Spodumene Pegmatite Discovered in Côte d’Ivoire

22 May 2025

Spodumene Pegmatite Discovered at Agboville and Rubino Licences,Côte d'Ivoire

Significant lithium-in-soil anomalies also delineated within the Rubino licence from Phase 2 soil sampling

Atlantic Lithium Limited (AIM: ALL, ASX: A11, GSE: ALLGH, OTCQX: ALLIF, "Atlantic Lithium" or the "Company"), the Africa-focused lithium exploration and development company targeting the delivery of Ghana's first lithium mine, is pleased to announce the discovery of spodumene pegmatite in outcrop and float in the Agboville and Rubino exploration licences in Côte d'Ivoire, which are 100%-owned by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Khaleesi Resources SARL, and the delineation of significant lithium-in-soil anomalies from soil sampling completed within the Rubino licence.

Highlights

- High-grade lithium assays up to 1.25% Li2O% returned from rock-chip sampling completed at the Company's Agboville and Rubino licences in Côte d'Ivoire, 100% held by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Khaleesi Resources SARL.

- Assay results from outcrop and float confirm the Company's visual spodumene observations and demonstrate the significant prospectivity of the two licences.

- Impressive results also returned from the Phase 2 soil sampling programme completed at the Rubino licence, which have identified pronounced lithium anomalies over a 2.5km by 2.0km area; lithium-in-soil anomalies remain open towards the northeast, where the Company awaits results of the Phase 3 soil sampling programme.

- The two, contiguous licences are situated within the same broad geological setting which hosts the Company's flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project ("Ewoyaa" or the "Project") in Ghana and other spodumene pegmatite deposits in Mali.

- The low-cost exploration programmes underway in Côte d'Ivoire extend the Company's lithium exploration activities beyond Ghana for the first time.

- The Company will apply its proven ability to explore, discover and evaluate lithium deposits in tropical weathering environments, as demonstrated at Ewoyaa, to its licences in Côte d'Ivoire.

- Exploration of the Côte d'Ivoire licences to run concurrently to the advancement of Ewoyaa; intended to support the Company's broader spodumene production ambitions in Africa.

Commenting, Keith Muller, Chief Executive Officer of Atlantic Lithium, said:

"The discovery of spodumene pegmatite at both of the Company's Agboville and Rubino licences represents a momentous occasion for Atlantic Lithium's first low-cost exploration campaign in Côte d'Ivoire.

"High-grade assay results returned from the rock-chip sampling programme undertaken across both licences confirm visual spodumene observations made during mapping, clearly demonstrating the significant prospectivity of the Company's tenure.

"In addition, results received from the Phase 2 soil sampling programme completed at Rubino indicate pronounced lithium-in-soil anomalies over a 2.5km by 2.0km area within the licence. The anomalies remain open to the northeast, and the Company eagerly awaits results from the now-completed Phase 3 programme.

"Having been granted the licences in May 2024, the programmes at Agboville and Rubino extend the Company's lithium exploration activities beyond neighbouring Ghana, where the Company is advancing its flagship Ewoyaa Lithium Project through the permitting phase to become one of the next globally-significant spodumene mines.

"These encouraging results mark an exciting milestone for Atlantic Lithium's exploration efforts in Côte d'Ivoire, where the Company aims to discover Africa's next major lithium deposit.

"While our primary focus remains firmly on progressing Ewoyaa towards a Final Investment Decision, we believe the Agboville and Rubino licences, which are 100%-owned through the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Khaleesi Resources SARL, represent an attractive opportunity for value creation through low-cost exploration and strategic diversification into multiple jurisdictions.

"The Company intends to leverage the substantial expertise gained from lithium exploration, discovery and evaluation at Ewoyaa to advance its licences in Côte d'Ivoire, supporting its longer-term spodumene production ambitions in Africa.

"We look forward to providing further updates in due course."

Figures and Tables referred to in this release can be viewed in the PDF version available via this link:

http://www.rns-pdf.londonstockexchange.com/rns/6908J_1-2025-5-21.pdf

Authorised for release by Amanda Harsas, Finance Director and Company Secretary, Atlantic Lithium Limited.

This announcement contains inside information for the purposes of Article 7 of the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 ("MAR"), and is disclosed in accordance with the Company's obligations under Article 17 of MAR.

Agboville and Rubino Exploration Licences

Location

The Agboville Permis de Recherche (exploration licence - PR 0694) covers an area of 397km2 and is located in the departments of Agboville and Adzope in Côte d'Ivoire, while the adjacent Rubino Permis de Recherche (PR 0695) covers an area of 374km2 in the department of Agboville (refer Figure 1). Both licences were granted in May 2024 and are 100%-owned by the Company's wholly-owned Ivorian subsidiary, Khaleesi Resources SARL.

Figure 1: Map of the Company's tenure in Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, with the Ewoyaa Lithium Project (located in Mankessim, Ghana) outlined in red.

