Wealth Minerals Position on New Chilean Lithium Policy
Suite 2710 – 200 Granville Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6C 1S4
Tel 604.331.0096 Fax 604.408.7499 www.wealthminerals.com
NR23-06 April 24, 2023
Wealth Minerals Position on New Chilean Lithium Policy
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE…Vancouver, British Columbia: Wealth Minerals Ltd. (the
“Company” or “Wealth”) – (TSXV: WML; OTCQB : WMLLF; SSE: WMLCL; F SE: EJZN)
believes the new Chilean policy regarding the lithium industry, announced last Friday by Mr.
Gabriel Boric, the President of Chile, is a key step forward for developing lithium assets in Chile,
and a major factor in how the global lithium industry will unfold for decades. Wealth Minerals is
developing its wholly- owned Ollagüe and Atacama Projects, a combined license package over
50,000 hectares in size, to produce lithium in Chile (for more information on the “Atacama
Project” and “Ollagüe Project”, collectively the “Projects”, see www.wealthminerals.com).
Wealth’s CEO, Hendrik van Alphen, said: “I am excited that President Boric has had the courage
to break the deadlock regarding government policy on lithium in Chile. His announcement opens
the door for Wealth to develop its Ollagüe and Atacama P rojects without the overhang of
ambiguity regarding government policy. No doubt, this announcement will be noticed by multiple
lithium consumers globally, who have been reluctant to enter Chile as strategic partners with
developers like Wealth until this moment. Additionally, it has validated our work since 2016, with
a singular focus on Chile’s enormous lithium potential.¨
For seven years t he Company has been in dialog with two previous governments, and endured
multiple false starts, to get to this point of clarity with the Boric administration. President Boric
has articulated a clear policy for companies like Wealth to advance lithium projects in a responsible
way in cooperation with government organizations to benefit both private owners and public stake
holders. Key points of the new policy are:
• Initially CODELCO or ENAMI, Chile’s state-owned copper mining companies, will serve
as the state- partner in a 51/49% ownership structure of public/private partnerships for
lithium projects development.
• A new State Lithium Company will be created to be the future partner or sole developer of
lithium projects going forward.
• Existing operations in the Atacama salar (namely by Sociedad Química y Minera de Chile
(NYSE: SQM) and Albemarle Corporation (NYSE: ALB)) will be required to negotiate
new operating contracts when their current contracts with state development company
CORFO expire (expiry in 2030 for SQM and 2043 for Albemarle)
• Explicit ban on all solar evaporation recovery methods for future projects.
• Government guidance regarding indigenous and local community involvement in lithium
project development.
Wealth Minerals Ltd. - 2 - April 24, 2023
NR23-06 – Continued
Regarding Wealth specifically to the points above:
• Wealth has strong relationships with CODELCO and ENAMI , and believes it is well
placed to be come a supportive partner. Regarding the Atacama P roject, CODELCO’s
expertise with large scale projects in that type of operating environment will be a benefit
to the Company. Regarding the Ollagüe Project, CODELCO owns approximately 4,600
hectares adjacent to Wealth’s 8,200 hectares land position, with clear development
synergies that could be captured in a partnership.
• A new State Lithium Company, which will also be tasked with downstream value -added
goals, could make Chile a hub for all aspects of lithium production and use, from extraction
to making complex chemicals to possibly finished battery products. This could open new
business opportunities for Wealth.
• Wealth´s Management has always believed that the development of our projects using solar
evaporation is a non-starter. Wealth was a first mover regarding the non- use of solar
evaporation, as evidenced by our 2019 MOU with Uranium One that specifically called for
DLE (Direct Lithium Extraction) technology (see press release of October 15, 2019) .
Additionally, our cooperation agreement with the Indigenous Quechua Community of
Ollagüe specifically mentions only using DLE (see press release of March 28, 2022).
