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Phase 2 Drilling of 3,000m underway at International Lithium's Raleigh Lake Project

May 18, 2022


International Lithium Corp. (TSXV: ILC) (the "Company" or "ILC") is pleased to announce the commencement of Phase 2 of the 5,000-metre drilling program previously announced on February 9, 2022 at the Raleigh Lake lithium, rubidium and caesium project near Ignace, Ontario.

ILC is conducting a minimum of 5,000 metres core drilling at the Raleigh Lake project in two phases. Phase 1 ran during the winter months of March and April 2022 where ten (10) holes were drilled for a total of 2,053 metres (Table 1 and Figure 1). Eight holes targeted Pegmatite 1 and 3 in Zone 1 and two (2), the first holes ever drilled at Pegmatite 2, were targeting Zone 2. All drill holes encountered spodumene bearing pegmatites.

Phase 1 Drilling

All eight holes in Zone 1 tested the up-dip and eastern extent of Pegmatites 1 and 3, a stacked set of shallow dipping pegmatite dykes that make up the main target of the Raleigh Lake project. All eight holes intersected spodumene bearing pegmatites (Figure 2) with holes DDH22-09 and DDH22-10 intersecting 8.5 metres and 13 metres true thicknesses of spodumene bearing pegmatite respectively; at an approximated vertical depth of less than 100 metres (see Company news release dated March 21, 2022).

Zone 1 pegmatites have been defined by drilling and surface exposures in an area exceeding 600 metres x 400 metres. The Phase 1 drill holes were drilled interstitially to historic drill holes at step outs of 50 metres or more (if possible) to provide quantifiable data that can be used in a maiden resource calculation.

The first holes to be drilled at Zone 2 were targeting the down dip extension of Pegmatite 2, a small surface exposure of spodumene bearing pegmatite approximately 750 metres northwest of Pegmatite 1 with a similar structural orientation. Drilling locations were limited by topography resulting in a rather large step-out relative to the Pegmatite 2 outcrop. Encouragingly both holes DDH 22-17 and DDH 22-18, separated by a strike length of approximately 125 metres, intersected multiple metre and sub-metre scale pegmatite veins including a one metre scale vein (interpreted to be Pegmatite 2) containing moderate, patchy spodumene.

The core has been logged and cut with samples submitted for chemical analysis. Initial assay results are expected later in May.

Phase 2 Drilling

The focus for Phase 2 will be to test numerous lithogeochemical anomalies and alteration corridors identified in Zones 2, 3, 5 and 6. It will also continue to test the extents of Pegmatite 1 and 3 in Zone 1. The targets recently identified in Zones 3, 5 and 6 (Company news release dated January 17, 2022) are subject to the receipt of drilling permits.

Zone 2 Targets

The Zone 2 targets are located tens to hundreds of metres west of Pegmatite 2 that follow a structural corridor trending at approximately 035 degrees (similar to the orientation of Pegmatite 2). The local geology and lithogeochemical results demonstrate potential for the area to host multiple stacked pegmatite dykes analogous to Zone 1. Another high-level target in Zone 2 is identified as a structural corridor trending ~035 degrees terminating to the north in a large magnetic low domain coincident with a low-lying marshy area and surrounded by anomalous lithium values in bedrock as identified in earlier surveys. This speculative yet highly intriguing target will be tested early during the Phase 2 program if weather and environmental conditions permit.

Zone 3 Targets

The Zone 3 targets include southern extensions of the Zone 1 targets and stem from the Tanco exploration model developed for the emplacement of Pegmatites 1 and 3. Lithogeochemical work conducted in 2021 provides support for the model that unexposed pegmatites may be emplaced within certain structural domains to the southeast. Additional targets in Zone 3, based on lithogeochemical sample results, are subject to the receipt of drilling permits applied for earlier this year.

Zone 5 and 6 Targets (see January 17, 2022 news release)

The targets within Zone 5 and 6 are developed from recent lithogeochemical surveys conducted in 2021, following the expansion of the property. The lithium, caesium and rubidium results from the recent bedrock sampling surveys are encouraging enough to advance them to a drilling stage. The Company is awaiting the receipt of exploration permits applied for earlier in the year. Zone 5 is particularly encouraging because the new bedrock anomalies are highly elevated above background levels and align very well with the structural corridor that connects Zone 1 Pegmatites to the proposed source material of the Two Mica Granite a few kilometres to the southwest. 

Zone 6 is another target area with numerous promising lithogeochemical anomalies identified from the bedrock surveys. One sample from this zone returned 339 parts per million ("ppm") caesium which is strongly indicative of a sample that is in close proximity to an LCT pegmatite. It is highly anticipated that these targets have the potential to host zoned pegmatites rich in pollucite, a caesium bearing mineral because the deposit model for the project suggests the evolving trend for pegmatites is to the east and southeast.



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