LITH:CC - Lithium Chile Provides Positive Initial Metallurgical Test Work Results Received for the Arizaro Lithium Project

(TheNewswire)

CALGARY, ALBERTA – TheNewswire - December 8, 2022 – Lithium Chile Inc. ( TSXV:LITH ) ( OTC:LTMCF ) (“Lithium Chile” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce excellentresults from preliminary metallurgical test work carried out todetermine the best production processes for lithium extraction.

Lithium Chile is assessing potential commercialdevelopment pathways for its Salta lithium brine project in Argentina,Arizaro. All metallurgical test work referenced in this report werecompleted using brine collected (2000 liters) in August 2022 from thefirst production well ARGENTO-01, finished under the first phaseprogram which has a reported average grade of 300 mg/l of lithium.

Most of the metallurgical testing completed to date hasfocused on selectively recovering lithium from brines using DirectLithium Extraction Technologies (“ DLE ”), analternative to the conventional evaporation process. DLE has thepotential to shorten lithium extraction time and provide higherrecovery of lithium, addressing the critical supply constraints andsustainability requirements to meet the surge in lithium demand due tothe increased pace of adoption of electric vehicles and renewableenergy.

•        A baseline evaporation investigation iscurrently underway at Norlab´s facility in Salinas Grandes, Jujuyunder the direction of Dr. Daniel Galli. The work aims to studysmall-volume samples for 2 paths: concentration to the point of lossof lithium in precipitated salts (as a constituent element of thecrystals); and methodology for obtaining concentrated brine with lowimpurity content.

•        Test work is underway for Direct LithiumExtraction (DLE) – a technology that can reduce production time,increase recovery rates, eliminate large evaporation ponds, and reducethe environmental footprint. Brine was delivered to Chengxin’s DLEfacility in China for production tests as well as Summit Nanotech inCalgary, Alberta and Minería Positiva SRL in Salta, Argentina foranalysis.

The following are key outcomes of the DLEtesting:

MINERÍA POSITIVA SRL(MP+) :

MP+ conducted bench test on Selective Adsorption ofLithium using alumina-based adsorbent from a local producer. Thesetests include advanced chemical studies in the laboratory recentlyestablished in the province of Jujuy.

The results show that the resin recovery factoraveraged 5.6 mg Li/g of resin at a flow rate of 3 BV/h at 20°C. Amaximum lithium recovery of 95% was achieved during adsorption,followed by a 76.4% elution of the recovered lithium in the elutionoutput stream. The operational product according to the analyses hasan average lithium concentration in the eluate (937 mg/L) greater thanthree times the concentration of the lithium concentration from thatof the feed brine and a lower concentration of impurities.

MP+ has made great progress on processing raw brinewith Aluminum resin, currently testing pre-concentrated brine andperforming additional tests to confirm results. Optimization of theDLE process and lithium conversion processes are being reviewedfocusing the efforts on important operational variables such as waterand energy consumption.

SUMMIT NANOTECH:

The Company delivered brine to Summit Nanotech(“ Summit ”) to assess the suitability of Summit’s denaLiTMtechnology for extracting lithium from a sample of Arizaro field brineand converting it to a high-purity lithium carbonate product.Summit’s process, which is currently being piloted in Chile,consists of lithium adsorption using Summit’s unique high-hardness,high-performance sorbent (patent pending) followed by desorption usingwater to generate a lithium eluate. The lithium eluate is thenconcentrated using Summit’s proprietary low energy water-recoverytechnology and polished to remove magnesium and calcium ions. Thelithium is recovered as Li2CO3 through the addition of Na2CO3, andthen is filtered, washed, and dried. The testing and characterizationwere conducted at Summit’s facilities in Calgary, Alberta,Canada.

This preliminary testing of Lithium Chile’s brineasset consistently averaged 98% adsorption yield and 98% reduction inimpurities, resulting in a total recovery of 83.8% lithium. A finallithium carbonate product with a purity of 97.9% was generated withoutbicarbonation.

SUNRESIN NEW MATERIALS CO.,LTD.:

200 Liters of bulk sample from the Arizaro project hasbeen successfully processed through Sunresin´s proprietary DLEtechnology. Using Sunresin lithium adsorbent, in combination with thecorresponding continuous bed technology, the adsorption performanceand adsorption amount of sorbent are stable. The average value oflithium-ion content in the stable and qualified liquid is 613.28 mg/Land the lithium-ion adsorption yield of the brine is over 90%.

Single column tests and continuous system tests wereperformed. It aimed to verify the adsorption and desorption effect oflithium ions used in Arizaro´s brine, as well as the stability ofmulti-cycle tests, investigate the feasibility of industrializationand provide data support for industrialization design.

