Bearing Announces Settlement of Legal Proceedings Over Maricunga Concessions and Application for CEO

Bearing Announces Settlement of Legal Proceedings Over Maricunga Concessions and Application for CEO

Vancouver, British Columbia - Bearing Lithium Corp. ("Bearing" or the "Company") (TSX Venture: BRZ) (OTCQB: BRGRF) (FRANKFURT: B6K1) is pleased to announce that Minera Salar Blanco S.A. (“MSB”), the operating company for the Maricunga joint-venture project (the “Maricunga Project”), agreed last week to cease legal proceedings which had commenced in early 2018 against the Chilean Government. These related to the issuing of a Special Lithium Operation Contract (“CEOL”) covering its non-grandfathered mining concessions to an unrelated third-party.

The decision to cease proceedings was taken after a positive response received through an official letter (the “Letter”) from the Ministry of Mines of Chile (the “Ministry”) on June 28^th, 2018. The Letter was issued by the Ministry after meetings between MSB's management and the Ministry, and allayed MSB’s concerns over the CEOL licensing process, which was the original motivation behind commencing legal action.

The Letter confirmed MSB’s ability to now formally request a CEOL be granted over its non-grandfathered mining concessions on the Maricunga salar for future exploitation. MSB intends to formally submit its CEOL application to the authorities in August 2018.

This process is in addition to the Chilean Nuclear Commission (CCHEN) permit granted in the beginning of March this year for a period of 30 years over the Maricunga Project’s grandfathered mining concessions. A CEOL is not required for the exploitation of these concessions.

Cristobal García-Huidobro, MSB’s Chief Executive Officer commented: “Minera Salar Blanco has full confidence in and is in agreement with the new government’s vision for the future of the Maricunga salar - confirming its intention to closely collaborate on the development of its Maricunga lithium project in the Atacama Region in Chile. With the project in its final stage of pre-development, with the Environmental Impact Assessment and CEOL application to be submitted this quarter (Q3/18) and the Definitive Feasibility Report is scheduled for release by the end of December 2018. In addition, MSB has had initial discussions with leading Chilean and international institutions with the objective of finalizing project financing in the first half of 2019 (H1/19).”

Jeremy Poirier, Bearing’s CEO and President commented: “This resolution is a very positive development as the CEOL for our non-grandfathered concessions, which we expect to submit next month, coupled with the CCHEN permit received for our grandfathered concessions paves the way for the development of the Maricunga Project. With this issue now resolved, we look to advance discussions with leading financial institutions and potential off-take partners.”