Additional Critical Mineral Potential Confirmed with 95.9% Cesium and 86.9% Rubidium Extraction at Bonnie Claire Lithium Project
12:00 Uhr | ACCESS Newswire
VANCOUVER, March 25, 2026 - Nevada Lithium Resources Inc. (TSXV:NVLH)(OTCQB:NVLHF)(FSE:87K) ("Nevada Lithium" or the "Company") is pleased to provide a technical update on its 2026 metallurgical program at its 100% owned Bonnie Claire Lithium project (the "Project" or "Bonnie Claire"), located in Nye County, Nevada.
Nevada Lithium's CEO, Stephen Rentschler, comments:
"I am pleased to announce that the opportunity to produce additional critical minerals at Bonnie Claire continues to grow. Recently completed lab work has confirmed very high cesium and rubidium extraction rates from pregnant leach solution (PLS). This PLS was generated by the recovery flow sheet developed for the Bonnie Claire Preliminary Economic Assessment, as announced by Company news release, dated August 6, 2025.
Following the successful leaching of cesium and rubidium, an initial test of two ion exchange resins resulted in a successful proof of concept recovery method. The Company is confident that the ion exchange recovery method can be improved upon with trials of additional resin chemistry and further flow sheet development. A follow-on work program to optimize cesium and rubidium recovery is currently being evaluated by Nevada Lithium's technical team.
Cesium and rubidium grades are strongly correlated to high grade lithium and boron in the lower mineralized zone at Bonnie Claire, (see Company news release dated September 17, 2025). Therefore, there is no expectation of increased mining costs to deliver these additional critical minerals to the processing plant for recovery. The results of further metallurgical testing, and the capital requirements required for commercial production of cesium and rubidium, will be evaluated as part of the Company's upcoming preliminary feasibility study.
Using the knowledge gained from this successful cesium and rubidium analysis, a work program to determine the potential for rare earth elements recovery (REE) at Bonnie Claire is currently under design. We remain focused on creating additional shareholder value in the development of the Bonnie Claire Lithium Project, located in one of the world's premier mining jurisdictions, Nevada, USA.
Highlights
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Successful extraction of critical minerals: 95.9% Cesium (Cs) and 86.9% Rubidium (Rb) recovery from high-grade composite sample.
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Current Flowsheet confirmed: Cs and Rb are leachable from the lithium clay ore under the existing baseline conditions; 700 kg/t sulfuric acid addition, a leaching temperature of 90°C, and a residence time of 4 hours.
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Counter-current leach applicability: The counter-current leach configuration adopted in the 2025 PEA resulted in a reduced overall 450 kg/t acid requirement for lithium and boron recovery, and is expected to be sufficient for cesium and rubidium leaching.
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Recovery by Ion Exchange demonstrated: Proof-of-concept experiments for Cs & Rb recovery completed using the initial selection of two ion exchange resins.
Previous Work
The Company disclosed significant critical Cs and Rb mineralization in the Lower Zone at Bonnie Claire in its September 17, 2025 news release. Notable Cs and Rb assays were present in all holes, including 248ppm Cs over 318.5ft (BC 2401C), together with and 313ppm Rb over 298.5ft (BC 2401C). Both Cs & Rb grades display a strong positive correlation with lithium (Li) and boron (B) grades.
The Company announced a metallurgical program in its December 11, 2025 news release. The program was intended to investigate cesium and rubidium extraction based on the flowsheet outlined in the Company's 2025 Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA).
Current program
The present work was conducted by Kemetco Research Inc. to supplement the metallurgical data generated for the PEA. A previously prepared composite sample from the earlier program was re-assayed to determine concentrations of cesium, rubidium, and other rare earth elements. The cesium and rubidium head grades were 226 mg/kg and 297 mg/kg, respectively, while the lithium grade of the composite sample was 5,055 mg/kg. Based on these results, confirmatory leaching tests were performed under leaching conditions consistent with the earlier Bonnie Claire metallurgical work to quantify the extraction of Cs and Rb into solution.
