Canada Changes Everything / One Integrated Strategy

Rock Tech has announced a comprehensive strategic shift to prioritize its Canadian lithium operations, marking a significant departure from its previous focus on the German Guben project. The company is developing an integrated mine-to-battery-grade-lithium supply chain in Ontario, combining the wholly-owned Georgia Lake spodumene deposit with the Red Rock converter facility located just 70 kilometers apart.

The Georgia Lake project has achieved a major breakthrough through ore sorting technology developed with Queen's University and STARK Resources. Test results demonstrate the potential to remove 25-45% of waste before processing, uplift feed grades by 1.4-1.8 times, and reduce capital costs by up to 50% while cutting operating costs by approximately 20%. These improvements could transform the project economics significantly beyond the 2022 PFS baseline of US$192M pre-production capital and US$719/t SC6 cash operating costs.

Rock Tech is implementing an innovative GP/LP financing structure for the Red Rock converter, where the company serves as General Partner maintaining operational control while strategic and financial partners provide majority project capital as Limited Partners. Key partnerships include Siemens Canada for digital automation and BMI Group as anchor equity partner with CAD$200M commitment. The Red Rock project shows an NPV of CAD 2.3B with IRRs up to 22% in scoping studies.

The strategic pivot reflects Canada's evolving critical minerals policy framework, including the G7 Critical Minerals Production Alliance, the CAD 25 billion Canada Strong Fund, and bilateral agreements with Germany. Rock Tech is targeting FID for both projects in Q1 2027, with Georgia Lake positioned to become Ontario's first lithium producer approximately 18 months after FID. The company is also pursuing broader market access through XETRA and NASDAQ listings while maintaining its fully-permitted Guben asset for future development under improved German market conditions.