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Advancing Technical, Commercial, and Regulatory Initiatives are Key Goals for E3's Clearwater Project in 2026
E3 Lithium Ltd. (TSXV: ETL,OTC:EEMMF) (FSE: OW3) (OTCQX: EEMMF), "E3", "E3 Lithium" or the "Company," a leader in Canadian lithium development, provides an update on its progress and 2026 outlook for its Clearwater Project following the successful execution of key milestones in 2025.
"E3 hit major milestones in 2025, culminating in the construction and operation of our Demonstration Facility leading to production of battery-grade lithium carbonate and kicking off our commercial permitting," said Chris Doornbos, President and CEO of E3 Lithium. "We have had a strong start to 2026, building from our 2025 success, delivering lithium carbonate to key strategic global partners and off-takers, and submitting another key regulatory application for our Clearwater facility. We will continue to advance our technical, commercial, and regulatory plans in parallel as we aim to achieve our shovel ready goal."
2025 HIGHLIGHTS
- Constructed and commissioned Phase 1 of the Demonstration Facility
- Produced battery-grade lithium carbonate from the Demonstration Facility
- Executed commercial agreement for potential sale of lithium carbonate and supply of sorbents
- Submitted EPEA application for the Clearwater Project Facility
- Raised a combined ~$20 million to support advancement of the project
- Continued to strengthen leadership team to support execution of the project
2026 KEY OBJECTIVES
- Deliver battery-grade lithium carbonate to global customers to support offtake agreement execution
- Complete the Demonstration Facility which informs engineering and the delivery of Front-End Engineering Design and the Feasibility Study
- Advance Front-End Engineering Design and complete the Clearwater Feasibility Study
- Continue the permitting and stakeholder engagement process, with Directive 056 Clearwater facility licence submitted in early 2026
Throughout 2025, the Company made significant progress to advance technical, commercial, and regulatory plans for its Clearwater Project.
Demonstration Facility Commissioned
E3's technical successes included converting a concept into reality by completing the design of its facility based on the Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS") conducted in 2024. The Company completed and commissioned Phase 1 of its Demonstration Facility and produced battery-grade lithium carbonate in the third quarter of 2025. E3 Lithium will continue to collect data and operational information from its Demonstration Facility to complete the Front-End Engineering Design ("FEED") to finalize its Feasibility Study ("FS"), which is expected by the end of 2026.
Battery-Grade Lithium Carbonate Production and Capital Raising
The Company continued to make progress on its commercial plans, consistently producing battery-grade lithium carbonate and delivering samples to key strategic global off-takers earlier this year. This is a critical step as the Company builds relationships with key players in the battery and critical minerals industry within the global lithium market. Securing certain offtake agreements will materially advance the commercialization of E3 Lithium's Clearwater Project. The Company also raised approximately $20 million of capital in 2025 through proceeds from equity issuance and sale of its non-core assets, in addition to securing incremental government funding. E3 Lithium will use the funds to continue advancing its Clearwater Project.
Major Permits Submission
In late 2025, the Company submitted its Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act ("EPEA") application and most recently submitted its application for the Directive 056 ("D56") facility licence through the Alberta Energy Regulator ("AER"). The EPEA and D56 are key permits required for provincial government authorization to construct and operate E3's Clearwater Project's Central Processing Facility ("CPF").
Management Evolution
During 2025, E3 Lithium also made certain changes to strengthen its leadership team. In mid-2025, Brian Newmarch joined the Company as its Chief Financial Officer and will play a critical role in E3's strategic planning, capital markets activities, and commercial initiatives. Most recently, the Company promoted Jason Doornbos to Vice President of Facility Design and brought on Sarfraz Somani as its Director of Capital Markets. As the Company advances its commercial efforts, it will continue to grow the team to fill positions, from executives to engineers, to support its development.
2026 Outlook
E3's overarching goal for 2026 is to advance the Clearwater Project towards shovel ready at the end of 2026 or early 2027. Accomplishing this goal sets the Company up for reaching a Final Investment Decision ("FID") in 2027 and beginning construction of the plant site upon receiving required licences and approvals.
The key 2026 milestones for E3 Lithium are:
Strategic Engagement
In parallel with both technical and regulatory advancements, the Company will continue to progress discussions with key offtake partners to execute offtake agreements and advance project financing initiatives. This will include continued delivery of battery-grade lithium carbonate being produced from the Company's Demonstration Facility and continued engagement with strategic capital providers as it evaluates project financing.
Demonstration Facility
E3 is currently executing Phase 2 of its Demonstration Facility. The final completion activities for the two wells drilled in the later part of 2025 are underway. A tie-in between the two wells and the equipment required to complete gas and water analysis will be installed shortly thereafter and a reservoir production test will then commence. Brine produced through the reservoir test will be available to continue operating the Direct Lithium Extraction ("DLE") and polishing & carbonation equipment, which was commissioned in the fall of 2025. Data from the Demonstration Facility will be used for the completion of FEED and the subsequent FS report. Battery-grade lithium carbonate will also be continually shipped to key potential strategic partners and off-takers as part of the pre-qualification process.
