E3 Lithium Receives $27M Investment from the Government of Canada's Strategic Innovation Fund
E3 Lithium Receives $27M Investment from the
Government of Canada's Strategic Innovation
Fund
CALGARY, AB
,
Nov. 28, 2022
/CNW/ - E3 LITHIUM LTD. (TSXV: ETL) (FSE: OW3) (OTCQX:
EEMMF),
Alberta's
leading lithium developer and extraction technology innovator, today announced it
has received a
$27M
CAD investment from the Government of
Canada's
Innovation, Science and
Economic Development's Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF).
The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Canada's Minister of Innovation, Science and
Industry and Chris Doornbos, President and CEO of E3 Lithium, announce a $27M investment into
the company from the Strategic Innovation Fund.
Click image to play video
The SIF's objective is to spur innovation for a better
Canada
by providing funding for large projects
and national innovation ecosystems. With today's announcement, E3 Lithium (E3) joins such
companies as Rio Tinto (ASX: RIO), Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) and General Motors (NYSE: GM) who
have recently received funding under this program.
"
Canada
has everything it needs to build the EVs and batteries that consumers are demanding, and
Alberta
is key to building that ecosystem and accelerating the low carbon economy. E3 Lithium's
ground-breaking technology will play an important role in providing large quantities of battery grade
lithium to the auto industry while also creating high quality jobs for Canadians. This project will help
position
Canada
as a world leader in batteries and will strengthen the critical minerals sector in the
Calgary
region."
–
The Honourable François-
Philippe Champagne
, Minister of Innovation, Science and
Industry
The SIF investment supports all aspects of E3's resource and technology development including
drilling, piloting of E3's proprietary ion-exchange technology for lithium extraction, process
development and engineering including downstream lithium hydroxide conversion. The investment
also supports additional development testing during the feasibility phase and the engineering and
design of a definitive feasibility study.
"The breadth of the development costs this funding covers contributes significantly to the de-risking
of our end-to-end project development as we progress towards a commercial facility producing
battery grade lithium in
Alberta
. The Canadian Government has committed to supporting the critical
minerals supply chain; growing local Canadian supply begins with the raw materials and
Alberta
has
a significant part to play in that future."
–
Chris Doornbos
, President and CEO, E3 Lithium
All eligible costs under the program are reimbursed to E3 at 33.94% up to a total of
$27M
. E3 can
immediately apply for all eligible expenses as of the initial application date in
August 2021
, which
includes the costs associated with E3's 2022 drilling program. E3 expects its first reimbursement
from SIF to exceed
$4M
.
Since 2017, E3 has secured approximately
$35M
CAD to fund its development over the last five
years, exclusive of the SIF investment. The SIF investment provides funding stability without share
dilution as E3 works towards first lithium production in
Alberta
.
The SIF contribution is conditionally repayable if and when E3 earns gross revenue from commercial
operations. Repayable at a rate of 1% of annual revenue over a period of 20 years, repayments are
limited to a maximum of 1.4 times the amount of SIF contribution disbursed.
About E3 Lithium
E3 Lithium is a development company with total of 24.3 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent
(LCE) inferred mineral resources1 in
Alberta
. As outlined in E3's Preliminary Economic Assessment,
the Clearwater Lithium Project has an NPV8% of
USD 1.1 Billion
with a 32% IRR pre-tax and
USD
820 Million
with a 27% IRR after-tax
1
. Through the successful scale up its DLE technology towards
commercialization, E3 Lithium's goal is to produce high purity, battery grade lithium products. With a
significant lithium resource and innovative technology solutions, E3 Lithium has the potential to deliver
lithium to market from one of the best jurisdictions in the world.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chris Doornbos
, President & CEO
E3 Lithium Ltd.
1: The Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) for the Clearwater Lithium Project NI 43-101 technical report is effective Sept 17, 2021. The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical
Report for the North Rocky Property, effective October 27, 2017, identified 0.9Mt LCE (inferred). The mineral resource NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Bashaw District Project,
effective July 11, 2022, identified 23.4Mt LCE (inferred). All reports are available on the E3 Lithium's website (e3lithium.ca/technical-reports) and SEDAR (www.sedar.com).
Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements as well as management's objectives,
strategies, beliefs and intentions. Forward looking statements are frequently identified by such
words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend" and similar words referring
to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and
expectations of management. All forward-looking 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, competitive risks and the availability of financing, as described in more detail in our
recent securities filings available at
www.sedar.com
. 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.
Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in
the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of
this release.
SOURCE
E3 Lithium
View original content to download multimedia:
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/November2022/28/c1707.html
%SEDAR: 00011471E
For further information:
E3 Lithium - Investor and Media Relations: Robin Boschman, Director,
External Relations, [email protected], 587-324-2775
CO: E3 Lithium
CNW 07:55e 28-NOV-22