The present work utilized leaching conditions previously established during metallurgical testwork on Bonnie Claire lithium clays. The baseline conditions consisted of approximately 700 kg/t sulfuric acid addition, a leaching temperature of 90°C, and a residence time of 4 hours. This achieved extractions of up to 95.9% for Cs and 86.9% for Rb. This test showed that Cs and Rb are readily dissolved under the applied acid leach conditions.
Proof-of concept ion exchange (IX) tests were conducted on representative process solutions to evaluate the separation behavior of cesium and rubidium and to assess their potential recovery from lithium-bearing process streams. Two ion-exchange (IX) resins were evaluated for the selective Cs & Rb recovery.
Discussion
Overall, the results confirm that Cs and Rb can be effectively leached into solution and partially recovered using unoptimized ion exchange.
The current results confirm the extraction of additional critical minerals, with 95.9% Cs and 86.9% Rb, comparable to 98% Lithium (Li) and 97% Boron (B) extraction obtained previously from the same high-lithium composite sample.
The current testwork confirms the effectiveness of the current flowsheet, using the same baseline conditions; 700 kg/t sulfuric acid addition, a leaching temperature of 90°C, and a residence time of 4 hours. The counter-current leach configuration adopted in the 2025 PEA resulted in a reduced overall 450 kg/t acid requirement for lithium and boron recovery, and is expected to be sufficient for cesium and rubidium leaching.
Cs & Rb The recovery by Ion Exchange has been demonstrated, using the first two resins tested. Further work is recommended to expand beyond proof of concept.
About Cesium and Rubidium
Cesium and rubidium are used across a wide range of specialist uses including atomic clocks, cancer therapy, photoelectric cells, specialty glasses, and drilling fluids. Current cesium & rubidium sources include the minerals pollucite & lepidolite, found in zoned pegmatites, along with potassium-bearing minerals and brines.
QP Disclosure
Jeff Wilson, PhD, FGC, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Nevada Lithium, is the "Qualified Person" as such term is defined in NI 43-101, who has reviewed and approved the technical information in this news release, and is not independent of the Company. The Qualified Person has reviewed and verified the scientific and technical information disclosed herein, including the sampling, analytical and metallurgical test data, through review of the Laboratory's report and discussions with the Laboratory.
The metallurgical results described in this news release are a summary of the testwork completed by Kemetco Research Inc., of Richmond, BC (the "Laboratory"), including assays, acid leaching tests and scoping ion exchange (IX) tests on a previously prepared composite sample from an earlier program. The results are described in a report prepared by the Laboratory for the Company. The testwork was generated by the Laboratory using its standard procedures for sample preparation, assaying and metallurgical testing applicable to this type of material. Quality assurance and quality control measures applied by the Laboratory include internal standards, blanks and duplicates in accordance with its laboratory protocols. The Laboratory is independent of the Company.
About Nevada Lithium Resources Inc.
Nevada Lithium Resources Inc. is a mineral exploration and development company focused on shareholder value creation through its core asset, the Bonnie Claire Lithium Project, located in Nye County, Nevada, where it holds a 100% interest.
The Company recently filed a PEA on the Bonnie Claire Lithium Project. The PEA has an effective date of March 31, 2025 and presents a $6.829 billion after-tax Net Present Value ("NPV") at an 8% discount rate, based on $24,000/tonne Li2CO3, $950/tonne boric acid, together with a 32.3% after-tax Internal Rate of Return ("IRR"). Results of the PEA were announced in the Company's news release, dated August 6, 2025. The PEA is preliminary in nature and includes Inferred Mineral Resources that are too speculative geologically to be classified as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the results of the PEA will be realized.
For further information on Nevada Lithium and to subscribe for updates about Nevada Lithium, please visit its website at: https://nevadalithium.com/
On behalf of the Board of Directors of Nevada Lithium Resources Inc.
"Stephen Rentschler"
Stephen Rentschler, CEO
For further information, please contact:
Nevada Lithium Resources Inc.
