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Lithium Ionic Corp. (TSXV: LTH,OTC:LTHCF; OTCQX: LTHCF; FSE: H3N) ("Lithium Ionic" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Clovis Torres to its Board of Directors.
Mr. Torres is a highly respected Brazilian executive, lawyer, and corporate governance leader with more than three decades of experience across mining, energy, infrastructure, project finance, M&A, regulatory affairs, compliance, crisis management, and public company governance. His appointment strengthens Lithium Ionic's Board as the Company advances its 100%-owned Bandeira Lithium Project in Minas Gerais.
He has held senior leadership and board positions at some of Brazil's most important mining, energy, and infrastructure companies. He previously served as an Executive and General Counsel of Vale S.A. for 17 years ending in 2018, where his responsibilities included legal, governance, compliance, institutional relations, M&A, tax, energy, and human resources. During his tenure at Vale, he also served as Secretary to the Board of Directors and led the company's Crisis and Ethics Committees.
Mr. Torres also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Petrobras S.A., Chairman of the Board of BR Distribuidora S.A., and Chairman of the Board of Directors of IBRAM, the Brazilian Mining Institute. He was also previously President and Chief Executive Officer of Furnas Centrais Elétricas S.A., one of Brazil's largest power generation and transmission companies, where he led initiatives related to privatization preparation, renewable power development, hydrogen energy, and infrastructure modernization.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Torres held senior roles in project finance, international investment, and legal advisory with the International Finance Corporation, Cargill, Clyde & Co. and leading Brazilian law firms. He is currently Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Belo Sun Mining Corp. and a founding partner of Mello, Torres Advogados, a Brazilian law firm focused on project finance, M&A, restructuring, mining, power, environmental law, and crisis management. Under Mr. Torres's leadership as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Belo Sun recently secured the reinstatement and subsequent reissuance of the Installation License for its 100%-owned Volta Grande Gold Project in Pará State, Brazil after the license had been suspended since 2017.
Blake Hylands, P.Geo., Chief Executive Officer of Lithium Ionic, commented, "We are very pleased to welcome Clovis to Lithium Ionic's Board. His depth of experience in Brazilian mining, energy, infrastructure, project finance, governance, compliance, and stakeholder engagement is directly relevant to Lithium Ionic as we advance Bandeira toward construction readiness. Clovis recently helped steer Belo Sun through the reinstatement of a key permit for its Volta Grande Gold Project, and that proven ability to navigate Brazil's permitting and regulatory environment will be invaluable as we de-risk and advance Bandeira toward construction. His appointment reflects our continued commitment to strong independent oversight, responsible project development, and deepening our Brazilian leadership and governance capabilities."
Mr. Torres commented, "I am pleased to join the Board of Lithium Ionic at an important stage in the Company's development as Bandeira is a high-quality lithium project located in one of Brazil's emerging mining districts. I look forward to working with the Board and management team to support the responsible advancement of the Project and to contribute my experience in Brazilian mining, infrastructure, governance, and project development."
Mr. Torres holds an LL.M. with a specialization in International Law, Trade and Finance from Tulane Law School and a law degree from Universidade Católica de Salvador. He is fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, with a working knowledge of French. He has been recognized with several professional honours, including the Legislative Merit Medal from the Brazilian Congress, the Medal of Honor from the State of Minas Gerais, and Latin American and Global General Counsel of the Year awards from the Association of Corporate Counsel and International Law Office.
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Lithium Ionic Corp.
Blake Hylands
Chief Executive Officer, Director
+1 647.316.2500
info@lithiumionic.com
About Lithium Ionic Corp.
Lithium Ionic is a Canadian lithium development company focused on responsibly advancing its 100%-owned Bandeira Lithium Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, a region coined the "Lithium Valley" that is emerging as a premier hard-rock lithium district. The Company is executing on a focused development strategy centered on engineering de-risking, permitting advancement, commercial planning, and construction readiness, with the goal of becoming a near-term producer of high-quality spodumene concentrate for global battery supply chains.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not historical in nature contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as "may", "will", "expect", "likely", "should", "would", "plan", "anticipate", "intend", "potential", "proposed", "estimate", "believe" or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" happen, or by discussions of strategy. The forward-looking information contained in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the anticipated benefits and contributions of Mr. Torres's appointment to the Company and its Board; the Company's ability to strengthen its governance and Brazilian leadership capabilities; the Company's ability to advance the Bandeira Lithium Project toward construction readiness; the Company's ability to finance and develop the Bandeira project; the ability of the Company to become a near-term, low-cost lithium producer; and the Company's future plans. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's expectations are risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and is based on assumptions management believed to be reasonable, including management's perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. While we consider these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, there is no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.
By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this news release. Additional risk factors can also be found in the Company's current MD&A and the Company's other public filings, all of which have been filed under the Company's SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.
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