ILC Critical Minerals Ltd. Does Not Exercise Option to Buy Lepidico Mauritius Ltd.
ILC Critical Minerals Ltd. Does Not Exercise
Option to Buy Lepidico Mauritius Ltd.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 4, 2026) - ILC Critical Minerals Ltd. (TSXV: ILC)
(OTCQB: ILHMF) (FSE: IAH0) ("ILC" or the "Company") announces that it has not exercised, nor has it
been able to extend, its option to buy 100% of Lepidico (Mauritius) Ltd. ("Lepidico Mauritius") from
Lepidico (Canada) Inc. ("Lepidico Canada") which expired on February 27, 2026. This company
controls 80% of the Karibib lithium, rubidium and cesium project in Namibia.
The ILC board had carefully considered the financial and legal risks of the transaction, and supported the
exercise of the option. The board had the required funding ready. However TSX Venture Exchange
("TSXV") did not give the required approval in time to ILC that would have enabled ILC to complete the
transaction. It might have been possible to extend the expiry date of the option further, but this would
have required ILC to provide additional working capital to Lepidico Canada. The TSXV went further and
also prevented ILC from lending more money for working capital to Lepidico Canada. This had the
practical effect on ILC that the option could neither be exercised nor extended.
This is a setback for ILC's plans in Southern Africa because Karibib has a large lithium resource, the
biggest known rubidium resource in Africa, and enough cesium for about one year of world use, and it
had already reached Definitive Feasibility Study stage under JORC in 2020. Such advanced stage
development projects are hard to find, and the board believed after months of work on the transaction
that it could have added considerable shareholder value albeit with some risk.
Lepidico Canada's board felt that it was not able to continue further as a viable company without the
extra funds needed for its working capital needs. While ILC's board would have been willing for ILC to
offer this, the block by TSXV made this impossible to offer. As a result Lepidico Canada has now
changed ownership. There is still a possibility of ILC being offered involvement in this project, in which
case the ILC board would allow an extended period for TSXV's review processes to complete in such a
manner that gives a greater chance of allowing a favourable outcome from TSXV. Obviously however
such an outcome cannot be assumed.
By order of the board
John Wisbey
Chairman and CEO
About ILC Critical Minerals Ltd.
ILC Critical Minerals Ltd., formerly International Lithium Corp., has exploration activities in Ontario,
Canada, with intentions to expand into Southern Africa. It has projects at various stages, ranging from
Preliminary Economic Assessment at Raleigh Lake to Pre-Drilling at Wolf Ridge. The primary target
metals in Canada are lithium, rubidium and copper. There are three projects (two in Ontario and one in
Ireland) in which ILC has sold its share, but where the Company stands to receive future payments from
either a resource milestone being achieved or from a Net Smelter Royalty.
While the world's politicians remain divided on the future of the energy market's historic dependence on
oil and gas and on "Net Zero", there is in any scenario an ever-increasing and significant demand for
electricity driven by AI and data centres, and by a likely unstoppable momentum towards electric vehicles
and grid-scale electricity storage. All of these contribute to rising demand for lithium, copper, and other
metals. Rubidium is also a critical metal, strategic for high-precision clocks, space technology, and
improving the performance of certain types of solar panels. ILC has seen the politically driven,
increasingly urgent push by the USA, Canada, the EU, and other major economies to safeguard their
supplies of critical minerals and to become more self-sufficient. The Company's Canadian and Southern
African projects, which contain lithium, rubidium, cesium and copper, are strategic in this regard.
The Company's key mission for the next decade is to generate revenue for its shareholders from lithium,
rubidium and other critical minerals while also contributing to the creation of a greener, cleaner planet
and less polluted cities.
This includes optimizing the value of ILC's existing projects in Canada as well as finding, exploring and
developing projects that have the potential to become world-class deposits. The Company has
announced that it regards Southern Africa as a key strategic target market and it has applied for and
hopes to receive EPOs in Zimbabwe. The board hopes to make further announcements on the portfolio
developments over the next few weeks and months.
