ILC International Lithium Corp

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Feb. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- International Lithium Corp. ("ILC" or the "Company") (ILC:TSXV) is pleased to announce the Company has discovered a high grade lithium, high density pegmatite boulder field on the Company's 100% owned rare metals Blackstairs project ("Property") located 80 kilometres south of Dublin, Ireland.

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Key Point Summary:

• High grade pegmatite boulder field discovered in a recently exposed area at Moylisha;
• Located 500m along trend to the southwest of past pegmatite exploration;
• 4.59%, 3.45% and 3.27% Li2O grab samples collected*; and
• Indicates a potentially sizable, yet to be discovered buried pegmatite body.

"The high-grade lithium pegmatite boulder field identified at Moylisha significantly reinforces the potential to discover buried pegmatite bodies on the Property," states Mike Sieb, President of the Company. "These results, from a cursory investigation, far exceeded expectations and dramatically raise the directive for further work."

Moylisha Discovery

A preliminary reconnaissance of the Property performed by Aurum Exploration Services, the Company's geo-services consultant for the project, discovered within a 250 x 250 metre area a high density distribution of pegmatite boulders. This area is in a recently harvested section of a tree farm in which the pegmatite boulders were previously hidden from view.  Four samples (MOY2-5)* were collected in this new area with three of the samples grading better than 3% Li2O and the highest returning 4.59% Li2O representing greater than a 50% spodumene content.

This newly identified lithium pegmatite boulder area is situated 500m to the southwest and along the district trend from past exploration activities at Moylisha, where five drill holes totalling 212 metres were drilled revealing a pegmatite between 5 and 10 metres in width and a best intersection grading 1.66% Li2O over 9.4m.

The observed high grade lithium bearing pegmatites and extensive boulder occurrence within such a small area represents a highly prospective and unexplored zone along strike from a previously identified pegmatite and specifically indicates a potentially sizable, yet to be discovered buried pegmatite body.

The discovery was made during a preliminary exploration programme that included boulder mapping at six of the known lithium prospects and the initiation of exploration for additional occurrences within the Property.  A total of 21 varied samples were collected across the Property and of the 8 spodumene bearing pegmatite samples collected, all returned greater than 1% Li2O.  The table below lists the 8 highlighted grab samples.

Table 1: Highlighted Grab Samples*

*Grab samples are by definition selective and are unlikely to represent average grades on the property.

Grab sample MOY10 was collected in proximity to the past exploration activity at Moylisha.

The 21 samples were analysed at OMAC Laboratories Ltd., Loughrea, Galway County, Ireland.  OMAC is part of the ALS Group, a recognized and certified international firm for geochemical analysis and assays.  Samples were prepared by OMAC and analysed using ICP-AES following multi-acid digestion.

Blackstairs Project

The Blackstairs project, comprised of eight mineral exploration licences totalling 292 square kilometres, is located 80 km south of Dublin straddling the Counties of Carlow and Wicklow in Leinster, south-east Ireland.  The Property encompasses an extensive NE-SW oriented 50 kilometre long rare metals pegmatite belt situated within the East Carlow Deformation Zone along the eastern side of the Leinster Granite.  Approximately 19 significant lithium pegmatite occurrences have been discovered within the Property to date primarily as boulder trails with five buried pegmatites known through past trenching and drilling.

Lithium bearing pegmatite occurrences were first reported in the area in 1970.  In the period through to 1977, Irish Base Metals carried out a preliminary exploration program comprising prospecting, sampling, trenching and geophysical surveys culminating in 47 short boreholes totalling 2,300 metres at 4 of the 19 lithium pegmatite occurrences over a number of seasons.

Due to the prevalent overburden cover and scarcity of outcrop, prospecting for lithium pegmatite boulders was the most successful exploration method utilised to identify priority target areas.  The relative location, size and quantity of pegmatite boulders within the dry stone field boundaries provided a reliable indication for the approximate position of buried pegmatites.  The Aclare House occurrence, situated in the center of the Property, has witnessed the most exploration activity on the Property and was initially discovered through this exploration approach.

