Lithium Ionic Corp. (TSX-V: LTH) reports excellent initial drilling results from the Galvani claims, on which it is currently conducting a due diligence review following the recently announced binding asset purchase agreement (see press release dated June 14 and June 28, 2022). The Company also reports new drill results from Area 1 of its Itinga Project. The Galvani claims, as well as its neighbouring 100%-owned Itinga Lithium Project (Areas 1-5) are located in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil, in the same district as the lithium producing CBL mine and Sigma Lithium’s Barreiro deposit (20.4Mt grading 1.4% Li2O) (see Figure 1, location map).

Galvani Drill Results Highlights (See Figures 2 and 3)

• Drill intercept of 1.57% Li2O over 24.93m, incl. 2.10% Li2O over 7.45m (ARDD-22-001)

Itinga Project, Area 1 Drill Results Highlight (See Figure 4)

• Drill intercept of 2.23% Li2O over 2.70m (ITDD-22-006)
• Drill intercept of 1.33% Li2O over 5.96m (ITDD-22-007)

Blake Hylands, Chief Executive Officer of Lithium Ionic, comments, “The Outro Lado showing at the Galvani Project Area has shown extremely interesting surface results from historic channels and drilling, and we have now been able to step back from known drill holes and show even better grades and widths than what had initially drawn us to potentially acquire the area. The team is doing excellent work to better understand this structurally complex area and we look forward to continued success as we add exploration resolution through drilling and mapping.”

Galvani Claims Due Diligence Update – Excellent Initial Exploration Results

The Company is currently undertaking a 900 metre (7 hole) drill program as well as an extensive trenching program on and in proximity to a ~0.7km strike pegmatite on the Galvani claims, as part of its 90-day due diligence review following the purchase agreement announced on June 14, 2022 (see Figures 2 and 3). The exploration program was designed to confirm historic drilling and determine the structural controls of the mineralized pegmatites, including its orientation with up and down dip testing.

Excellent initial drill results reported today of 1.57% Li2O over 24.93m, incl. 2.10% Li2O over 7.45m, are consistent with some of the significant historic drill results which cover a roughly one-kilometre including 1.62% Li2O over 20.25m and 1.78% Li2O over 12m.

Historic trench results have recently been compiled, and highlights are listed below (see trench locations on Figure 3 and complete table of results in Table 2).

• 1.53% Li2O over 12.75m (LINHA 01)
• 1.80% Li2O over 12m (LINHA 03)
• 1.97% Li2O over 5m (LINHA 04)
• 1.54% Li2O over 10m (LINHA 06)
• 1.32% Li2O over 11m (LINHA 07)
• 1.46% Li2O over 8 (LINHA 08)
• 1.86% Li2O over 5m (LINHA 09)

The Galvani Property is located less than 4 kilometres from Sigma Lithium’s Xuxa deposit (over 17Mt grading 1.55% Li2O M+I). The high grade and large widths of the intercepts to date demonstrate excellent potential to outline a significant resource very quickly. Mineralization is hosted in spodumene bearing pegmatites sourced from the same granitic intrusive, which characterizes Lithium Ionic’s Project Area 1, CBL’s lithium mining operation, and Sigma Lithium’s resources (Figure 2).

Table 1. Initial Drill Results from Galvani

Table 2. Historic Trench Results

Figure 1: Itinga Project (Areas 1-5) and Galvani Claims location and geology map. Note the surface expression of the CBL lithium mine in the northeast corner of Project Area 1 and Sigma Lithium’s Barreiro deposit to the southeast.

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Figure 2: Galvani Pegmatite and Drill Hole Locations

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Figure 3: Galvani Channel Samples and New Drill Result Location

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100%-owned Itinga Lithium Project – Drill Program Update

A 30,000-metre drilling program is currently underway with the objective of outlining a significant lithium mineral resource estimate on the Company’s 100%-owned ground. The first phase of drilling is targeting near-surface mineralization in Area 1, associated with a 1.3 km lithium soil anomaly located 800m south of the producing CBL Lithium mine and north of Sigma Lithium’s Barreiro deposit (20.4Mt grading 1.4% Li2O) (see Figure 1).

On May 31, 2022, the Company reported the first two drill intercepts from this program, which included 1.93% Li2O over 5.66m and 1.55% Li2O over 5.2m, successfully proving the down-dip extension of the mineralized domain identified at surface with a trench result of 1.46% Li2O over 8.8m, incl. 1.82% Li2O over 5.8m (see press release dated May 24^th, 2022).

New results reported today, including 2.23% Li2O over 2.70m further confirms down dip extensions of surface soil anomalies. The mineralized domain remain open at depth and along strike. Three drill rigs are currently operating in Area 1, as the Company continues to test the significant soil anomalies identified earlier this year.

Lithium-bearing pegmatite / spodumene showings in this prolific mining jurisdiction are characterized by high-grade and high-quality battery-grade lithium as demonstrated by the lithium production at the CBL Mine and published metallurgical work on adjacent properties.

Figure 4: Itinga Project – Area 1, Drill Hole Locations

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Table 3. Itinga Project – Area 1 Drill Results

About Lithium Ionic Corp.

Lithium Ionic is a publicly-traded company which owns a 100% ownership interest in the Itinga lithium project in Brazil.

The Itinga Project is located in Minas Gerais State (MG), Brazil. The Project comprises five mineral licenses covering more than 1,300 hectares in the prolific Aracuai lithium province. A portion of the Project occurs immediately south of the CBL lithium mine and plant, Brazil’s only lithium producer, and immediately north of the large Barreiro and Xuxa lithium deposits of Sigma Lithium Corp (TSXV: SGML) (NASDAQ: SGML).

The Project area has excellent infrastructure, including access to hydroelectrical grid power, water, a commercial port, highways and communities. Lithium mineralization (spodumene, lepidolite, petalite) occurs within a halo of pegmatite dikes and apophyses that occur within the rocks surrounding Neoproterozoic granitic intrusions. Mineralization within the mineralized province and the distribution of the mineralized pegmatites is controlled by a complex and crosscutting system of northeast and northwest oriented faults that were exploited by the dikes. Mineralized structures have been identified in two areas within the Project and the remainder of the Project area remains to be explored.

Quality Assurance and Control

During the drill program, assay samples were taken from NQ core and sawed in half. One-half was sent for assaying at SGS Laboratory, a certified independent commercial laboratory, and the other half was retained for results, cross checks, and future reference. A strict QA/QC program was applied to all samples. Every sample was processed with Drying, crushing from 75% to 3 mm, homogenization, quartering in Jones, spraying 250 to 300 g of sample in steel mill 95% to 150. SGS laboratory carried out multi-element analysis for ICP90A analysis.

Qualified Persons

The technical information in this news release has been prepared by Carlos Costa, Vice President Exploration of Lithium Ionic and David Gower, a director of Lithium Ionic, and both are “qualified persons” as defined in NI 43-101.