Mr. Blake Hylands reports

LITHIUM IONIC ANNOUNCES APPLICATION FOR MANAGEMENT CEASE TRADE ORDER

Lithium Ionic Corp., further to its news releases dated April 10, 2026, April 13, 2026, and April 20, 2026, has made an application to the Ontario Securities Commission to approve a temporary management cease trade order (MCTO) under National Policy 12-203, Management Cease Trade Orders, which, if granted, will prohibit trading in securities of the company by the chief executive officer and chief financial officer of the company until such time as the required filings (as defined below) have been filed by the company and the MCTO has been lifted. During the period in which the MCTO is effective, the general public, who are not insiders of the company, will continue to be able to trade in the company's listed securities. The MCTO application has been made, but there is no guarantee or assurance that the MCTO will be granted.

As previously disclosed, on April 9, 2026, the principal regulator commenced proceedings involving another reporting issuer and certain directors and officers of the company, who have since resigned as directors and officers of the company. The company is not a respondent in this matter and no orders have been sought against Lithium Ionic. The allegations contained in the proceeding have not been proven.

In response to these developments, the company has formed a special committee of independent members of its board of directors, and management of the company and the special committee have commenced a process to review the allegations and to confirm completeness of the company's financial statements. In light of the principal regulator's proceedings and the timing of its announcement, while the company is completing its internal review, the company's auditor requires additional time to complete its audit of the company's annual financial statements for the year ended Dec. 31, 2025. As a result, the company may be delayed in filing such audited annual financial statements, together with the related management's discussion and analysis, and chief executive officer and chief financial officer certifications, on or before April 30, 2026.

Since April 9, 2026, management, together with its audit committee, has co-operated with the company's auditor to complete the required filings as soon as possible. The company anticipates that it will be in a position to remedy the default by filing the required filings on or before May 14, 2026. The MCTO will remain in effect until the required filings are completed. Should the MCTO application be approved by the principal regulator and the temporary MCTO issued, the company will issue biweekly default status reports, in the form of news releases, for so long as the default described herein remains outstanding, as required by NP 12-203.

About Lithium Ionic Corp.

Lithium Ionic is a Canadian lithium development company focused on responsibly advancing its 100-per-cent-owned Bandeira lithium project in Minas Gerais, Brazil, a region coined the Lithium Valley that is emerging as a world-class hard-rock lithium district. The company is executing on a focused development strategy centred on engineering derisking, 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.

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