• Wealth h as always conducted itself as a good corporate citizen in the areas where it
operates, maintaining open dialog with indigenous peoples in the P roject salars. Having
government guidance on how companies and indigenous peoples interact is a welcome
development, moving away from the ad hoc process of the past.
The Company has long and successful history of cooperation and negotiation with Chilean
government institutions, and local communities. N ow, with a clear government policy
management intends to accelerate its outreach to successfully conclude a partnership transaction.
Management Investor Outreach Trip - Europe
Wealth will be participating in the Deutsche Goldmesse, which will take place on May 5th and 6th
at The Westin Grand Frankfurt. Members of the Wealth management team will be taking meetings
throughout the day, and also present at 3:30 CET on May 5th to an audience of European investors.
Investors can register to attend at: https://deutschegoldmesse.online/investor-registration/
Wealth management will also be at 121 Mining Investment Summit in London on May 9th and 10th
at the hall at 133 Houndsditch, London. More information can be found here:
https://www.weare121.com/121mininginvestment-london/
About Wealth Minerals Ltd.
Wealth is a mineral resource company with interests in Canada and Chile. The Company’s focus
is the acquisition and development of lithium projects in South America.
The Company opportunistically advances battery metal projects where it has a peer advantage in
project selection and initial evaluation. Lithium market dynamics and a rapidly increasing metal
price are the result of profound structural issues with the industry meeting anticipated future
demand. Wealth is positioning itself to be a major beneficiary of this futur e mismatch of supply
Wealth Minerals Ltd. - 3 - April 24, 2023
NR23-06 – Continued
and demand. In parallel with lithium market dynamics, Wealth believes other battery metals will
benefit from similar industry trends.
For further details on the Company readers are referred to the Company’s website
(www.wealthminerals.com) and its Canadian regulatory filings on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
On Behalf of the Board of Directors of
WEALTH MINERALS LTD.
“Hendrik van Alphen”
Hendrik van Alphen
Chief Executive Officer
For further information, please contact:
Marla Ritchie, Michael Pound or Henk van Alphen
Phone: 604-331-0096 or 604-638-3886
For all Investor Relations inquiries, please contact:
John Liviakis
Liviakis Financial Communications Inc.
Phone: 415-389-4670
For all Public Relations inquiries, please contact:
Nancy Thompson
Vorticom, Inc.
Office: 212-532-2208 | Mobile: 917-371-4053
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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 press release, which has been prepared
by management.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward -looking statements and forward- looking information (collectively, “forward -
looking statements”) within the mean ing of applicable Canadian and US securities legislation. All statements, other
than statements of historical fact, included herein including, without limitation, statements regarding the anticipated
content, commencement, timing and cost of exploration pr ograms, anticipated exploration program results, the
discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the Company’s expectation that it will be able to
enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional mineral projects, and the anticipated business plans and timing
of future activities of the Company, are forward- looking statements. Although the Company believes that such
statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking
statements are typically identified by words such as: believe, expect, anticipate, intend, estimate, postulate and similar
expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any
forward-looking statements by the Company are not guarantees of future results or performance, and that actual
results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements as a result of various factors, including, but
not limited to, the state of the financial markets for the Company’s equity securities, the state of the commodity markets
Wealth Minerals Ltd. - 4 - April 24, 2023
NR23-06 – Continued
generally, variations in the nature, quality and quantity of any mineral deposits that may be located, variations in the
market price of any mineral products the Company may produce or plan to produce, the inability of the Company to
obtain any necessary permits, consents or authorizations required, including TSXV acceptance, for its planned
activities, the inability of the Company to produce minerals from its properties successfully or profitably, to continue
its projected growth, to raise the necessary capital or to be fully able to implement its business strategies, and other
risks and uncertainties disclosed in the Company’s latest interim Management Discussion and Analysis and filed with
certain securities commissions in Canada. All of the Company’s Canadian public disclosure filings may be accessed
via www.sedar.com and readers are urged to review these materials, including the technical reports filed with respect
to the Company’s mineral properties.