Lithium Ionic Reports AGM Voting Results, Including Election of Two New Independent Directors

TORONTO, Aug. 20, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lithium Ionic Corp. (TSXV: LTH; OTCQX: LTHCF; FSE: H3N) (“Lithium Ionic” or the “Company”) reports the voting results from its Annual General Meeting of shareholders (the "Meeting") held on August 18, 2026. Shareholders holding 103,969,271 shares or 52.7% of the outstanding shares of the Company were represented at the Meeting.

Shareholders voted in favour of all resolutions put before the meeting, including:

• Fixing the number of directors to be elected at the Meeting at six;
• Re-appointing Deloitte LLP as auditor and authorizing the directors to fix the auditor’s remuneration;
• Ratifying and approving the Company’s stock option plan;
• Approving the Company’s amended restricted share unit and deferred share unit plan; and
• Ratifying and approving the Company’s amended and restated advance notice policy.
  

Shareholders also approved the election of all six director nominees, including new independent directors John Turner and Ernie Ortiz Ortega. Their appointments strengthen Lithium Ionic’s governance, legal, mining transaction and lithium capital markets expertise as the Company advances its 100%-owned Bandeira Lithium Project toward construction readiness and production.

Election of Directors

The following individuals were elected as directors for the ensuing year:

The appointments of Mr. Turner and Mr. Ortiz Ortega add complementary expertise in mining transactions, corporate governance, lithium markets and capital formation at a pivotal stage in Lithium Ionic’s development. A report of voting results for the Meeting will be filed under the Company’s profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.

John Turner

Mr. Turner is a highly respected Canadian mining lawyer with nearly four decades of experience in capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, project finance, and corporate governance across the global resources sector. A Partner at Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP (“Fasken”), Mr. Turner is Co-Leader of the firm’s Global Mining Group and has acted in prominent corporate finance and M&A transactions involving companies active globally. He also brings direct board-level experience in lithium sector consolidation, having served as a non-executive director of Galaxy Resources Limited through its 2021 merger of equals with Orocobre Limited to form Allkem Limited, as a director of Allkem through its US$10.6 billion merger with Livent Corporation to create Arcadium Lithium plc, completed in January 2024, and as a director of Arcadium Lithium, where he chaired the Compensation Committee, through its approximately US$6.7 billion acquisition by Rio Tinto, completed in March 2025. He has also served as Chair of TSX-listed GoGold Resources Inc. since 2019 and as Chair of New Haven Learning Centre, a not-for-profit supporting individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Mr. Turner holds an LL.M. from the University of Cambridge and an LL.B. and a BSc (Hons) from Queen’s University and is a member of the Institute of Corporate Directors.

Ernie Ortiz Ortega

Mr. Ortiz Ortega is an executive in the critical minerals sector, most recently serving as Co-Founder, President, and Chief Executive Officer of Lithium Royalty Corp. (“LRC”). After co-founding LRC in 2018, he led the origination, structuring, and execution of a global portfolio of 38 lithium royalties, including royalties on Zijin Mining’s Tres Quebradas, Sigma Lithium, Elevra’s Moblan, and Ganfeng Lithium’s Mariana and Goulamina projects. Mr. Ortiz Ortega steered LRC through its C$150 million initial public offering on the Toronto Stock Exchange in March 2023, the largest initial public offering completed in Canada that year, and subsequently through its acquisition by Altius Minerals Corporation in March 2026 in a transaction valued at approximately C$573 million. He currently serves as Vice President, Corporate Development and Head of Lithium at Altius Minerals Corporation, is a founding member of the London Metal Exchange Lithium and Cobalt Advisory Committee, and serves on the board of directors of Sinova Global Inc. Earlier in his career, he held lithium-focused research roles at Tide Point Capital Management and Credit Suisse. Mr. Ortiz Ortega is a CFA charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Chicago.

Updated Brand Reflects Lithium Ionic’s Next Phase of Growth

In conjunction with the Meeting, the Company also unveiled a refreshed corporate visual identity designed to reflect Lithium Ionic’s evolution as it advances its flagship Bandeira Lithium Project toward construction readiness and production. The updated brand reflects a collaborative effort between the Company’s Toronto head office and its operations in Minas Gerais, Brazil, and underscores Lithium Ionic’s continued focus on disciplined project development, responsible growth and becoming a near-term Brazilian lithium producer.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of Lithium Ionic Corp.

Blake Hylands
Chief Executive Officer, Director
+1 647.316.2500
info@lithiumionic.com

About Lithium Ionic Corp.

Lithium Ionic is a Canadian lithium development company focused on responsibly advancing its 100%-owned Bandeira Lithium Project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, a region coined the “Lithium Valley” that is emerging as a premier hard-rock lithium district. The Company is executing on a focused development strategy centered on engineering de-risking, permitting advancement, commercial planning, and construction readiness, with the goal of becoming a near-term producer of high-quality spodumene concentrate for global battery supply chains.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains “forward-looking information” within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not historical in nature contain forward-looking information. Forward-looking information can be identified by words or phrases such as “may”, “will”, “expect”, “likely”, “should”, “would”, “plan”, “anticipate”, “intend”, “potential”, “proposed”, “estimate”, “believe” or the negative of these terms, or other similar words, expressions and grammatical variations thereof, or statements that certain events or conditions “may” or “will” happen, or by discussions of strategy. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company’s expectations are risks detailed from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulations. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

The forward-looking information contained herein is made as of the date of this news release and is based on assumptions management believed to be reasonable, including management’s perceptions of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other considerations that are believed to be appropriate in the circumstances. While we consider these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available to management, there is no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.

By its nature, forward-looking information is subject to inherent risks and uncertainties that may be general or specific and which give rise to the possibility that expectations, forecasts, predictions, projections or conclusions will not prove to be accurate, that assumptions may not be correct and that objectives, strategic goals and priorities will not be achieved. A variety of factors, including known and unknown risks, many of which are beyond our control, could cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking information in this news release. Additional risk factors can also be found in the Company’s current MD&A and the Company’s other public filings, all of which have been filed under the Company’s SEDAR+ profile at www.sedarplus.ca. Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement.

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 release or has in any way approved or disapproved of the contents of this news release.