Wealth Minerals Provides Shareholder Update and Appoints Cesar Jil General Manager for Chile
Suite 2300 – 1177 West Hastings Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6E 2K3
Tel 604.331.0096 Fax 604.408.7499 www.wealthminerals.com
NR18-23 December 17, 2018
Wealth Minerals Provides Shareholder Update and Appoints Cesar Jil
General Manager for Chile
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE....Vancouver, British Columbia: Wealth Mi nerals Ltd. (the
“Company” or “Wealth”) - (TSXV: WML; OTCQX: WMLLF; SSE: WMLCL; Frankfurt: EJZN),
provides an end of year shareholder update.
“While there are several things we would have liked to have done in 2018, Wealth did successfully
hit several key milestones that lay the groundwork for future v alue” said Wealth CEO Henk Van
Alphen. “First and foremost is our strategic alliance with the fully state-owned National Mining
Company of Chile, ENAMI (see p ress release March 19, 2019). Und er the current regulatory
framework in Chile, a state part ner is key to achieving all the necessary requirements for a
successful lithium mining operation. ENAMI, our partner, has al so partnered up with the state
agency CCHEN, the Chilean Nuclear Energy Commission, to add val ue to lithium projects in
Chile. CCHEN is the government body responsible for granting li thium export quotas. ENAMI
has been very supportive of Wealth and the strategic alliance a nd the management of both
organizations are in close contact with each other and eager to push forward the Atacama Project.”
“Certainly, for any lithium company, being in the Atacama Salar is the best place to be. However
from the technology standpoint, the next producer there has a u nique opportunity to set a global
precedent for next generation lithium projects with the latest extraction processes. We are
examining such technologies, which promise to be highly efficient in term of recoveries and costs,
as well as environmentally friendly. To this end we invited Stefan Schauss to be a Board director,
as he has decades of experience in battery technology. We also added to the team Cesar Jil, who
was previously Manager of Lithiu m Extraction Technologies at Al bemarle Corporation. I am
particularly proud to announce that Cesar is now General Manage r for all of Wealth’s operations
in Chile.”
Tim McCutcheon, President of Wealth Minerals, said “The global lithium industry was been
caught in two diverging trends for 2018, which certainly caused a lot of confusion. On the one
hand, the number of industrial concerns announcing their intent to consume lithium for batteries
has expanded tremendously and continues to do so. Clearly, demand for lithium is robust. On the
other hand, there are concerns that supply growth will be faste r than demand growth, resulting in
a long term depressed lithium sector. My comment on this is one can’t have their cake and eat it
too. For starters, the supply projections from some analysts gr eatly overestimate the ability of
certain operations to ramp up production and reach the battery grade quality that has become a
headache to many producers. Additionally, the concern of oversu pply has caused a sector-wide
decline in share prices for developers like Wealth, which on a sector basis will cause delays in
bringing new supply on-line. In short, lithium demand looks better than ever, while supply growth
still shows serious issues three to five years from now. Given Wealth’s superb Atacama project,
we are set to stand out from our peer group.”
Wealth Minerals Ltd. - 2 - December 17, 2018
NR18-23 – Continued
Wealth’s Executive Director, Chile, Marcelo Awad, commented “Geophysical data collected and
carefully analysed has played a major role in Wealth’s plans fo r 2019 and beyond, particularly
concerning our dialog with the local communities in the Atacama area who are important for the
long-term success of our planned operations. The team in Chile has been working very hard to
establish trust and cooperation with local communities, governm ental agencies and other service
providers, so that we can get to work on the fantastic target i n the southeastern corner of our
Atacama project, which so clearly stands out in our geophysical work. The addition of Cesar Jil to
the team is also a major event for Wealth, as he brings unrival ed knowledge on lithium recovery
technologies, which plays an ever important role in how lithium projects are developed worldwide
due to a move away from solar evaporation. He has researched an d met all the new technologies
around the world to allow Wealth to choose the right one and the most environmental friendly”
Henk Van Alphen, summed up by saying “No one every said building a major player in the lithium
sector would be easy! The whole team is pulling to get results out and advance our projects, and
the groundwork to do so has been firmly laid during 2018. I loo k forward with great enthusiasm
to 2019, and in closing off 2018 I say to all happy holidays.”
About Wealth Minerals Ltd.
Wealth is a mineral resource company with interests in Canada, Mexico, Peru and Chile. The
Company’s main focus is the acquisition of lithium projects in South America. To date, the
Company has positioned itself to develop the Aguas Calientes Norte and Quisquiro Salars in Chile
(the Trinity Project), as well as to work alongside existing producers in the prolific Atacama Salar,
in addition to the Laguna Verde lithium project acquisition. Th e Company has also positioned
itself to play a role in asset consolidation in Chile with the Five Salars Project.
The Company is transitioning from an asset acquisition phase to developing its current high
potential portfolio. Lithium market dynamics and a rapidly increasing metal price are the result of
profound structural issues with t he industry meeting anticipate d future demand. Wealth is
positioning itself to be a major beneficiary of this future mis match of supply and demand. The
Company also maintains and conti nues to evaluate a portfolio of p r e c i o u s a n d b a s e m e t a l
exploration-stage projects.
For further details on the Compa ny 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
Phone: 604-331-0096 Ext. 3886 or 604-638-3886
E-mail: [email protected]
Wealth Minerals Ltd. - 3 - December 17, 2018
NR18-23 – Continued
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 news release.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, “forward-
looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable Canadian and U.S. securities legislation, including the United
States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements, other than statements of historical fact,
included herein including, without limitation, anticipated exploration program results from exploration activities, the
Company’s expectation that it will be able to enter into agreements to acquire interests in additional mineral
properties, the discovery and delineation of mineral deposits/resources/reserves, the closing and amount of the
Placement, 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”, “inten d”, “estimate”, “postulate” and simila r 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, operating and technical difficulties in
connection with mineral exploration and development activities, actual results of exploration activities, the estimation
or realization of mineral reserves and mineral resources, the timing and amount of estimated future production, the
costs of production, capital expenditures, the costs and tim ing of the development of new deposits, requirements for
additional capital, future prices of lithium, changes in general economic conditions, changes in the financial markets
and in the demand and market price for commodities, lack of investor interest in the Placement, accidents, labour
disputes and other risks of the mining industry, delays in obtaining governmental approvals, permits or financing or
in the completion of development or construction activities, changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining
operations, title disputes, the inability of the Company to obtain any necessa ry permits, consen ts, approvals or
authorizations, including acceptance by the TSX-V, required for the Placement, the timing and possible outcome of
any pending litigation, environmental issues and liabilities, and risks related to joint venture operations, 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.
Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no
obligation to update any of the forward-looking statements in this news release or incorporated by reference herein,
except as otherwise required by law.