• Rock Tech completed its step-out winter drill program as part of its lithium mineralization extension targets for Georgia Lake.
• 17 exploration holes for a total of 3,676 meters were drilled with supporting assay results for:
  • 10 NQ diamond drill holes totaling 2,115 meters at Main Zone North  deposit;
  • 7 NQ diamond drill holes totaling 1,561 meters at McVittie deposit.

• Rock Tech has initiated an extensive summer field exploration program at the Georgia Lake property.

Rock Tech Lithium Inc. (TSX-V: RCK) (OTCQX: RCKTF) (FWB: RJIB) (WKN: A1XF0V) has received positive assay results from its 2023 winter drill program. The completed step-out drilling aims to support the expansion of known pegmatite zones at its 100%-owned Georgia Lake Lithium project in the Thunder Bay Mining District of Ontario.

Rock Tech has successfully completed the drilling of 17 exploration holes for a total of 3,676 meters in the first months of 2023, at the Main Zone North and McVittie deposits. It has received assay results for ten holes drilled around MZN and seven holes that were drilled at McVittie (refer to results on Table 1 and Table 2).

Commenting on the Drill Programme, Robert MacDonald, General Manager of the Georgia Lake Project, said, “Rock Tech is pleased to have been able to follow up on our 2021-22 drill results from the MZN and past results from McVittie. Positive results obtained further support the strength of the deposits and extends our understanding of the known pegmatites. We are currently preparing to follow up with a summer field programme and get ‘boots on the ground’ to support our commitment to our total land package at Georgia Lake.”

KEY EXPLORATION HIGHLIGHTS

• Ten NQ¹ diamond drill holes totaling 2,115 meters were completed at the MZN deposit.
• Highlights of assay results from the ten holes at MZN include:

• • NC-23-01 3.2 m (true width) at 0.87% Li₂O starting from 57.1m
  • NC-23-02 3.5 m (true width) at 1.07% Li₂O starting from 103.0m
  • NC-23-03 4.0 m (true width) at 1.08% Li₂O starting from 162.3m
  • NC-23-06 4.9 m (true width) at 0.73% Li₂O starting from 67.6m
  • NC-23-07 7.7 m (true width) at 0.71% Li₂O starting from 59.6m
  • NC-23-07 4.3 m (true width) at 1.42% Li₂O starting from 139.9m
  • NC-23-08 3.1 m (true width) at 1.19% Li₂O starting from 7.1m
  • NC-23-09 2.5 m (true width) at 0.92% Li₂O starting from 117.8m

• Seven NQ diamond drill holes totaling 1,561 meters were completed at McVittie; assay results include:

• • MV-23-01 6.4 m (downhole width) at 0.93% Li₂O starting from 107.4m
  • MV-23-03 2.1 m (downhole width) at 1.30% Li₂O starting from 95.6m
  • MV-23-05 2.7 m (downhole width) at 1.66% Li₂O starting from 59.05m

Rock Tech intends to increase mineral resources at Georgia Lake Project during 2023 and 2024 through a set of phased exploration programmes. The first phase of this commitment has been the completion of the winter drill programme at MZN and McVittie.

Rock Tech is also pleased to announce that it has initiated an extensive summer exploration programme that will focus on prospecting, mapping, and sampling around high priority targets. The work will be followed by trenching and channel sampling on select prospects in both the Northern Spodumene Pegmatite Area (NSPA) and Southern Spodumene Pegmatite Area.

This work will follow up on the positive results of the 2022 field programme (see Rock Tech’s press release dated January 31, 2023) which sampled pegmatite prospects in close proximity to Rock Tech’s NI 43–101 compliant mineral resources (refer to Table 3). Figure 1 and Figure 4 illustrate the locations of the high priority spodumene-bearing prospects at Line 20, Camp 38, Conway East, Caral, Foster Lew, Jean Lake, and Aumacho, where Rock Tech’s 2023 summer exploration programme will be focused. The results from Phase II are expected to generate additional drill targets for a Fall 2023 drill programme (“Phase III”).

The Georgia Lake Project, located between Nipigon and Beardmore, Ontario is comprised of 1,042 hectares of mineral leases and 5,686 hectares of mineral claims.