Complete Front-End Engineering Design and Feasibility Study
The Company continues to advance its technical designs for the commercial facility, with the focus for the balance of 2026 on the completion of FEED and publishing its FS shortly thereafter. This work enables E3 to complete a Class 3 cost estimate, necessary for financial institutions and strategic partners interested in supporting the project financing for the construction of the Clearwater facility. The Company has selected the lead firm to complete this engineering work for the Clearwater Project.
Permitting
The Company will continue the permitting process and engagement with its stakeholders around the Clearwater facility and project site. E3 aims to have submitted all remaining licence applications required for the construction and operation of the Clearwater Project prior to the end of 2026.
E3 Lithium has staged its proposed development plan with Phase 1 of its project planned for capacity of 12,000 tonnes of lithium carbonate per year. Benefitting from a significant appreciation in global lithium prices over the last six months, commissioning and commercial operations of E3's Clearwater Project are expected to occur between 2028 and 2029.
Finally, the Company recently entered into an agreement with Winning Media LLC ("Winning Media") to provide digital marketing services to E3. Winning Media is a marketing agency based out of Houston, Texas, that specializes in providing strategic digital media services, with Ty Hoffer acting as principal. The Company and Winning Media are at arm's length and neither Winning Media nor any of its principals currently own any interest, directly or indirectly, in E3, nor do they have any right or intent to acquire such an interest. Winning Media will provide various services including omnichannel programmatic advertising, ticker tagging, ad copy and content by professional finance writers, financial outlets and networks, push notification media, 70+ native ad networks, influencer network, retargeting platform, advertising through ad exchanges and digital podcasts, among other services. The agreement commences on January 29, 2026, for an initial term of three months with the Company paying total consideration of US$150,000 in cash for the services provided by Winning Media, with no equity compensation component. The agreement remains subject to approval by the TSX Venture Exchange.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chris Doornbos, President, CEO & Chair
E3 Lithium Ltd.
About E3 Lithium
E3 Lithium is a development company with a total of 21.2 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) Measured and Indicated 1 as well as 0.3 Mt LCE Inferred mineral resources 2 in Alberta. The Clearwater Pre-Feasibility Study outlined a 1.13 Mt LCE proven and probable mineral reserve with a pre-tax NPV(8%) of USD 5.2 Billion with a 29.2% IRR and an after-tax NPV(8%) of USD 3.7 Billion with a 24.6% IRR 1 .
1: The Clearwater Project NI 43-101 Pre-Feasibility Study, effective June 20, 2024, identified 16.2 Mt LCE (measured and indicated) and is available on the E3 Lithium's website ( www.e3lithium.ca/technical-reports/ ) and SEDAR+ ( www.sedarplus.ca ).
2: The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Garrington District Lithium Resource Estimate, effective June 25, 2025, identified 5.0 Mt LCE (measured and indicated) and 0.3 Mt LCE (inferred) and is available on the E3 Lithium's website ( www.e3lithium.ca/technical-reports/ ) and SEDAR+ ( www.sedarplus.ca ).
Unless otherwise indicated, Kevin Carroll, P. Eng., Chief Development Officer and a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained on this news release.
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives, strategies, beliefs and intentions or forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "believe", "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", "project", "potential", "possible" and similar words referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions, expectations, estimates and assumptions of management in light of its experience, perception of historical trends, and results of the PFS, but such statements are not guarantees of future performance. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information relating to: the expected timelines for execution of offtake agreements, completion of Phase 2 of the Demonstration Facility, completion of FEED and FS, submitting all remaining licence applications, and commissioning and commercial operations of E3's Clearwater Project; the Company's expectations regarding the production of lithium carbonate; plans and objectives of management for the Company's operations of the Demonstration Facility; and the inherent hazards associated with mineral exploration and mining operations. In preparing the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company has applied several material assumptions, including, but not limited to, that any additional financing needed will be available on reasonable terms; the exchange rates for the U.S. and Canadian currencies will be consistent with the Company's expectations; that the current exploration, development, environmental and other objectives concerning the Demonstration Facility can be achieved and that its other corporate activities will proceed as expected; that general business and economic conditions will not change in a materially adverse manner and that all necessary governmental approvals for the planned activities on the Demonstration Facility will be obtained in a timely manner and on acceptable terms.
All forward-looking information (including future-orientated financial information) is inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development, fluctuating commodity prices, the effectiveness and feasibility of emerging lithium extraction technologies which have not yet been tested or proven on a commercial scale or on the Company's brine, risks related to the availability of financing on commercially reasonable terms and the expected use of proceeds; operations and contractual obligations; changes in estimated mineral reserves or mineral resources; future prices of lithium and other metals; availability of third party contractors; availability of equipment; failure of equipment to operate as anticipated; accidents, effects of weather and other natural phenomena and other risks associated with the mineral exploration industry; the Company's lack of operating revenues; currency fluctuations; risks related to dependence on key personnel; estimates used in financial statements proving to be incorrect; competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our recent securities filings available under the Company's profile on SEDAR+ ( www.sedarplus.ca ) . Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements and we caution against placing undue reliance thereon. We assume no obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements except as required by applicable law.
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E3 Lithium - Investor Relations
investor@e3lithium.ca
587-324-2775
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