Stephen Rentschler
CEO and Director
Phone: (647) 254-9795
E-mail: sr@nevadalithium.com
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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This news release contains forward-looking statements and forward-looking information (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. These statements relate to matters that identify future events or future performance. Often, but not always, forward looking information can be identified by words such as "could", "pro forma", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "should", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", "potential" or variations of such words including negative variations thereof, and phrases that refer to certain actions, events or results that may, could, would, might or will occur or be taken or achieved.
The forward-looking statements contained herein include, but are not limited to, statements regarding: the performance of the Project and the results and assumptions of the PEA, including projected economics, production rates, mine life, capital costs, operating costs, internal rate of return, net present value, payback period, sensitivity analyses, and the potential for optimization of project economics and value enhancement opportunities; potential to recover rare earth elements as a by-product of the Project; the potential development of the Project, including future permitting, feasibility studies, and development activities; mineral resource estimates, the potential to convert inferred mineral resources to indicated or measured mineral resources, and future exploration activities with the potential to expand mineral resources; mining methods, production targets, and processing strategies; the impact of new tax provisions and regulatory changes; market conditions and commodity prices for lithium carbonate and boric acid, including sustained lithium demand and prices; and the Company's ability to finance the development of the Project.
making the forward looking statements in this news release, Nevada Lithium has applied several material assumptions, including without limitation: sustained market fundamentals resulting in continued lithium and boron demand and favorable commodity price assumptions for lithium carbonate and boric acid; the receipt of any necessary permits, licenses and regulatory approvals in connection with the future development of Bonnie Claire in a timely manner and Nevada Lithium's ability to comply with all applicable regulations and laws, including environmental, health and safety laws, supported by political and regulatory stability in Nevada, USA; the availability of financing on suitable terms for the development, construction and continued operation of Bonnie Claire; the Project containing mineral resources and the accuracy of the Mineral Resource Estimate; the reliability of the PEA and its underlying assumptions; the successful application of the HBHM method; metallurgical recovery rates of 85% for lithium and 48% for boron; and capital and operating cost estimates.
Investors are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts but instead reflect Nevada Lithium's management's expectations, estimates or projections concerning future results or events based on the opinions, assumptions and estimates of management considered reasonable at the date the statements are made. Although Nevada Lithium believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, such information involves risks and uncertainties, and undue reliance should not be placed on such information, as unknown or unpredictable factors could have material adverse effects on future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by Nevada Lithium. Among the key risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are the following: fluctuations in commodity prices, including lithium and other mineral commodities; uncertainties inherent in mineral resource and reserve estimates; uncertainties inherent in mineral resource and reserve estimates, including possible variations in ore grade or recovery rates; risks associated with the development and operation of mining projects, including operating and technical difficulties, possible failures of plants, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated, and accidents; regulatory and permitting risks, including delays or inability to obtain necessary approvals, permits, consents or authorizations, and changes in laws, regulations and policies affecting mining operations; environmental risks and liabilities; financing and liquidity risks, including requirements for additional capital; market and economic conditions, including changes in general economic, business and political conditions and financial markets; competition in the lithium and boron markets; infrastructure and logistics challenges; geopolitical risks and changes in government policies; labour disputes and other risks of the mining industry; currency fluctuations; title disputes or claims; limitations on insurance coverage; timing and possible outcome of pending litigation; risks relating to epidemics or pandemics such as COVID-19, including the impact of COVID-19 on Nevada Lithium's business; as well as those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Nevada Lithium's latest Management Discussion and Analysis and other filings of Nevada Lithium filed with the Canadian securities authorities, copies of which can be found under Nevada Lithium's profile on SEDAR+ at www.sedarplus.ca.
Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those described herein as intended, planned, anticipated, believed, estimated or expected. Although Nevada Lithium has attempted to identify important risks, uncertainties and factors which could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be others that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Nevada Lithium does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information except as otherwise required by applicable law.
SOURCE: Nevada Lithium Resources Inc.
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