Essex Minerals Plans Spin-Out of New Streaming and Royalty Company With a Focus on Renewable Energy

VANCOUVER, April 12, 2021 - Further to the Company's previously announced Framework Financing Agreement with Zola Minerals Inc ("Zola"), a non-arm's length streaming company, Essex Minerals Inc. (the "Company" or "Essex") (TSXV: ESX) (OTCQB: ESXMF) (Frankfurt: EWX1) is pleased to announce that it has elected to be Zola's exclusive financing partner for a new streaming and royalty company with a focus on renewable energy.

The new company will be funded separately to Essex with the founding shares in the new venture to be distributed pro-rata to Essex shareholders. A meeting of shareholders has been called for June 10, 2021 to approve the capital distribution.

Highlights

• Zola has secured exclusive access to a pipeline of long-life renewable energy streams and is in advanced negotiation on additional streams in the renewable energy and metals sectors.
• Essex has undertaken to arrange financing for the streaming venture as follows:
• • Essex is forming a new subsidiary called Optegra Capital Corp ("Optegra") to which it will assign its rights under the Framework Financing Agreement with Zola announced on March 31, 2021.
  • Optegra plans to raise up to $50 million to fund the initial streams after which it will file a non-offering prospectus with the British Columbia Securities Commission and seek a new listing as a Tier 1 Investment Company on the TSX Venture Exchange.
  • Optegra will also have the rights to acquire Zola's current and future rights to other streams being negotiated in the renewable energy, battery and precious metals sectors.
  • It is proposed that approximately $5.6 million in capital will be returned to existing Essex shareholders through the distribution of Optegra shares. The capital distribution is the equivalent of $0.20 per Essex share in share capital, and will occur once the Optegra prospectus is filed and the TSX Venture Exchange has approved the listing.
• It is anticipated that Essex shareholders will hold approximately 10% of Optegra after the capital raise. However, the final capital structure and the respective interests of Essex and Zola will be based on legal and tax advice for each party and will be subject to approval of the TSX Venture Exchange and the independent directors of Essex.
• Essex will remain focused on its existing Australian gold exploration joint venture projects, with budgets and work programs for the 2021 field season currently being finalized.
• The record date for voting on the Optegra share distribution is May 4, 2021, with shareholders of the Company being asked to approve the distribution as a special resolution at the June 10, 2021 shareholders meeting.

Paul Loudon, President and CEO of Essex said: "We are excited that we are able to provide Essex shareholders with this special dividend of shares in a new and exciting streaming and royalty company, with a particular focus on income from renewable energy and battery metals alongside high alpha returns from gold.

"The Optegra shares will have the potential to provide long-term capital growth for Essex shareholders, while Essex shares themselves will continue to provide shareholders with the potential to benefit from the significant upside that a major gold discovery would bring."

About Essex

Essex Minerals is an exploration and development company focused on mineral exploration and development opportunities where it can adopt an option earn-in and joint venture model without the issuance of vendor shares. By identifying geological teams that have already expended the time and capital to assemble top quality, advanced projects, with a particular emphasis on gold projects in Tier 1 jurisdictions. Management's time is shared across several different projects, as the geological teams already in place manage the approved exploration and development programmes. This strategy has the potential to accelerate the growth in shareholder value for Essex by earning an interest in a range of projects of merit in a much shorter time frame than otherwise would be possible.

ON BEHALF OF Essex Minerals Inc.

Paul Loudon
President & CEO

www.essexminerals.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Essex Minerals Inc.