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Vancouver, British Columbia – International Battery Metals Ltd. (CSE: IBAT), is pleased to announce that it has entered into its second licensing agreement with Ensorcia Metals Corporation (“Ensorcia”) and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Ensorcia Argentina LLC (“EAL”), whereby IBAT will license its lithium extraction technology to EAL for use in the extraction of lithium chloride from lithium bearing brine sources in the country of Argentina (the “Territory”).
The resulting lithium chloride will be converted to lithium carbonate and or lithium hydroxide. It may also be exported as a feed stock. In addition, the Licensing Agreement appoints IBAT as the exclusive provider to EAL and its affiliates of technology, systems and equipment for the extraction of lithium salts from brine within the Territory as well as all design, installation, operation and maintenance services within the Territory with respect to systems and equipment for the extraction of lithium salts from brine.
The economic viability and technical feasibility regarding any of the Argentinian projects has not been established at this time. As consideration for entering into the Licensing Agreement IBAT will receive a six percent royalty (6%) on the netback sales price of all products produced and sold using the Licensed technology and has also been granted a ten percent (10%) common membership interest in EAL.
Upon signing the second agreement with Ensorcia in less than a month. Dr John Burba, CEO of IBAT, stated, “We are very excited to be extending our alliance with Ensorcia to include Argentina. Argentina and Chile have some of the world’s richest lithium bearing salars and with EAL’s and Sorcia’s ability to access those resources it’s a step closer in achieving our goal as a disruptive technology for lithium extraction.
One of IBAT’s goals is to produce commercially viable technology with the smallest environmental footprint possible. Our technology is designed to extract lithium without the use of traditional evaporation ponds and our process does not add anything to the source brine, so it can be returned to the salar aquifer after the extraction of the lithium. The extraction units are also projected to recycle greater than 95% of their process water. We believe this feature is essential for operations in arid salar environments. Additionally, high internal water recycle also means very low waste water discharge. As a result, we expect to have minimal impact on salar ecology and local indigenous people.
Lastly, our novel approach to lithium extraction will utilize portable extraction units designed to be deployed faster and cheaper. Our novel design also allows us to have one of the lowest operating costs for lithium extraction with far fewer environmental impacts than more traditional techniques for lithium production.”
For the full terms of the Licensing Agreement, please refer to the Company’s SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.
Greg Mehos, Ph.D., P.E., an independent Qualified Person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 – Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed, approved and verified that the scientific and technical information contained in the release is accurate
About IBAT
IBAT is an advanced disruptive technology company focused on lithium brine extraction. The company is in the process of creating and applying intellectual property related to lithium extraction from brines. Whether its Petro lithium brine in North America or salars in South America our goal is to help change the way Lithium is being extracted and produced.
The securities described in this press release have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”) or any applicable state securities laws and may not be offered and sold in the United States or to, or for the account or benefit of, a U.S. person absent such registration under the Securities Act or an applicable exemption from such registration requirements and in accordance with any applicable state securities laws. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction, including the United States.
About: Ensorcia Metals Corporation
Ensorcia Metals Corporation (www.ensorciametals.com) is an integrated producer and distributor of lithium and other metals formed to acquire, license and develop the most advanced proprietary technologies and facilities available in the metals industry today.
Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of regulation and legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company’s ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company’s patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions.
The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as required by law. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company’s Annual Report and the company’s other filings with the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) available at the CSE’s Internet site (www.thecse.com) and on SEDAR.
