Canada Lithium Announces Commissioning Under Way at Québec Lithium Mine and Process Plant

TORONTO, Dec. 20, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Canada Lithium Corp. (TSX: CLQ) (U.S. OTC: CLQMF) announced today that commissioning has commenced at its open-pit mine and processing facility near Val d'Or, Québec. During the month of November approximately 12,000 tonnes of ore and 380,000 tonnes of waste were mined. The waste material is predominantly used to construct the Tailings Management Facility. The ore has been crushed and stockpiled. Mining operations will continue through the Holiday period.

During December, commissioning of the concentrator has been ongoing. All major circui ts, comprising crushing, conveying, ore storage, ball and rod mills and flotation cells were dry-commissioned early in the month and sequentially wet-commissioned. All major sections of the hydrometallurgical circuit have been installed and are substantially completed and Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC), piping and electrical installation is now underway in this section of the plant.

The EPCM contractor will demobilise a significant proportion of the construction workforce on December 21. A small completion crew will return to site on January 7 to work with the CLQ operations team to finalise the hydrometallurgical installation and assist with the commissioning stages of the project.

The company now has 119 employees on-site and this will build up to approximately 160 personnel over the next few months. At full production, the project will have approximately 200 full-time employees. The planned first shipment of lithium carbonate under the five-year Tewoo off-take agreement is on schedule for end-March 2013. (See press release dated November 12, 2012, for the Tewoo/Canada Lithium agreement.) Full production of the 20,000-tonne-per-annum lithium carbonate processing plant is scheduled for Q4, 2013.


About Canada Lithium Corp.

The Company holds a 100% interest in the Québec Lithium Project near Val d'Or, the geographical heart of the Québec mining industry. Construction is nearing completion on an open-pit mine and processing plant with estimated annual capacity of approximately 20,000 tonnes of battery-grade lithium carbonate. Commissioning is under way and the Company anticipates first production of lithium carbonate late in the first quarter of 2013. A five-year offtake agreement for a minimum of 12,000 tonnes per year up to a maximum 14,400 tonnes was recently signed with Tewoo-ERDC, one of China's largest commodities traders. Lithium carbonate is used in lithium-ion batteries that power consumer electronics (laptops, tablets, etc.) power-grid storage facilities and electric and hybrid vehicles. The Company trades under the symbol CLQ on the TSX and on the U.S. OTCQX under the symbol CLQMF.


Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information is based upon the Company's beliefs, estimates and opinions as at the date of this press release, which the Company believes are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these will prove to be correct. Furthermore, the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking information contained herein if these beliefs, estimates and opinions or other circumstances should change, except as otherwise required by applicable law.

Forward-looking information relates to future events or to future conditions, performance or results of operations and reflects current expectations or beliefs regarding such matters including, but not limited to, information or statements with respect to: (i) the amount of mineral resources; (ii) exploration, development and production activities, including information regarding the potential mineralization and resources; (iii) the amount of future output over any period; (iv) net present value and internal rates of return of the mining operation; (v) assumptions relating to capital costs, operating costs and other cost metrics; (vi) assumptions relating to gross revenues, operating cash flow and other revenue metrics; (vii) assumptions relating to future price and demand for lithium and other macroeconomic metrics; (viii) exploration and development plans, including anticipated costs and timing thereof, time frames for completion, and anticipated time to production; (ix) mine potential and expected mine life; and * sources of and anticipated financing requirements.

All information other than matters of historical fact may be forward-looking information. In some cases, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of words such as "seek", "expect", "anticipate", "budget", "plan", "project", "estimate", "assume", "continue", "forecast", "intend", "believe", "predict", "potential", "target", "strategy", "goal", "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will" and similar words or phrases (including negative variations) suggesting future outcomes or statements regarding an outlook.

Forward-looking information is based upon certain assumptions by the Company or its consultants and other important factors that, if untrue, could cause the actual results, performances or achievements of the Company to be materially different from future results, performances or achievements expressed or implied by such information. Such information is based on numerous assumptions regarding present and future business strategies and the environment in which the Company will operate in the future, including the price of lithium, anticipated costs and ability to achieve goals. Certain important factors that could cause actual results, performances or achievements to differ materially from those in the forward-looking information include, but are not limited to: (i) required capital investment and estimated workforce requirements; (ii) estimates of net present value and internal rates of return; (iii) future demand and market prices for lithium; (iv) receipt of regulatory approvals on acceptable terms within commonly experienced time frames; (v) anticipated timelines for the commencement of production; (vi) anticipated timelines for community consultations and the impact of those consultations on the regulatory approval process; and (vii) future exploration plans and objectives.

By its nature, forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Some of the risks and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking information contained in this press release include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties relating to: (i) the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits and conclusions of economic evaluations; (ii) results of feasibility studies, and the possibility that future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with the Company's expectations, (iii) the outcome of litigation in which the Company is or may in the future become involved; (iv) risks relating to possible variations in reserves, grade, planned mining dilution and ore loss, or recovery rates and changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; (v) mining and development risks, including risks related to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labor disputes (including work stoppages and strikes) or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development; (vi) risks related to the inherent uncertainty of production and cost estimates and the potential for unexpected costs and expenses; (vii) risks related to future commodity demand and price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations; (viii) the uncertainty of profitability based upon the cyclical nature of the industry in which the Company operates; (ix) risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental approvals or in the completion of development or construction activities; * risks related to environmental regulation and liability; (xi) political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; (xii) risks related to the uncertain global economic environment; and (xiii) other risks and uncertainties related to the Company's prospects, properties and business strategy. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking information, readers are cautioned that this list is not exhaustive and there may be other factors that the Company has not identified. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information contained in this press release. All forward-looking information contained in this press release or incorporated by reference herein is expressly qualified by this cautionary note.



Canada Lithium Corp.
Peter Secker, President and CEO
(416) 361-2821

Olav Svela, Director, Investor Relations
(416) 361-2821 or (416) 479-4355 or
email osvela@canadalithium.com

Christine Stewart
Renmark Financial Communications Inc.
(416) 644-2020 or
email cstewart@renmarkfinancial.com

Please visit the Canada Lithium website at www.canadalithium.com or copy the following link into your Web browser to view our Photo Gallery:
http://www.canadalithium.com/s/PhotoGallery.asp.

To view the flotation cells in operation, click on the following link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF8rq7fDCaA&list=PLynMlmjnlYz7_nm41x28qKZuB5RobFwYm

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Corporate Office:
401 Bay Street, Suite 2010, Box 118
Toronto, ON, M5H 2Y4