Noram Lithium

Overview

Driven by increasing demand from the electric vehicle industry, the outlook for lithium is promising and forecasts are showing no signs of slowing down. On top of this rising demand, the US government has also deemed lithium a “critical material” and released a National Blueprint that outlines a goal to secure access to raw materials for lithium batteries and establish a program to increase domestic processing and production.

As the push to develop a domestic supply chain for lithium batteries in the US gets underway, one region in the country stands out among the rest. Nevada’s Clayton Valley is home to the only operating lithium brine mine in the US –– Albemarle’s (NYSE:ALB) Silver Peak Lithium Mine, which has produced lithium for more than 60 years. Nevada is ranked the top mining jurisdiction in the world based on investment attractiveness in 2020. Of note, Albemarle has indicated it is planning on doubling its Silver Peak’s lithium production by 2025.

A preliminary economic assessment (PEA) on the Zeus Lithium Project showed robust economics using a price forecast of US$9,500/t LCE indicating a US$1.299 billion after-tax NPV at eight percent with a 31 percent after-tax IRR, spanning a mine life of 40 years and indicated resources for up to 200 years of operation.

Company Highlights

• Noram Lithium’s Zeus project has a preliminary economic assessment that indicates robust economics using a price forecast of US$9,500/tonne (t) lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE): a US$1.299 billion after-tax net present value (NPV) at eight percent, a 31 percent internal rate of return (IRR) and a mine life of 40 years.
• 100-percent-owned with a one percent gross overriding royalty
• A significant mineral resource estimate at cut-off grades of 400 parts per million (ppm), including a total, measured and indicated resource of 1.8 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent and a total inferred resource of 3.9 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent
• Zeus features a high-grade and shallow lithium deposit, which may result in a relatively low-cost operation supported by high lithium recoveries and low contamination
• Situated near Albemarle’s Silver Peak, which is the only other US producer of lithium
• Noram’s share structure remains tight with below 89 million shares issued, with approximately 12 percent controlled by management and insiders.
• Noram Lithium closed its US$14 million strategic financing with Lithium Royalty Corp. and Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.
• Noram's working capital position as of October 31, 2022 was approximately C$15 million, with no debt.

Key Projects

Zeus

The flagship Zeus project is a high-grade lithium project located in Clayton Valley in Nevada, near the only other US producer of lithium, Albemarle’s Silver Peak. The 2,800-acre property features access to a road, power and extensive infrastructure nearby. The Zeus project hosts a large-scale deposit located near the surface with minimum to nil overburden that is suitable for conventional mining methods and would be a relatively low-cost operation.

The preliminary resource estimate on the Zeus project showed robust economics using a price forecast of US$9,500/t LCE. Highlights include (all $ are expressed in US$):

• $1.299 billion NPV (After-Tax) at an eight percent discount rate with a 31 percent IRR.
• Capital Costs (CAPEX) are estimated at $528 million with after-tax payback period of 3.23 years.
• Gross revenue of $303.4 million/year or $12.14 billion over its mine life.
• Consists of 70 holes (3,342.7 meters) completed with 55 holes ending in mineralization – with an average depth of 47.8 meters.
• Metallurgical leach tests were completed and achieved 90 percent lithium recovery in two hours of residence time.
• Low operating cost of $3,355.30/t lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) with a break-even price of $4,016.6/tonne LCE. Operating cost per tonne places the Zeus project amongst the lowest in the industry.
• Long mine life. The mine production rate during full operation is set at 17,000 tonnes per day (tpd). The production schedule uses ore from the first 11 phases, which results in a 40-year life of mine. The mine production schedule results in 245.4 million tonnes averaging 1,093 ppm lithium.
• Very Low Strip Ratio. Mining strip ratios are very low, averaging 0.07:1 for LOM. Mining consists of a truck and shovel method, with blasting being unnecessary due to the ore softness.
• Low Environmental Impact. The leaching and filtration flow sheet includes dry stack tailings, thus, eliminating the environmental risk and long-term management issues associated with tailings ponds.
• LCE market price. Base case market price of $9,500/t LCE is well below long-term forecasted rate of $14,000/t. The after-tax NPV reaches $2.665 billion at $14,250/t LCE (eight percent discount rate). On January 11, 2023, LCE was currently selling for ~US$48,000/t.

In May 2022, the company completed the Phase VI infill drill program at the Zeus project. All of the 12 proposed holes were completed to, or beyond, their expected depths for a total of 5,246 feet (1,599 meters) of drilling. Most of the holes were drilled with HQ-size core with a diameter of 2.5 inches (63.5 millimeters).

