CALGARY, AB, Nov. 26, 2020 /CNW/ - E3 METALS CORP. (TSXV:
ETMC) (FSE: OU7A) (OTC: EEMMF) (the "Company" or "E3 Metals"), an
emerging lithium developer and leading lithium extraction
technology innovator, announced today that FMC Lithium USA Corp. ("Livent") has decided to opt out of
the Joint Development Agreement in place between the two
organizations.
In communicating the decision, Livent expressed confidence in
the E3 Metals technology and in the world class Leduc aquifer, but said resource and capital
allocation considerations forced its decision to withdraw. E3
Metals appreciates the work Livent has funded and its input to
date. Significant achievements have been made in advancing the
technology towards commercialization and the foundation is solidly
in place to complete the process. The Company plans to
commercialize the developments completed through the partnership
with Livent. Despite opting out of the existing agreement, Livent
has expressed interest to E3 Metals in working together to further
advance the DLE technology under a different deal structure.
E3 Metals will continue to deploy the Direct Lithium Extraction
(DLE) technology as planned. The Calgary testing facility will be opened in
early 2021 and work will continue towards construction and
operation of the Field Pilot Plant to fully demonstrate the
capabilities and effectiveness of E3 Metals' DLE technology.
As specified in the Joint Development Agreement with Livent, all
licenses and rights to the technology will be retained and returned
entirely to E3 Metals. In addition, the Company has benefitted
from the advancement in the technology and the C$2 million contributed by Livent including over
C$450,000 of capital not spent to
date.
Furthermore, E3 Metals will no longer be obligated to issue
Livent 19.9% of its share capital, represented by 7,929,368 shares
to be issued on top of 594,068 warrants (the "Warrants") currently
held by Livent. The Warrants which are exercisable at a price of
$0.40 per share will be returned to
treasury for cancellation.
"We see the opportunity with the technology E3 Metals is
developing for use at the Leduc Formation." commented Paul Graves, CEO of Livent Corp. "Our decision
does not reflect a view on the likely success of E3 in developing
the Leduc Formation. The decision by Livent not to move to the next
phase of joint development that was contemplated by the original
development agreement is driven by Livent's own resource and
capital allocation choices. We have appreciated working with
the E3 team and wish them every success in their endeavors."
"E3's team of experts will complete the remaining development
work as scheduled," said Chris
Doornbos, E3 Metals' President and CEO. "We respect
Livent's position and their capital constraints; the capital
deployed to date from Livent has supported the significant
advancements and major milestones achieved, including a DLE
technology benchtop pilot prototype. We value the
collaboration from Livent, especially their technical team, who
have contributed to E3 Metals achieving these major milestones on
the development of our technology. All of this, in addition to the
recently completed PEA, will allow E3 to advance discussions with
interested potential partners. As we look to the future, E3 Metals
will continue to power the growing electrical revolution."
About E3 Metals
E3 Metals is a lithium development company with 7.0 million
tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) inferred mineral
resources in Alberta and an
after-tax NPV8% on its Clearwater Lithium Project of
USD 1.1B with a 32%1
IRR. Through the successful scale up its DLE process towards
commercialization, E3 Metals' goal is to produce high purity,
battery grade, lithium products. With a significant lithium
resource and innovative technology solutions, E3 Metals has the
potential to deliver lithium to market from one of the best
jurisdictions in the world. E3 Metals also continues to work with
partners at the University of Alberta
and at GreenCentre Canada. For more information about E3 Metals,
visit http://www.e3metalscorp.com.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS,
"Chris Doornbos"
President & CEO
E3 METALS CORP.
1: A summary of the Clearwater Lithium Project PEA is outlined
in the November 16, 2020 news
announcement, with a NI 43-101 Technical Report expected to be
filed within 45 days from that date. E3 Metals has also released
information on three 43-101 Technical Reports totaling a resource
of 6.7 Mt LCE. The Central Clearwater Resource Area (CCRA)
Technical Report, identifying 1.9Mt LCE (inferred), is dated
effective October 27, 2017, and the
North Rocky Resource Area (NRRA) Technical Report was dated
effective October 27, 2017,
identifies 0.9Mt LCE (inferred). A third report for the Exshaw West
Resource Area (EWRA), identifies 3.9Mt LCE (inferred) and was filed
on June 15, 2018, effective
June 4, 2018. All reports are
available on SEDAR (www.sedar.com)
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.
This news release includes certain forward-looking statements
concerning the potential of the Company's projects and technology,
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
http://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.
SOURCE E3 Metals Corp.