SAMPLING AND QA/QC PROCEDURE

Samples were taken across every spodumene-bearing pegmatite and 1 metre into the barren host rock on either side of pegmatite dikes. Sample lengths are generally around 1 metre, though individual sample length can be determined based on internal zoning of the dikes and the locations of their contacts. Core to be sampled was cut in half with one half being sent for analysis and the other half remaining in the box for reference. All core is stored at Rock Tech’s core facility in Beardmore, Ontario. Each sample was put into its own plastic sample bag with a sample tag and closed with zip ties.  16% of the samples that were submitted to Activation Laboratories Ltd. (“Actlabs”) for analysis were QAQC samples. QAQC samples were inserted into the sample stream and consist of a high- and low-grade lithium standards, blank material, and duplicates. Samples were dropped at Actlabs’ preparation laboratory in Thunder Bay, Ontario for crushing and pulverizing, and subsequently were sent to Actlabs’ geochemistry laboratory in Ancaster, Ontario for analysis of 41 elements using fusion plus ICP-OES or ICP-MS. Sodium peroxide fusion plus ICP-OES was used to analyze for lithium. Actlabs is independent of the Company.

SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL DISCLOSURE

The scientific and technical disclosure included in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Jessica Daniel, P.Geo., Consulting Geologist for the Georgia Lake Project, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure of Mineral Projects.  Exploration data was collected and verified following the guidelines outlined in CIM Mineral Exploration Best Practice Guidelines.

ABOUT ROCK TECH

Rock Tech is a cleantech company with operations in Canada and Germany on a mission to produce lithium hydroxide for electric vehicle batteries. The Company plans to build lithium converters at the door-step of its customers, to guarantee supply-chain transparency and just-in-time delivery, beginning with the Company’s proposed lithium hydroxide merchant converter and refinery facility in Guben, Germany. To close the most pressing gap in the clean mobility story, Rock Tech has gathered one of the strongest teams in the industry. The Company has adopted strict environmental, social and governance standards and is developing a proprietary refining process aimed at further increasing efficiency and sustainability. Rock Tech plans to source raw material from its wholly-owned Georgia Lake spodumene project located in the Thunder Bay Mining District of Ontario, Canada, as well as procuring it from other responsibly producing mines. In the years to come, the Company expects to also source raw material from discarded batteries. Rock Tech’s goal: to create a closed-loop lithium production system.

TABLE 1 | Summary of Assay Results for Drill Holes Completed at the MZN Deposit in 2023. GPS Locations are in UTM NAD83 Zone 16N.

TABLE 2 | Summary of Assay Results for Drill Holes Completed at the McVittie Deposit in 2023. GPS Locations are in UTM NAD83 Zone 16N.

TABLE 3 | Overview of the Mineral Resource as of 2022’s Prefeasibility Study

Notes:

1. CIM Definition Standards (2014) were used for reporting the Mineral Resources.
   b. The Qualified Person is Dinara Nussipakynova, P.Geo. of AMC.
   c. Cut-off grade for open pit Mineral Resources is 0.30% Li₂O.
   d. Open pit Mineral Resources are constrained by the optimization pits shell at a lithium concentrate price of USD 1,100/t with metallurgical recovery of 80% and concentrate grade of 6%. Both cut off use same parameters.
   e. The pit optimization was based on following cost assumptions:
2. Mill feed mining costs of USD 4.5/t and waste mining cost of USD 4.5/t.
   ii.  Processing costs of USD 25/t and General and Administration costs of USD 15/t.
   iii.  Slope angle 45-48 degrees.
3. Cut-off grade for underground Mineral Resources is 0.60% Li₂O based on a USD 45/t mining cost and processing and G&A the same as the open pit.
   g. Underground Mineral Resources are not constrained.
   h. Mineralized Density used as 2.69 t/m3.
   i.  Waste Density used as 2.75 t/m3.
   j.  Drilling results up to 31 July 2022.
   k. The numbers may not compute exactly due to rounding.
   j.  Numbers may not compute exactly due to rounding.

FIGURE 1 | Map showing location of northern spodumene-bearing deposits and prospects. Rock Tech’s 2023 winter drilling programme focused on the MZN and McVittie prospects. Summer field exploration will focus on positive sample results from the 2022 field program. (CNW Group/Rock Tech Lithium Inc.)

FIGURE 2 | Map showing location of drill holes completed at MZN in Winter 2023. (CNW Group/Rock Tech Lithium Inc.)

FIGURE 3 | Map showing location of drill holes drilled at McVittie in 2023. (CNW Group/Rock Tech Lithium Inc.)

FIGURE 4 | Map showing total land package of Rock Tech Lithium’s Georgia Lake property and locations. (CNW Group/Rock Tech Lithium Inc.)