VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Sept. 16, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- American Lithium Corp. (“American Lithium” or the “Company”) (TSX-V:LI | OTCQX:AMLIF | Frankfurt:5LA1) is pleased to report that the Falchani Lithium Project pilot-plant has all systems installed and operating. Recent laboratory testing has demonstrated an improvement in lithium recoveries. The pilot-plant, being advanced by TECMMINE in Lima, Peru, marks a key milestone toward derisking the Falchani project by validating the flowsheet at scale.

Highlights:

• The pilot-plant is fully installed with the various components presently being tested with operating systems performing as expected.
• Latest laboratory bench test work run using pilot plant equipment in a semi-continuous process achieved average lithium extraction of 88.7% (range: 88.0%–89.9%), well above the 80.0% recovery utilized in the February 2024 PEA. ⁽¹⁾
• With all flow sheet equipment now installed and tested, the Company is advancing toward full end-to-end flowsheet validation - at scale in a continuous mode, to validate the bench-scale results.
• The pilot-plant is expected to run continuously at target rates for 3+ months, processing 6–10 tonnes of Falchani mineralization.
• Pilot plant results will feed into the future project feasibility work.
  

Dr. Laurence Stefan, President and COO, commented: "The results from the key core processing stages have been very encouraging. The consistency we are seeing gives us strong confidence as we move rapidly toward full pilot plant operations. Every stage we bring online has added to our understanding of how this deposit will perform at scale, optimizing to build on the promising recent results.”

The Company initially prioritized commissioning the plant's core systems and are all operational and performing as expected. The key core systems are — impurity removal, controlled cooling, pre-neutralization, neutralization, crystallization, centrifugal separation, and consumables' reaction management — all now individually validated. Recent laboratory bench test work that used individual components of the pilot-plant in a semi-continuous flow sheet (mainly crystallizers and evaporator) delivered very consistent results. Lithium losses across the alum crystallization, pre-neutralization, neutralization, mechanical evaporation, and precipitation stages were reduced to fractions of a percent per phase, driving the 88.7% overall lithium recovery, which is above the PEA recovery rate noted above. ⁽¹⁾

Falchani's volcanic-hosted lithium mineralization has naturally low impurities, supporting a simple flowsheet capable of producing battery-grade lithium carbonate exceeding 99.5% purity.

Figure 1: Partial View of the Pilot Plant. More Images Here

Qualified Person

Mr. Ted O'Connor, P.Geo., a Director of American Lithium, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

About TECMMINE

TECMMINE E.I.R.L. is a Peruvian metallurgical consulting company based in Lima, Peru with mineral processing and metallurgical testing laboratory facilities and experienced metallurgical personnel led by Eng. Jose Malqui.

About American Lithium

American Lithium is developing two of the world’s largest, advanced-stage lithium projects, along with the largest undeveloped uranium project in Latin America. They include the TLC claystone lithium project in Nevada and the Falchani hard-rock lithium project in southern Peru, which also hosts a globally significant cesium resource, as well as the Macusani uranium project located in the same region. All three projects have completed robust preliminary economic assessments, exhibit significant expansion potential and enjoy strong community support.

For more information, please contact the Company at [email protected] or visit our website at www.americanlithiumcorp.com.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of American Lithium Corp.

“Alex Tsakumis”

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: 604 428 6128

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 press release.

⁽¹⁾Cautionary Note Regarding PEA
Certain technical information in this News Release refers to the results of the PEA prepared for the Project. PEAs are preliminary in nature and include inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. There is no certainty the results of the PEA’s will be realized. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. Additional work is required to upgrade the mineral resources to mineral reserves. In addition, the mineral resource estimates could be materially affected by environmental, geotechnical, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant factors.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward Looking Information
This news release contains certain forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively “forward-looking statements”) within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the business plans, expectations and objectives of American Lithium. Forward-looking statements are frequently identified by such words as "may", "will", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "intend", “indicate”, “scheduled”, “target”, “goal”, “potential”, “subject”, “efforts”, “option” and similar words, or the negative connotations thereof, referring to future events and results. Forward-looking statements are based on the current opinions and expectations of management and are not, and cannot be, a guarantee of future results or events. Although American Lithium believes that the current opinions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable based on information available at the time, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements since American Lithium can provide no assurance that such opinions and expectations will prove to be correct. All forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and subject to a variety of assumptions, risks and uncertainties, including risks, uncertainties and assumptions related to: American Lithium’s ability to achieve its stated goals;, which could have a material adverse impact on many aspects of American Lithium’s businesses including but not limited to: the ability to access mineral properties for indeterminate amounts of time, the health of the employees or consultants resulting in delays or diminished capacity, social or political instability in Peru which in turn could impact American Lithium’s ability to maintain the continuity of its business operating requirements, may result in the reduced availability or failures of various local administration and critical infrastructure, reduced demand for the American Lithium’s potential products, availability of materials, global travel restrictions, and the availability of insurance and the associated costs; the ongoing ability to work cooperatively with stakeholders, including but not limited to local communities and all levels of government; the potential for delays in exploration or development activities; the interpretation of drill results, the geology, grade and continuity of mineral deposits; the possibility that any future exploration, development or mining results will not be consistent with our expectations; risks that permits will not be obtained as planned or delays in obtaining permits; mining and development risks, including risks related to accidents, equipment breakdowns, labour disputes (including work stoppages, strikes and loss of personnel) or other unanticipated difficulties with or interruptions in exploration and development; risks related to commodity price and foreign exchange rate fluctuations; risks related to foreign operations; the cyclical nature of the industry in which American Lithium operates; risks related to failure to obtain adequate financing on a timely basis and on acceptable terms or delays in obtaining governmental approvals; risks related to environmental regulation and liability; political and regulatory risks associated with mining and exploration; risks related to the uncertain global economic environment and the effects upon the global market generally, any of which could continue to negatively affect global financial markets, including the trading price of American Lithium’s shares and could negatively affect American Lithium’s ability to raise capital and may also result in additional and unknown risks or liabilities to American Lithium. Other risks and uncertainties related to prospects, properties and business strategy of American Lithium are identified in the “Risk Factors” section of American Lithium’s Management’s Discussion and Analysis filed on July 30, 2026, and in recent securities filings available at www.sedarplus.ca. Actual events or results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. American Lithium undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements except as required by applicable securities laws. Investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at