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Major Breakthrough in Rare Earth Element Recovery

To kick off December, Century Lithium announced a significant technical milestone with positive results from test work on recovering rare earth elements (REEs) and critical metals from primary lithium leach solutions at Angel Island. Ion-exchange testing achieved greater than 97% recovery of identified REEs and critical metals—including dysprosium, gadolinium, neodymium, praseodymium, scandium, lanthanum, cerium, and cesium—while maintaining complete selectivity against lithium. Critically, this REE extraction process does not impact lithium recovery in the Company’s existing flowsheet.

“The REE recovery results validate our belief that Century Lithium’s leach solutions offer meaningful secondary-value opportunities,” said Todd Fayram, Century Lithium’s Senior Vice President, Metallurgy. “Producing a secondary REE-rich product has the potential to strengthen Angel Island’s economics and align the Company with broader government and industry initiatives supporting secure North American critical-minerals supply chains.”

The Company’s ongoing metallurgical program is now focused on optimizing ion-exchange performance, advancing downstream processing for REE concentration and refinement, evaluating commercial market pathways for REE by-products, and assessing the economic contribution of REEs to primary lithium production. This development positions Century Lithium to potentially supply both lithium and REEs to North American critical minerals markets, enhancing supply-chain resilience and long-term project value.

Permitting Milestone Achieved

All baseline and environmental studies supporting Angel Island have been completed and accepted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. The Company is now finalizing its Plan of Operations (PoO), which will define mine layout, process-plant configuration, water management systems, waste handling, access infrastructure, and environmental-mitigation measures. Submission of the PoO will formally begin the federal permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act. Century Lithium remains on track to meet the timeline provided on the Federal FAST-41 Dashboard.

Demonstration Plant Relocation Complete

The Demonstration Plant has been fully dismantled and relocated to Century Lithium’s 20-acre facility at Tonopah Airport, Nevada—the Company’s field office for Angel Island operations. This site was previously integral for preparing and handling bulk sample material during the pilot plant program. Century Lithium is now evaluating options to further enhance the facility and expand its research and development capabilities.

Feasibility Study Update Progressing

Work on the 2024 Feasibility Study update is advancing well, with current efforts focused on optimizing the Angel Island mine plan and associated equipment to improve operating efficiency. Key improvements include reductions to the land-use footprint, plant-design modifications aimed at lowering operating costs, and significant changes in fluid-management, Direct Lithium Extraction (DLE) design, and lithium-carbonate production—all informed by years of development at the Demonstration Plant.

The updated plan includes electrical infrastructure that will connect to NV Energy’s nearby Greenlink West transmission project, a 525-kV system under construction linking Las Vegas to the Fort Churchill substation near Yerington. The work continues to center on producing lithium carbonate as the primary product, with additional revenue from surplus sodium hydroxide generated through Century’s patent-pending chlor-alkali process—and now potentially from REE by-products as well.

As President and CEO Bill Willoughby stated: “Century Lithium’s team remains focused on achieving several key steps ahead as we continue to advance the development of Angel Island. We believe Angel Island is an asset that will create high-quality US jobs, support domestic critical-mineral supply chains, and position Century Lithium as an American domestic producer of battery-grade lithium carbonate.”