Standard Lithium secures additional landholdings with permitted brine producer at Bristol Dry Lake

Aerial view of the Bristol Dry Lake Lithium Project. — Photo courtesy Standard Lithium Ltd.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 12, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Standard Lithium Ltd. (“Standard Lithium” or the “Company”) (TSXV:SLL) (FRA:S5L) (OTCQX:STLHF) is pleased to announce that its wholly owned subsidiary, California Lithium Ltd., has signed an amendment agreement with National Chloride Company of America (“National Chloride”) that significantly expands the Company’s land position in the Bristol Dry Lake Lithium Project by approximately 6,000 acres, to a new total of approximately 25,000 acres.

This new amended agreement continues all the economic terms of the previous lease agreement with National Chloride, with the additional requirement that the Company will be responsible for ongoing carrying costs associated with the Additional Claims which may be owed to the Bureau of Land Management or any applicable state or county authorities in the State of California. Under the terms of the original Lease Agreement the Company also has an option to lease access to approximately 3,000 acres of private land held by National Chloride and its affiliates.

The National Chloride claims lie adjacent and contiguous to the roughly 4,000 acres of placer mineral claims comprising the Company’s existing Mojave Lithium Project. National Chloride and others have mined the near-surface brines to produce concentrated chloride products for various industrial applications for close to 100 years and, as a result, the area has excellent mining infrastructure. There is electric power and water on the property. A major paved road crosses the western edge of the property, and there is a rail siding within 5 km. The property is situated approximately 200 km from Las Vegas, and 330 km from the port of Los Angeles.

Standard Lithium CEO, Robert Mintak stated “Standard Lithium is delighted to continue and expand our business relationships with our trusted brine processing partner, National Chloride. The expansion of our optioned landholding in the Bristol Dry Lake Lithium Brine Project is in areas of the salt lake where we have recently completed geophysical exploration, and we understand that the additional ground is underlain by an extremely deep basin that contains concentrated, highly conductive brine. The timing of this expansion is important, as we are currently mobilising drilling crews to the project site, and will be starting quantitative resource assessment work very shortly.”

For further information regarding the Bristol Dry Lake Lithium Project, readers are encouraged to review the Company’s news release of May 4th, 2017. For further information regarding the Mojave Lithium Project please see the Company’s Technical Report compiled in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 dated September 15, 2016 and available under the Company’s profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Standard’s value creation strategy encompasses acquiring a diverse and highly prospective portfolio of large-scale domestic brine resources, led by an innovative and results-oriented management team with a strong focus on technical skills. The Company is currently focused on the immediate exploration and development of the Bristol Dry Lake Lithium Project located in the Mojave region of San Bernardino County, California; the location has significant infrastructure in-place, with easy road and rail access, abundant electricity and water sources, and is already permitted for extensive brine extraction and processing activities. The Company is also commencing resource evaluation on its 33,000 acres of lithium brine leases located in the Smackover Formation.

Standard Lithium is listed on the TSX Venture under the trading symbol “SLL”; quoted on the OTCQX under the symbol “STLHF”; and on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol “S5L”. Please visit the Company’s website at www.standardlithium.com.