Mapping and rock-chip sampling

Geological mapping by the Company's geologists, along reconnaissance traverses and in support of soil sampling, have discovered a number of spodumene pegmatite occurrences in both of the Agboville and Rubino licences as rock float and a single rare outcrop, with spodumene visually observed in hand specimen despite varying degrees of weathering exhibited. These initial mapping traverses were part of the first pass geological appraisal of priority areas over which historical government data suggest lithium-caesium-tantalum (LCT) pegmatite could occur.

Rock-chip samples were collected during mapping at several locations where pegmatite was encountered and submitted for assay. The elevated assay values of lithium and other elements, above 0.2% Li2O and up to 1.25% Li2O, from these pegmatite rock-chip samples confirm the Company's visual spodumene observations and the prospectivity of the licences (refer Figure 2 and Table 1). Not all pegmatite samples sent for assay returned anomalous assay results. In some cases, anomalous lithium and caesium assays returned from first-pass reconnaissance mapping resulted in the discovery of spodumene pegmatite float when geologists re-visited the sample site to ground truth the anomalous assay results. Spodumene has a propensity to degrade in the tropical weathering environment with the lithium leaching out of the mineral even in weak to moderately weathered pegmatite, so weathered visually observed spodumene will not always have corresponding high lithium values in rock-chip assay results. Caesium is of interest as it can be used as an indicator element in LCT pegmatite exploration and the caesium mineral pollucite can be produced in commercial quantities in certain LCT pegmatites.

Figure 2: Map showing spodumene pegmatite discoveries within the Agboville and Rubino licences with associated lithia and caesium (Cs) values from rock-chip assays. Extent of recent Phase 2 and 3 soil sampling grids are also shown.

Table 1: Highlight rock-chip assay results (values > 0.2 Li2O%) from the Agboville and Rubino licences. Results < 0.2 Li2O% included in Appendix 1 and a geological map of the licences with rock-chip sample locations marked included in Appendix 2.

NOTE: Grid references reported in projection UTM, WGS84, Zone 30N.

Figure 3: Photographs of spodumene pegmatite hand specimens discovered in the Rubino exploration licence by the Company's geologists. a) Sample 110009 - Weathered surface of spodumene pegmatite float with spodumene crystals 10mm to 50mm in length (outlined in red), estimated to be 10-15% of the surface area of the rock sample. b) Sample 110009 - Broken surface of weathered spodumene pegmatite with spodumene crystals 10mm to 60mm in length (outlined in red), estimated to form 10-15% of the rock sample. c) Sample 110018 - Moderate to strongly weathered spodumene pegmatite with individual spodumene crystals 10mm to 30mm in length (outlined in red), estimated to form 15-20% of the rock sample. d) Sample 110032 (Petrography sample 110025 - see below) - Spodumene pegmatite with pink-brown coloured spodumene crystals ranging in length from 2mm to 15mm (outlined in red), estimated to form 25-30% of the rock sample.

NOTE: Visual estimates of mineral abundance should never be considered a proxy or substitute for laboratory analyses where concentrations or grades are the factor of principal economic interest. Visual estimates also potentially provide no information regarding impurities or deleterious physical properties relevant to valuations.

One spodumene pegmatite float sample (Sample 110025, refer Figure 3d) from the Rubino licence was sent to PetroStrat in the United Kingdom for thin section preparation and description to confirm the visual observation of spodumene in hand specimen and to identify any other lithium-bearing mineral phases present. The petrographic report on this single sample confirmed the field observation of spodumene and that it is the only significant lithium-bearing mineral present (lepidolite recorded as trace) in the thin section. Other lithium-bearing mineral phases could be present in other samples and areas of the permits and detailed mineralogy will be determined during later stages of the exploration programme.

Figure 4: Petrographic summary of spodumene pegmatite sample 110025 from the Rubino licence by PetroStrat (UK) confirming the field visual observation of spodumene. A photograph of this rock sample is shown in Figure 3d.

Soil Sampling

Soil geochemical sampling was undertaken using 100m by 100m spaced grid over the most prospective areas identified by mapping and rock-chip sampling completed by the Company and also over historical mineral occurrences in both the Rubino and Agboville licence areas. The soil sampling was completed in two sampling phases in each tenement; Phase 2 consisting of 3,235 sample sites (1,594 sites sampled at Agboville and 1,641 sites sampled at Rubino) and Phase 3 consisting of 1,440 sample sites (442 sites sampled at Agboville and 1,018 sites sampled at Rubino), the extent of which are shown in Figure 2. The Phase 1 soil sampling programme was a baseline soil programme undertaken along selected sections during reconnaissance mapping, where different sample depths and sieve fractions were tested and the results of which help set the best parameters for subsequent grid soil programmes.

Only the Rubino Phase 2 soil results have been received to date and the lithium-in-soil values clearly delineate pronounced anomalies (refer Figure 5) extending over a 2.5km by 2.0km area where anomalous lithium values between 210ppm and a peak value of 806ppm define the most significant anomalies (refer Appendix 3 for results with values greater than background at 85 ppm; values less than 85ppm lithium are not considered anomalous and are the soil geochemical response associated with the regional country rocks that host the pegmatite intrusives). These lithium anomalies have distinct geometries, with a particularly pronounced 2.5km-long linear cluster of anomalies whose NE-SW orientation follow interpreted local geological contacts between granodiorite and metasediments and also the prominent regional tectonic trend in this part of the Birimian. There is a close spatial relationship between the pronounced linear lithium-in-soil anomalies and the location of spodumene pegmatite float and outcrop discovered in the Rubino licence. These lithium-in-soil anomalies remain open towards the northeast, where the Company awaits results of the Rubino Phase 3 soil sampling. 