Thirty-three short drill holes totalling 1,703m were drilled at Aclare House.  A pegmatite body up to 20 metres wide and traced for more than 400 metres along strike was delineated and a pre-NI43-101 historical resource of 570,000 tonnes grading 1.5% Li2O was reported.  (A Qualified Person has not done sufficient work to classify the historical estimate as current mineral resources, the issuer is not treating the historical estimate as current mineral resources and the historical estimate should not be relied upon.)

Five drill holes, for a total of 163 metres, were drilled at the Stranakelly occurrence situated proximal to the northeast Property boundary.  Lithium-bearing pegmatite mineralization was intersected in four of the holes with hole STK3 grading 1.85% Li2O over 5.3 metres.

Five drill holes, for a total of 212 metres, were drilled at the Moylisha occurrence situated approximately 10 kms northeast of Aclare House.  The width of the pegmatite body encountered varied between 5 and 10 metres with one hole grading 1.66% Li2O over 9.4 metres.

Four drill holes, for a total of 280 metres, were drilled at the Seskinnamadra occurrence situated approximately 8 kms southwest of Aclare House.  The narrow pegmatite intersections reported from the drilling does not explain the significant frequency and size of the lithium pegmatite boulders mapped in the area that suggests a potentially large yet to be discovered buried pegmatite body.

The observed lithium bearing pegmatites and extensive boulder occurrences within the Property represent a highly prospective and underexplored region.  In addition, the recent discovery of a high concentration of pegmatite boulders reporting grades exceeding 4% Li2O at Moylisha only serve to highlight the exploration potential of the Property.

John Harrop, P.Geo, is the company's Qualified Person on the project as required under NI 43-101 and has reviewed the technical information contained in this press release.

ABOUT INTERNATIONAL LITHIUM CORP

International Lithium Corp. is an international rare metals mineral exploration company with an outstanding portfolio of projects, strong management ownership, robust financial support and a strategic partner, Jiangxi Ganfeng Lithium Co. Ltd., a leading China based lithium product manufacturer, as a keystone investor.

ILC currently has 9 active rare metals projects, well balanced between lithium brines in Argentina and Nevada and hard-rock pegmatites in Canada and Ireland.  The Company's primary focus is the Mariana lithium brine project, a salar or 'salt lake,' covering an expansive 160 square kilometres and strategically encompassing the entire basin.  Mariana is located in the renowned South American 'Lithium Belt' centred on the junction of Argentina, Bolivia and Chile that is host to the vast majority of global lithium resources, reserves and production.  The Mariana lithium brine project ranks as one of the more prospective salars in the region.

Complementing the Company's lithium brine projects are the rare metals pegmatite properties.  The key characteristics shared by the hard-rock rare metals projects are their limited past exploration, excellent accessibility, limited assaying for rare metals, clear potential for additional exploration to add project value and development potential to meet the global technological growth in demand for the rare metals suite of elements.

International Lithium Corp.'s mandate is to increase shareholder value through aggressive advancement of its core projects and to source joint venture partners to expand the scope and diversify risk of its exploration effort.

On behalf of the Board,

Mike Sieb

President – International Lithium Corp.

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. Statements in this press release other than purely historical information, historical estimates should not be relied upon, including statements relating to the Company's future plans and objectives or expected results, are forward-looking statements. News release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements are based on numerous assumptions and are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties inherent in the Company's business, including risks inherent in resource exploration and development. As a result, actual results may vary materially from those described in the forward-looking statements.

Stock Symbol: ILC:TSXV

Shares CUSIP: #459820 10 6

Warrants Symbol: ILC.WT

Warrant CUSIP: #459820 11 4

620 - 650 West Georgia Street

Vancouver, British Columbia

V6B 4N9, Canada

Voice: (604) 687-7551

Fax: (604) 687-4670

1-800-667-4470

E-mail: info@internationallithium.com

Website: http://www.internationallithium.com

SOURCE International Lithium Corp.