Management Team

Sandy MacDougall - Chairman and Founder

Sandy MacDougall is an economics graduate of the University of British Columbia. He has over 30 years of experience in the investment banking and finance industry. MacDougall was a former investment advisor at Canaccord Capital Corp. and was involved in numerous significant financings in Canada and abroad for a wide range of companies. His experience includes extensive exposure to precious and base metal projects throughout North and South America. He was previously Chairman of the Board from 2016 to 2021.

Greg McCunn - Chief Executive Officer

Greg McCunn brings thirty years of extensive experience in mining in both the base metal and precious metal industries. A professional engineer with an MBA, McCunn has led multiple junior mining companies from exploration stage through the transition to project development, permitting, financing, construction and into operations. He was formerly the CEO of a number of TSX and NYSE listed public companies including Alio Gold and Galiano Gold and has over a decade of experience as a chief financial officer. As an executive, he has raised over $600 million in equity and debt financing from the Canadian and US capital markets, completed over $1 billion in merger and acquisition transactions, and put three mines into production on three different continents.

Anita Algie - Chief Financial Officer

Anita Algie has over 17 years of experience in management, listings, compliance, corporate structure and development for exploration and resource-based public companies. She is the former president, CEO and director of American Lithium Corp. (LI:TSXV) and First Cobalt Corp. (FCC:TSXV) and has served on numerous boards during her career in the public markets and specializes in sourcing, acquiring and developing non grass roots properties. Algie has also successfully completed several CPC Qualifying Transactions with the TSX Venture Exchange. She is an honours human physiology graduate from the University of British Columbia. She has been the CFO of Noram since 2018.

Brad Peek - Vice-president Exploration

Brad Peek has more than 40 years of experience in project management, mineral exploration and in computer applications in the mineral exploration and mining and eleven years of experience with a water engineering consultant firm. Peek received a bachelor of science degree in geology from the University of Nebraska and a master of science degree in geology from the University of Alaska. He also is a member of the Society of Economic Geologists, the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration, and AIME American Institute of Professional Geologists - Certified Professional Geologist, CPG11299

Simon Studer - Vice-president, Corporate Development

Simon Studer is an anthropologist holding a masters in earth and energy resources leadership from Queen’s University, Canada. He brings over 15 years of industry and sustainable business experience with a special focus on the Americas within the resource industry. Studer has worked with numerous publicly traded and private junior resource companies in various leadership roles, is currently based in Switzerland, and is fluent in German, English and Spanish.

Adam Falkoff - Director

Adam Falkoff has over 20 years of experience in public policy, international relations, and business development. He has advised CEOs of the Fortune 100, presidents, prime ministers, cabinet ministers and ambassadors. As president of CapitalKeys, a bipartisan global public policy and strategic consulting firm based in Washington D.C., with offices in London and Singapore, he has successfully helped clientele understand, anticipate, and navigate the complex public policy environment as well as develop strategies for business development driving client revenues. He is also the interim president of RARE, The Association for Rare Earth. Falkoff is a 2018 recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for service to the United States of America and was named to the Washington, D.C. Power 100, a list of the 100 most influential non-elected people by Washington Life Magazine.

Arthur Brown - Director

Arthur Brown brings 36 years of business experience to Noram’s board. He has served on the boards of eight other companies in sectors ranging from technology to oil and gas and mineral exploration. Brown has substantial knowledge and experience in corporate structure and development, financings and venture capital.

Cyrus Driver - Independent Director

A chartered accountant, Cyrus Driver was a founding partner of the firm Driver Anderson in 1982 and is a retired partner in the firm of Davidson and Company LLP. His wide knowledge of the securities industry and its rules have enabled him to give valuable advice to clients with respect to finance, taxation and other accounting related matters. Driver currently serves as director and/or chief financial officer of several TSX-V listed companies.

Gavin Harrison - Consultant

Gavin Harrison is the president of Harrison Land Services, Colorado Plateau Mineral specialties in acquisition, exploration & data management.

Dr. Vahid Sohrabi - Board Technical Advisor

Dr. Vahid Sohrabi is a senior hydrogeologist/geochemist at Ecoventure and has more than 19 years of experience in the field of environmental services in Canada and internationally. He earned his Ph.D. with a major in hydrogeology/geochemistry from the University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.

Sohrabi has been involved in numerous mining/oil and gas/environmental projects including different resource projects in the O&G and Mining industries. His hydro-geochemical knowledge and environmental management expertise have been instrumental in a wide array of resource projects in different stages of their lifecycle, including the design of feasibility studies of mines and mineral processing units.