LONDON: CleanTech Lithium PLC (AIM: CTL), an exploration and development company advancing sustainable lithium projects in Chile, confirms Expressions of Interest (RFIs) for a total of five lithium projects have been submitted for the Chilean Government to review.

This is part of the process the Company must follow to be awarded a Special Lithium Operating Contract (“CEOL”) to produce lithium. In addition, the Company would like to announce that it has renamed its second flagship project Francisco Basin to Viento Andino.

Steve Kesler, Executive Chairman and Interim CEO, of CleanTech Lithium PLC, said: “We are very pleased to confirm the Expressions of Interest have been submitted to the Chilean government ahead of the deadline set by the Ministry of Mining. Submissions were made in respect of our two advanced wholly owned projects and three new prospective projects as joint ventures.

We have highlighted the significant investment we have already made across our lithium projects, the positive progress with DLE and our established engagement with local communities. These submissions are a required step in the process to be awarded a CEOL by the Government, and the granting of a CEOL is key to becoming a lithium producer, subject to environmental impact assessments which are already underway.

We expect to hear from the Government in July how the process towards the award of CEOLs for our two advanced projects will move forward following the announcement of results of the RFI process on or around 9th July.”

CleanTech Lithium submitted the Laguna Verde and Viento Andino Expressions of Interest ahead of the deadline of 17th June 2024 set by the Chilean government. The RFI process is for the Government to collate interest from all companies and review the suitability of developing a lithium project on all the salars in Chile that were identified as open for development.

The Government will consider if consultation with local communities is needed before proceeding with the process to award a CEOL.  CTL has maintained open dialogue with local communities since inception of its projects and signed a collaboration agreement with key local communities in December 2023, receiving their strong support for the development of CTL’s sustainable lithium projects.

A third RFI submitted relates to the exploration licences CTL holds in the basin of the Salar de Atacama, which are significantly outside the salar margin, and the area designated as strategic under the National Lithium Strategy. This has been designated as the ´Arenas Blancas´ project. The Company has submitted a joint venture RFI with a private Chilean company with the combined licence area of the two companies having good prospectivity. The submission provides a compelling alternative for a sustainable lithium project in the region with a DLE based extraction-reinjection model that protects the hydrogeological balance of the subsurface aquifer and provides for innovative ways to work with the local community.

Two further RFIs have been submitted in joint venture with another party over salars that have been declared by the Government as open for lithium development. Details of these submissions remain, at this stage, confidential but if CEOLs are awarded for these an appropriate announcement will be made.

Project Name Change; Francisco Basin to Viento Andino

Francisco Basin has been CTL´s second priority project after the more advanced Laguna Verde project. The project is located in the vicinity of the Nevada Tres Cruces national park, which extends from the southern part of the Maricunga basin to the northern part of the Laguna del Negro Francisco basin, otherwise referred to as Francisco Basin. In March 2024, as part of the National Lithium Strategy, the Chilean Government further clarified that national parks would be protected from lithium development.

The Company has made the decision to change the name of the Francisco Basin Project to Viento Andino to remove any doubt as to which area the project covers and underlining that all previous exploration programmes and planned works are undertaken outside of the protected area and additionally applying a buffer zone.

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