent of the company and a member of the Qualifying Commission for Competencies of Mineral Resources and Reserves of Chile. , a “Recognized Professional Organization” (RPO). He is registered with No. 132 in the public registry of Competent Persons in Mineral Resources and Reserves, in accordance with the Competent Persons Law 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 mineralization and type of deposit under consideration and the activity being conducted and qualifies as a Competent Person, as defined in the JORC Code.

-ENDS-

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

grades

CleanTech Lithium (AIM:CTL) is an exploration and development company driving the next generation of sustainable lithium projects in Chile. Proudly sustainable, committed to zero grid, our mission is to produce material quantities of carbon-neutral, battery-grade lithium using proven sustainable lithium direct extraction technology, powered by clean energy, we plan to be the greenest lithium supplier for the electric vehicle market.

CleanTech Lithium has three potential lithium projects: Laguna Verde, Francisco Basin and Llamara, located in the lithium triangle, the world’s center for battery-grade lithium production. The Laguna Verde and Cuenca Francisco projects are located within basins wholly controlled by the Company, which offers significant operational and potential development advantages. Llamara is the Company’s most recent greenfield project, offering great growth potential at a low initial cost. All three projects have direct access to excellent infrastructure and renewable energy.

CleanTech Lithium is committed to using renewable energy to process and reduce the environmental impact of its lithium production through direct lithium extraction. Direct lithium extraction is a transformative technology that only removes lithium from brine, with higher recoveries and purities. The method offers short development times, low initial capital expenditure, no extensive site construction, and no evaporation pond development, so there is no depletion of aquifer water and no damage to the local environment.

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