Urgakh Naran Lithium Brine Project
TORONTO, Ontario, September 15, 2020 – Ion Energy Ltd. (“Ion Energy” or the “Company”) (TSX-V: ION) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Enkhtuvshin Khishigsuren to the Company’s board of directors. The board of directors of the Company now consists of Ali Haji, Aneel Waraich, Matthew Wood, Bataa Tumur-Ochir and Enkhtuvshin Khishigsuren.
The appointment of Mr. Khishigsuren provides the Company with an individual with over 30 years of Mongolian mineral exploration experience. Since 2005, Mr. Khishigsuren has been running his own company, Erdenyn Erel, and conducting exploration and consulting services to multi-national exploration and mining companies. He has been responsible for identifying targets and properties based on his knowledge and experience that have resulted in the discovery of several prospective gold and copper deposits in Mongolia. Mr. Khishigsuren holds bachelor degree of Geological exploration from Azerbaijan State University and a Master’s degree of Geological Science from Shimane University, Japan.
In addition to the appointment of Mr. Khishigsuren to the board of directors, Ion Energy is pleased to announce that Paul Fornazzari and Don Hains have joined the Company as special advisors and have been appointed to the advisory board of the Company.
Mr. Fornazzari has been involved in the lithium industry since 2008 with the creation, as its initial Chairman, of Lithium Americas Corp. (currently in mine construction with its partner Ganfeng Lithium; $970B market cap) and securing its initial strategic investments from Mitsubishi and Magna International, which helped launch this world class lithium brine asset. Subsequent thereto, Paul was a director of Neo Lithium Corp. (currently at the feasibility study stage). Paul has been involved in the resource industry for many years, gaining insight and experience in the company creation process through various directorships and as legal counsel. Currently, Paul is a partner at the law firm Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP, where he is head of Latin America for the Global Mining Group. He holds a Masters of Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in Securities Law and a Bachelor of Law from the University of Windsor. Paul is a member of the TSX Venture Exchange’s National Advisory Committee.
Mr. Hains is President of Hains Engineering Company Limited and Principal of Hains Technology Associates. He is an industrial minerals exploration and economic geologist with more than 30 years of experience in exploration, development, use and analysis of industrial minerals properties and materials. He has a particular focus on critical and energy related minerals such as lithium. He has worked on projects throughout the world, including lithium and other industrial minerals projects in China and Mongolia. His lithium experience encompasses all types of deposits, processing routes and stages of project development from exploration through to plant construction. He has written numerous NI 43-101 technical and due diligence reports on lithium projects in Canada, the United States, South America, Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.
Don is a registered professional geoscientist (P. Geo.) in Ontario and an active member of the CIM, PDAC and SME. He holds an honours undergraduate degree in chemistry and history from Queen’s University (1974) and an MBA from Dalhousie University (1976). Don is the author of several monographs on various industrial minerals and the author of the Best Practice Guidelines for Reporting of Lithium Brine Resources and Reserves and a co-author of the Best Practice Guidelines for Reporting on Industrial Minerals Resources and Reserves. These guideline documents provide recommended best practice when reporting resources and reserves under NI 43-101.
Exploration Update
Exploration is set to commence in the coming weeks beginning with Seismic and moving on to CSAMT. The Company expects to provide updates on the exploration program on a regular basis going forward.
Ali Haji, CEO of Ion Energy Ltd, commented: “We are pleased to have individuals of this calibre join our advisory board and are confident that Mr. Fornazzari, Mr. Hains and Mr. Khishigsuren will add a wealth of experience to the team. This is a solid addition to our bench strength and validates the potential of our team. We remain excited to explore the highly prospective Baavhai Uul license over the next quarter. The Company is optimistic about the Lithium market and, in our view, the start of the green revolution: a transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy mobilizing the planet sustainably.”
About Ion Energy Ltd.
Ion Energy Ltd. is a lithium exploration company targeting a prospective brine project in Mongolia. The project represents the first lithium brine mining license award in Mongolia’s history. The project is located in the arid Gobi desert, with high evaporation rates and low precipitation rates that are considered optimal for lithium brine extraction. Information about the Company is available on its website, www.ionenergy.ca, or under its profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
For further information contact:
Ali Haji, Chief Executive Officer
+1.647.951.6508
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information
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 news release.
Information set forth in this news release contains forward‐looking statements. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company’s future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as “believes”, “anticipates”, “expects”, “estimates”, “may”, “could”, “would”, “will”, or “plan”. Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management’s expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, the Company’s objectives, goals or future plans, statements, potential mineralization, exploration and development results, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from Ion Energy’s expectations include, among others, uncertainties relating to availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, risks related to international operations, the actual results of current exploration activities, delays in the development of projects, conclusions of economic evaluations and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined as well as future prices of lithium, and ability to predict or counteract potential impact of COVID-19 coronavirus on factors relevant to the Company’s business. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.