International Battery Metals Ltd. Commences Closing to Acquire Intellectual Property Related to Oil Field Brine Lithium Extraction

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - March 22, 2018) - International Battery Metals Ltd (CSE: IBAT) ("IBAT" or The "Company"), a company specializing in lithium extraction from oilfield brines, announced today that it has commenced closing on the Definitive Share Exchange Agreement with Selective Adsorption Lithium, Inc. (SAL) and North American Lithium, Inc. (NAL) announced on March 5, 2018 (see news release). 

The Company has begun finalization of the transaction by making the required payments to NAL for NAL's proprietary documents and data related to locations of candidate oilfield brines that are compatible with IBAT's patent pending third-generation extraction technology. All parties are now proceeding with completing the remaining documentation to finalize the transaction. 

John Burba, the incoming chairman and chief executive officer of the Company, stated "These deliveries and payments are major steps forward in closing this transaction. I look forward to developing this unique proprietary technology for lithium extraction within the Company and building long term value for Company shareholders." 

"This commencement of closing, along with the recent filing of a patent application, are strategic steps for the Company in developing the extraction technology and system designs for deployment in the United States and other countries". Burba also commented that "Our patent filing was the first of many that the Company is working on to protect our third-generation technology as we begin building our intellectual property portfolio and optimizing our processing techniques. These filings and our rapid development of this technology will help to ensure the Company's competitive leadership in the lithium extraction arena." 

About IBAT 

IBAT is an advanced technology company focused on lithium brine extraction. The company is in the process of creating and applying intellectual property related to lithium extraction from oilfield brines for petro-lithium extraction projects. IBAT's unique extraction process is environmentally friendly, low cost, and has the potential to produce high-quality, commercial grade lithium at a much faster rate than the current industry standards. 

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD 

"Logan Anderson"
Logan Anderson, CEO and Director
Phone: (778) 939-4228 

Forward-looking statements 

This news release of International Battery Metals, Ltd., Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada (the "company") includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based upon the current beliefs and expectations of the company's management and are subject to significant risks and uncertainties. There can be no guarantees with respect to pipeline products that the products will receive the necessary regulatory approvals or that they will prove to be commercially successful. If underlying assumptions prove inaccurate or risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results may differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. 

Risks and uncertainties include but are not limited to, general industry conditions and competition; general economic factors, including interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations; the impact of regulation and legislation in the United States and internationally; global trends toward cost containment; technological advances, new products and patents attained by competitors; challenges inherent in new product development, including obtaining regulatory approval; the company's ability to accurately predict future market conditions; manufacturing difficulties or delays; financial instability of international economies and sovereign risk; dependence on the effectiveness of the company's patents and other protections for innovative products; and the exposure to litigation, including patent litigation, and/or regulatory actions. 

The company undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Additional factors that could cause results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements can be found in the company's Annual Report and the company's other filings with the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) available at the CSE's Internet site (www.thecse.com).