Michelle DeCecco, Vice President & COO comments,“ The significant effort putinto metallurgical testing reinforces that while we continue to expandthe lithium resource in Arizaro through additional drilling, we areconcurrently focused on developing advanced processes for lithiumextraction in preparation of a future production facility. Results ofthe metallurgical test-work are another important step in de-riskingthe project while providing a key deliverable in support of thePre-Feasibility Study, targeted to begin in Q2 2023 .”

ABOUT THE DLE COMPANIES:

Minería Positiva SRL Miningtechnology and solutions provider focused onsustainable mining practices in South America. MP+ provides a range ofmining-related services covering engineering, design, management, andcritical aspects of sustainable mining. Up to date offers a wide rangeof DLE technologies.

Summit NanotechCorporation is a cleantech organizationtransforming how the world accesses lithium for the global energytransition. Through their proprietary and sustainable direct lithiumextraction (DLE) technology, Summit Nanotech is conserving naturalresources and optimizing operations for lithium producers in Chile andArgentina. Established in 2018 and headquartered in Calgary, Alberta,Summit Nanotech is a Foresight 50 honoree as one of Canada’s mostinvestable cleantech ventures, included in the Future 50 list forfastest growing sustainability companies in Canada, and has receivedthe 2021 MaRS Women in Cleantech Challenge andSolar Impulse Foundation's Efficient Solutions Label awards. Learnmore at summitnanotech.com.

Sunresin New Materials Co.,Ltd. has over 10 years of commercializationexperience in lithium extraction, supplying to global jurisdictionsincluding China and South America. Sunresin has to date been involvedin nine full-scale commercialized DLE projects.  These projectscollectively contribute towards a current total capacity of over73,000tpa of lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, of which fourprojects are currently producing 19,000tpa, another four projects arenear completion, and two are emerging new projects.

The Company also announces that it has granted anaggregate of 700,000 restricted share units (each, an" RSU ") to two executive officers of the Company inconjunction with its Equity Incentive Compensation Plan. The RSUs vestone year from the date of the grant, and each RSU will entitle theholder to receive one common share of the Company for a period of fiveyears.

ABOUT LITHIUM CHILE:

Lithium Chile is advancing a lithium property portfolioconsisting of 84,478 hectares covering sections of 11 salars and 2laguna complexes in Chile and 23,300 hectares in Argentina.

The Company has a NI 43-101 report with an indicatedand inferred resource of 2,587,000 tonnes of lithium carbonateequivalent (LCE) from its Salar de Arizaro, Argentina. The Phase 2development program on the Salar de Arizaro is currently underway withits results to be included in an updated NI 43-101 report which isexpected to be completed during the first quarter of 2023.

Lithium Chile also owns 5 properties, totaling 21,329hectares that are prospective for gold, silver and copper. Explorationefforts are continuing on Lithium Chile’s Carmona gold/silver/copperproperty which lies in the heart of the Chilean mega porphyry gold/silver/copper belt.

Lithium Chile’s common shares are listed on the TSX-Vunder the symbol “LITH” and on the OTC-QB under the symbol“LTMCF”.

To find out more about Lithium Chile Inc., pleasecontact Steven Cochrane, President and CEO via email:steve@lithiumchile.ca or Michelle DeCecco, Vice President and COO, viaemail michelle@lithiumchile.ca or at 403-390-9095.

NEITHER THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATIONSERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSXVENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACYOF THIS RELEASE.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This news release may contain certain forward-lookinginformation and forward-looking statements within the meaning ofapplicable securities legislation (collectively "forward-lookingstatements"). Generally, forward-looking statements can beidentified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as"expected", "anticipated", "aims to","plans to" or "intends to" or variations of suchwords and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "will" occur. Suchforward-looking statements are based on various assumptions andfactors that may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to,factors and assumptions with respect to: the general stability of theeconomic and political environment in which the Company operates; thetimely receipt of required regulatory approvals; the ability of theCompany to obtain future financing on acceptable terms; currency,exchange and interest rates; operating costs; the success the Companywill have in exploring its prospects and the results from suchprospects and the COVID-19 pandemic.  You are cautioned that theforegoing list of material factors and assumptions is not exhaustive.Although the Lithium Chile believes that the assumptions and factorson which such forward-looking statements are based upon arereasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-lookingstatements because the Lithium Chile can give no assurance that theywill prove to be correct or that any of the events anticipated by suchforward-looking statements will transpire or occur, or if any of themdo so, what benefits the Lithium Chile  will derive there from.Lithium Chile does not undertake to update any forward-lookingstatements herein, except as required by applicable securities laws.All forward-looking statements contained in this news release areexpressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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