Figure 5: Rubino Phase 2 Li (ppm) in soil grid results with spodumene pegmatite discovery sites and associated rock-chip lithia assays.

Next Steps

Additional mapping will be undertaken in the process of evaluating the anomalies identified by the Rubino Phase 2 soil results. Once all the Phase 2 and 3 soil results are received, surface mapping and follow-up auger drill programmes will be planned to map the source of the anomalies below the laterite at surface, with the ultimate goal to define potential reverse circulation and diamond drill targets. Extending the soil sampling with Phase 4 towards the north and over other prospective areas will also be planned.

Strategic Location

The town of Agboville is situated only 80km north of Abidjan, the port and commercial capital of Côte d'Ivoire, and the two licences are well-serviced with existing infrastructure, including excellent paved highways and an operating railway linking Burkina Faso's capital city of Ouagadougou and the port of Abidjan (refer Figure 6 and 7).

Figure 6: Location of the Agboville and Rubino licences held by the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary Khaleesi Resources SARL in Côte d'Ivoire and existing operational infrastructure.

Figure 7: Paved Agboville-Abidjan highway which connects the two licences to the port city of Abidjan.

Geology and Historical Exploration

The two licence areas are underlain by Birimian-aged metasediments intruded by granitic rocks of Eburnean age; the same broad geological setting which hosts the Company's Ewoyaa Lithium Project in Ghana (refer Figure 1) and other spodumene pegmatite deposits in Mali.

Historical geological mapping and a mineral occurrence survey undertaken during the early 1960s by Ivoirian government entity SODEMI identified spodumene in the area of the licences, along with LCT pegmatite-associated minerals beryl, tantalum and columbite, denoting the area as one of only two sites where spodumene had been recorded in Côte d'Ivoire (refer Figure 8). This provided the impetus for the Company to apply for the licences in 2016. Both licences were issued in May 2024.

Both tenement areas are characterised by gently undulating topography with thick tropical vegetation dominated by crop cultivation such as rubber, cacao, oil palm and teak plantations interspersed with food crops of rice, plantain, maize, casava, sweet potato, tomatoes, egg plant and chilli pepper. Deep tropical weathering is prevalent throughout the exploration licences and rock outcrops are rare and invariably of younger granitoid intrusives if encountered.

Figure 8: Historical government geological mapping of the Agboville area (Source: Ministère des Mines et de l'Energie - Direction des Mines et de la Géologie, 1992-1995, Scale: 1;200,000) modified to show mineral occurrences and limits of the Agboville and Rubino licences.

JORC Table 1, Section 1 (Sampling Techniques and Data) and Section 2 (Reporting of Exploration Results) are included in Appendix 4.

Competent Persons

Information in this announcement relating to the exploration results is based on data reviewed by Mr I. Iwan Williams (BSc. Hons Geology), General Manager - Exploration of the Company and reported in accordance with the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves (The Joint Ore Reserves Committee Code - JORC 2012 Edition). Mr Williams is a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists (#9088) who has in excess of 30 years' experience in mineral exploration and is a Qualified Person under the AIM Rules and as a Competent Person as defined in the JORC Code. Mr Williams consents to the inclusion of the information in the form and context in which it appears.

For any further information, please contact:

Atlantic Lithium Limited

Neil Herbert (Executive Chairman)

Amanda Harsas (Finance Director and Company Secretary)

Notes to Editors:

About Atlantic Lithium

www.atlanticlithium.com.au

Atlantic Lithium is an AIM, ASX, GSE and OTCQX-listed lithium company advancing its flagship project, the Ewoyaa Lithium Project, a significant lithium spodumene pegmatite discovery in Ghana, through to production to become the country's first lithium-producing mine.

The Project was awarded a Mining Lease in October 2023, an Environmental Protection Authority ("EPA") Permit in September 2024, and a Mine Operating Permit in October 2024 and is being developed under an earn-in agreement with Piedmont Lithium Inc.

Atlantic Lithium holds a portfolio of lithium projects within 509km2 and 771km2 of granted and under-application tenure across Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire respectively, which, in addition to the Project, comprises significantly under-explored, highly prospective licences.

APPENDIX 1

Rock-chip assay results from the Agboville and Rubino licences.

NOTE: Grid references reported in projection UTM, WGS84, Zone 30N.

APPENDIX 2

Geological map of the Agboville and Rubino licences with rock-chip sample locations marked. Sample IDs are given where assay values >0.2% Li2O were returned, as reported in Table 1.

APPENDIX 3

Soil assay results (Li ppm > 85 ppm), sorted highest to lowest - Li values greater than 210 ppm are deemed extremely anomalous; values below 85ppm are considered background are not reported in this announcement (calculated by means of cumulative probability statistics).