ILC Critical Minerals Ltd. Extends Option to Buy Lepidico Mauritius Ltd, Which Owns 80% of the Namibian Company That Owns a 100% Interest in the Karibib Lithium, Rubidium and Cesium Project
ILC Critical Minerals Ltd. Extends Option to
Buy Lepidico Mauritius Ltd, Which Owns 80%
of the Namibian Company That Owns a 100%
Interest in the Karibib Lithium, Rubidium and
Cesium Project
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - January 26, 2026) - ILC CRITICAL MINERALS LTD.
(TSXV: ILC) (OTCQB: ILHMF) (FSE: IAH0) ("ILC" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has
extended its option to buy 100% of Lepidico (Mauritius) Ltd. ("Lepidico Mauritius") from Lepidico
(Canada) Inc. ("Lepidico Canada") until February 27, 2026.
Since the option and the related loan agreement were first announced on September 9, 2025, Lepidico
Chemicals Namibia (Pty) Ltd. ("LCN" or "Lepidico Namibia") has received, as announced on December
29, 2025, an adverse arbitration determination from the Singapore based SIAC in respect of LCN's
dispute about an offtake agreement concluded with Jiangxi Jinhui Lithium Co. Ltd. in China. Despite the
original offtake agreement in 2018 being under Ontario Law, and the arbitration being in Singapore, the
arbitration tribunal consisted of two Chinese professors resident and working in China, and one
Singaporean.
There have been and remain some quite complicated legal questions to address, and also there is the
need to obtain exchange and/or regulatory approval in Canada and Namibia. So an option extension
was necessary. In return for receiving that option extension, ILC has agreed to provide to Lepidico
additional working capital payments totaling a further CAD$145,000. Should the option to buy Lepidico
Mauritius be exercised these payments will be without recourse to Lepidico Canada. Should the option
not be exercised, these payments will be added to the secured loan and interest owed by Lepidico
Canada.
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
Definitive Feasibility Study at Karibib in Namibia (note that ILC currently has an option only and is
treating this as historic information at this point and not a current resource for ILC) to 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. In Namibia the Karibib project
contains lithium, rubidium and cesium.
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 announced
that it regards Southern Africa as a key strategic target market and, in addition to Namibia, 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
Rubicon +
Helikon +
Exclusive
Prospecting
Licence
Lithium
Rubidium
Cesium
Karibib, Namibia
2021 : Feasibility
Study completed
for Li, Rb and Cs
under JORC
29,500
0 %
80%
Lepidico; ILC if
option exercised
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 Karibib projects in Namibia, including further development of the EPL there,
will be a high priority if ILC decides to exercise its option and remain involved.
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$2,350 per tonne. As at January 23, 2026 the spot spodumene price was US$
2,214 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 likelihood or otherwise of the Company exercising its option
on Lepidico Mauritius, the outcome of and issues around the arbitration involving Lepidico Namibia,
the effect on results of anticipated production rates, the timing and/or anticipated results of drilling on
the Karibib or 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.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/281571