The Company's interests in various projects now consist of the following, and in addition, the Company
continues to seek other opportunities:
Name
Metal
Location
Stage
Area in
Hectares
Current
Ownership
Percentage
Future Ownership % if
options exercised
and/or residual interest
Operator or JV
Partner
Raleigh Lake
Lithium
Rubidium
Ontario
Dec 2023 : PEA for Li
completed Apr 2023
Maiden Resource
Estimates for Li and Rb
32,900
100%
100%
ILC
Firesteel
Copper, Cobalt
Ontario
Initial Drilling
6,600
90%
90%
ILC
Wolf Ridge
Lithium
Ontario
Pre-Drilling
5,700
0%
100%
ILC
Mavis Lake
Lithium
Ontario
May 2023
Maiden Resource
Estimate
2,600
0%
0%
(carries an extra earn-in
payment of AUD$ 0.75
million if resource
targets met)
Critical Resources
Limited (ASX: CRR)
Avalonia
Lithium
Ireland
Drilling
29,200
0%
0%
2.0% Net Smelter
Royalty
GFL Intl Co Ltd.
(owned by Ganfeng
Lithium Group Co.
Ltd)
Forgan/
Lucky Lakes
Lithium
Ontario
Drilling
< 500
0%
0%
1.5% Net Smelter
Royalty
Power Minerals
Limited (ASX: PNN)
The Company's primary strategic focus at this point is on the Raleigh Lake Project, comprising lithium
and rubidium, and the Firesteel copper project in Canada, as well as obtaining EPOs and mineral
claims in Zimbabwe.
The Raleigh Lake Project now encompasses 32,900 hectares (329 square kilometres) of mineral claims
in Ontario and represents ILC's most significant project in Canada. To date, drilling has occurred on less
than 1,000 hectares of the Company's claims. A Preliminary Economic Assessment was published for
ILC's lithium at Raleigh Lake in December 2023, with a detailed economic analysis of ILC's separate
rubidium resource still pending. This showed, for the lithium only and not yet taking into account the
rubidium, a Post-tax NPV of CAD$342.9 million and a Post-tax IRR of 44.3% p.a. This was based on a
spodumene price of US$2,350 per tonne. As at March 3, 2026 the spot spodumene price was back up
to US$ 2,220 per tonne. Raleigh Lake is 100% owned by ILC, free from any encumbrances and
royalties. The Raleigh Lake Project boasts excellent access to roads, rail, and utilities.
A continuing goal has been to remain a well-funded, strategically run company that turns ILC's
aspirations into reality. Following the disposal of the Mariana project in Argentina in 2021, the Mavis
Lake project in Canada in 2022, and the Avalonia project in 2025, ILC has continued to generate
sufficient cash inflows to advance its exploration projects.
With increasing demand for high-tech rechargeable batteries used in electric vehicles, energy storage,
and portable electronics, lithium has been dubbed "the new oil". It is a key part of a green, sustainable
economy. By positioning itself on projects with significant resource potential and solid strategic partners,
ILC aims to become a preferred lithium and critical minerals resource developer for investors and to
continue building value for its shareholders throughout the 2020s, the decade of battery metals.
On behalf of the Company,
John Wisbey
Chairman and CEO
www.ilccm.com
For further information concerning this news release, please contact
or
, or telephone +1 236 358 9100
Neither 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.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information
Except for statements of historical fact, this news release or other releases contain certain "forward-
looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information or
forward-looking statements in this or other news releases may include: the timing of completion of any
offering and the amount to be raised, the effect on results of anticipated production rates, the timing
and/or anticipated results of drilling on the Raleigh Lake or Firesteel or Wolf Ridge projects, expected
commodity prices, the expectation of resource estimates, preliminary economic assessments,
feasibility studies, lithium or rubidium or cesium or copper recoveries, modeling of capital and
operating costs, results of studies utilizing various technologies at the company's projects, the
Company's budgeted expenditures, government permits or approval for licences and licence
renewals, future plans for expansion in Southern Africa and planned exploration work on its projects,
increased value of shareholder investments in the Company, the potential from the Company's third
party earn-out or royalty arrangements, the future demand for lithium, rubidium, cesium and copper,
and assumptions about ethical behaviour by our joint venture partners or shareholders in our projects
or third party operators of projects or royalty partners. Such forward-looking information is based on
assumptions and subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to those
discussed in the sections entitled "Risks" and "Forward-Looking Statements" in the interim and
annual Management's Discussion and Analysis which are available at
www.sedarplus.ca
. While
management believes that the assumptions made are reasonable, there can be no assurance that
forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Should one or more of the risks, uncertainties or
other factors materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary
materially from those described in forward-looking information. Forward-looking information herein,
and all subsequent written and oral forward-looking information are based on expectations, estimates
and opinions of management on the dates they are made that, while considered reasonable by the
Company as of the time of such statements, are subject to significant business, economic, legislative,
and competitive uncertainties and contingencies. These estimates and assumptions may prove to be
incorrect and are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. Except as required
by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information should
circumstances or management's estimates or opinions change.
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https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/286187