Dear investors,
Thank you for your continued interest in International Battery Metals as we progress in building
momentum on multiple fronts to grow and reach new markets. Please see below several developments since our last
Investor Update, including our stock’s new home and welcoming newly elected board directors.
Toronto Stock Exchange Listing
Our recent listing on the TSXV marks the latest milestone for IBAT and underscores the value of our
sustainable, low-cost, quick-to-build, elegantly-designed DLE technology. Follow us on LinkedIn as we celebrate by ringing the bell at the
Market Opening on December 17.
The exchange’s motto is “where ideas and innovation meet capital,” which perfectly encapsulates why we
moved our listing to TSXV. This more mature exchange enables us to embark on a new phase of capital raising as
we explore new commercial partnerships, usher in new governance, and engage with a broader array of industry
stakeholders. We are glad that our trading symbol “IBAT” remains unchanged, and shareholders were not required
to take any action in connection with the TSXV listing and the Canadian Securities Exchange delisting.
Welcoming new directors
We greatly appreciate the participation of shareholders in the October 31 AGM, which included election
of three new members of our board of directors: James “Jim” Schultz, Keith Solar and John Souther. Their fresh
perspectives, expertise and insights will further illuminate our path forward as we expand commercialization.
See below highlights of the experience they are bringing us:
- Jim is founder and managing partner of Open Prairie Ventures, Inc., a private equity firm
focused on U.S. agriculture and other businesses in rural areas.
- Keith is a partner of Parks & Solar, LLP, and represents public and private clients
primarily in connection with water rights and water-related issues.
- John is CIO of Carrier Global Corporation’s HVAC Americas and CHVAC EMEA segment. He previously
served as a director of PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Shareholders also re-elected as directors Dr. John Burba, our Founder and Chief Technology Officer,
and Jacob Warnock, who represents EV Metals, which holds 16.22% of IBAT’s issued shares.
We also want to thank outgoing members of the board, Tony Colletti, Daniel Layton and William M.
Webster IV, whose dedication and expertise proved invaluable as we transformed from a direct lithium extraction
(DLE) technology company to a commercial operator.
Operational updates
Our first commercial production of battery-grade lithium chloride, co-located at U.S. Magnesium’s site
near Salt Lake City, Utah, registered as a milestone for IBAT. “As the very first IBAT customer, I can share
that the IBAT technology produced lithium chloride brine that, after further processing in our carbonate plant,
produced battery-grade lithium carbonate,” Ron Thayer, president of US Mag President, affirmed.
We truly appreciate the opportunity US Mag provided for us to have staked our
ground as the first commercial DLE operations in North America, proving the effectiveness of our low-cost
extraction technology even at this complicated lithium resource.
Subsequently, U.S. Mag decided to temporarily suspend its operations due to the current lithium
carbonate pricing environment, and especially due to its rising costs related to the production of its lithium
containing leachate from the source waste material.
We now are exploring several pending opportunities for relocation of the plant. This includes
evaluations of several sites in the Smackover region with different levels of maturity. Our preference is a site
with existing infrastructure for almost immediate mobilization.
This pivot also shows the value of our agile, modular technology. Its small footprint and scalable
design provide speed to market at the lowest CAPEX and OPEX. Our patented, proprietary technology selectively
absorbs lithium from brine without chemicals, recycling up to 98% of water, making it the most sustainable
method for lithium extraction. We plan on completing a white paper, based on US Mag results and additional
testing soon.
As we examine business model options, we are revisiting our patent strategy plan. We also are
beginning to evaluate opportunities offered by the Department of Energy’s Office of Manufacturing and Energy
Supply Chains pursuant to Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40207(b): Battery Materials Processing Grants.
Our growth requires organizational changes as well. Effective Nov. 16, 2024, our U.S. headquarters
will move to Plano, Texas, from Houston. We hired a general counsel, Ms. Norma Garcia, who comes to us with over
20 years of experience in a variety of roles, including compliance, litigation, and governance, in both the
private and public sectors. We are expecting to hire a Director of Engineering by the end of this month. We expect bringing our core legal work in-house will reduce
legal costs substantially. We also retained Greenberg Traurig as our U.S. securities law firm, and are
consulting with mineral rights lawyers, to assess opportunities.
Engaging New Stakeholders
We are proactively growing our share of voice as a thought leader in lithium extraction. We recently
spoke at in three major events: Financial Times’ Mining Summit in London, Reuters Industrial Decarbonization
North America 2024 conference in Pittsburgh and Fastmarkets’ European Battery Raw Materials Conference 2024.
Stakeholder outreach opportunities like these are critical for to discussing how DLE can reshape the lithium
supply chain and raising awareness of our value proposition in the mining and energy transition spaces.
At the Reuters event, Dr. Burba and I hosted a DLE workshop where we led a curated discussion about
the challenges with traditional mining and other DLE technologies and the advantages of our proprietary DLE
technology. Our workshop was filled to capacity with participants ranging from clean tech investors, major
mining companies, oil and gas producers, and leading industry analyst firms.
New horizons
IBAT is on the leading edge of making a positive, transformative impact. We are ready to deploy
cleaner, affordable, simple, elegant and modular, commercial lithium today for a more sustainable future.
Thank you for your continued support and investment in our company.
Sincerely,
Iris Jancik
CEO