ETMC E3 Metals Corp

CALGARY, AB, June 9, 2021 /CNW/ - E3 METALS CORP. (TSXV: ETMC) (FSE: OU7A) (OTC: EEMMF) (the "Company" or "E3 Metals"), an emerging lithium developer and leading direct lithium extraction ("DLE") technology innovator, is very pleased to announce that the Research and Development ("R&D") on the sorbent technology has completed. The Company has selected the final candidates to advance into the process design phase with the commissioning of a flow column testing program at its Calgary Testing Facility ("the Facility").  

E3 Metals has been developing its proprietary, lithium selective sorbent for the purposes of primary extraction of lithium from brine. This development work began with the University of Calgary in 2017 and has been the major focus for E3 Metals since the Company released its third resource report in 2018, now totaling 7.0Mt LCE inferred mineral resources¹, with opportunity for significant expansion. In February of this year, the Company opened its Testing Facility in Calgary and has seen an acceleration in the development of its sorbent technology.

Now generally referred to as Direct Lithium Extraction, or "DLE", the Company's proprietary sorbent selectively extracts lithium from the brine to create a high purity lithium concentrated solution. E3 Metals concentrated lithium ("Li-IX") solution forms the precursor to high-value lithium hydroxide, sold into the lithium-ion battery market. E3 has been focused on engineering the sorbent itself to simplify the process design in commercial applications and has finalized three forms of the sorbent for its commercial process and will be evaluating all three going forward.

The development team will be initiating continuous flow testing for each sorbent, providing critical data that will be used to select design parameters for its pilot plant. Each of the sorbent forms will be rigorously tested to evaluate their performance.  The testing will continue to utilize brine collected from the Leduc Aquifer from the Clearwater Lithium Project area and will be operating the equipment at formation temperatures designed to simulate real-world conditions.  This, in combination with the E3 Metals' Aquifer Management Plan (AMP) development (see AMP update press release dated June 2, 2021), ensures that the technology being developed operates at optimal commercial efficiency.

Continuous flow testing is a significant step in proving the ability to extract the lithium in much larger quantities and is a critical step as E3 Metals increases the scale of its DLE process. The Company anticipates this testing will take approximately three months to complete.  The next step after each sorbent form has been tested is to move the selected sorbents into the prototype phase and the Company anticipates that more than one sorbent will likely progress into this phase. During this next phase, the Company will be operating the pilot prototype tests in parallel to accelerate the timeframe towards our field-based pilot plant.

E3 Metals' CEO, Chris Doornbos commented, "This is an incredible milestone for the Company. With the sorbent development now complete, we will be focusing on the process design, which ultimately means the pilot plant and commercial facility design. While there will be continual optimization of our sorbent, it will likely not change in form or design going forward and is a significant achievement for E3 Metals."

About E3 Metals Corp.
E3 Metals is a lithium development Company with 7.0 million tonnes of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) inferred mineral resources¹ in Alberta and an NPV_8% on its Clearwater Lithium Project of USD 1.1 Billion with a 32% IRR pre-tax and USD 820 Million with a 27% IRR after-tax¹. Through the successful scale up its DLE technology 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.

Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements

This news release includes certain forward-looking statements 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 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.

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.

SOURCE e3 Metals Corp.