Midland Generates New Exploration Targets on Several of Its James Bay Projects and Expands Its Portfolio of Lithium Projects

6 March 2023

Montreal, March 6, 2023. Midland Exploration Inc. (“Midland” or the “Corporation”) (TSX-V: MD) is pleased to report that it has completed a regional targeting study for lithium mineralization in the Eeyou Istchee James Bay region, which is recently highly regarded for its lithium potential and occurrences. New targets were identified on several currently 100% owned Midland projects that were deemed highly prospective for lithium potential, and new projects were also acquired on February 28th, 2023, by map designation for their lithium exploration potential.

Highlights

  • New strong lithium lake bottom sediment anomaly identified on the Komo project, located 20 km west of the James Bay lithium deposit (Allkem);
  • New cluster of strong lithium lake bottom sediment anomalies identified on the Shire project and located along the Lac des Montagnes amphibolites that host the Whabouchi lithium deposit about 60 km further southwest;
  • New strong lithium lake bottom sediment anomaly on the Chisaayuu block (Mythril Regional project);
  • New lithium lake bottom sediment anomalies on the Mythril project;
  • New important claim acquisitions resulting from new targets generated by lake bottom sediment statistical processing.

The new targets are the result of an extensive statistical processing of more than 23,000 lake bottom sediment analyses which were extracted from the Québec government’s digital SIGÉOM database and complemented with additional data from local and higher resolution surveys, such as those completed by Midland. The statistical processing was oriented towards identifying the footprint of lithium-bearing S-type pegmatites and mineralization as well as defining exploration targets. This processing has proven its ability to positively identify lake bottom sediment anomalies around recent lithium discoveries and more advanced projects in Eeyou Istchee James Bay. Other new and similar secondary environment footprints were also identified, thus defining new targets on several active Midland projects while also generating targets and claim acquisitions.

Midland has 4,166 claims totalling 2,163 square kilometres of land positions in Eeyou Istchee James Bay and is among the top claim holders in the region. Four Midland projects, namely Komo, Galinee, Shire and Mythril Regional, were recently identified as highly prospective for their lithium potential based on striking geological similarities with adjacent lithium discoveries and compelling occurrences of lithium (Li), tantalum (Ta) and/or beryllium (Be) in historical rock sampling. Moreover, the statistical study identified new targets on the Komo, Shire, Mythril Regional, and Mythril projects. It should be noted that none of these projects have specifically been explored for lithium in the past. Occurrences of Li, Ta and/or Be noted on each of these projects were found while exploring for other commodities.

Komo Project

The Komo project is located about 20 kilometres west of the James Bay lithium deposit (Allkem). It is located at the contact between the La Grande and Nemiscau geological subprovinces, the same major geological structure that hosts the James Bay lithium deposit and is likely critical for its genesis. Prospecting for gold in 2022 uncovered a Li-Ta-Be pegmatite outcrop that returned 0.04% Li2O, 159 ppm Ta, 396 ppm Be in a grab sample. Furthermore, a strong lake bottom sediment anomaly located along the favourable contact was identified. This target enhances the strong lithium potential of the Komo project when combined with the strongly anomalous Li-Ta-Be values and the very favourable geological setting.

Shire Project

The Shire project is located within amphibolites of the Lac des Montagnes geological Group, which hosts the Whabouchi lithium deposit about 60 kilometres southwest of Shire. The Whabouchi lithium deposit is characterized by a pegmatite intrusion assigned to the Senay granitic Suite that also intrudes amphibolites of the Lac des Montagnes Group. In 2021, the Québec government mapped at least 6 granitic intrusions belonging to the same highly favourable Senay granitic Suite on the Shire project. None of the favourable pegmatitic intrusions have been assayed for lithium. The Shire project is also located at the boundary between the La Grande and Opatica geological subprovinces, a major structure that could be critical for the emplacement of lithium-bearing pegmatites in the area. A cluster of several strong lake bottom sediment lithium anomalies were identified on the project. Historical exploration work by Midland for base metals reported a tourmaline-garnet-bearing pegmatite outcrop that returned a strong anomaly of 399 ppm Be (grab sample), not assayed for Li, Ta, Cs or Rb. The new favourable lake bottom targets combined with geological characteristics and strong hints of metal-bearing pegmatites on the project suggest an important lithium exploration potential.

Mythril Regional Project

The Mythril Regional project is a large project with several extensive claim blocks. The Mythril East claim block is located 7 kilometres northeast and directly on strike with the Corvette pegmatite field (held by Patriot Battery Metals). On another claim block, Chisaayuu, compilation of historical work by Midland revealed strong evidence of Li-Be-Ta pegmatite potential. While exploring for copper in 2022, a pegmatite outcrop returned two strongly anomalous lithium values in grab samples: 0.12% Li2O and 0.04% Li2O.Furthermore, a new tight cluster of lake bottom lithium anomalies was identified near the contact between intrusive granitic rocks and amphibolites on the project. Grab samples of pegmatitic boulders in other claim blocks in the area also returned highly anomalous Li-Ta-Sn values: 0.03% Li2O, 23 ppm Ta, 50 ppm Sn; 0.02% Li2O, 72 ppm Ta. None of these anomalies have been followed up. All of these further suggest a favourable exploration potential for lithium on the Mythril Regional project, which has never been explored for lithium.

Mythril Project

The Mythril project is located a couple of kilometres northwest and north of the Corvette pegmatites worked by Patriot Battery Metals. On this project, Midland discovered the Mythril copper-gold mineral system by prospecting in late 2018 and concluded a strategic investment with BHP Canada Inc. (“BHP”) in the spring of 2019 totalling $5.85 million for copper exploration in Québec. The project was recently the subject of an option agreement for critical elements, including lithium, with Brunswick Exploration Inc. New moderate lake bottom lithium anomalies were identified on the project, which has never been explored for lithium yet.

New Claim Acquisitions

The new claim acquisitions result from new targets generated by the lake bottom sediment statistical processing, combined with a geological assessment of the underlying environment for favourable lithium potential.

The Picard project consists of 65 claims located approximately 66 kilometres northeast of the Whabouchi lithium deposit and 9 kilometres north of the Shire project. The project includes a cluster of several anomalous lake bottom sediments with anomalies up to > 99.5th percentile of the entire database. The project is also located over wacke-derived paragneiss and tonalitic rocks containing muscovite-bearing granitic intrusions nearby, north of an important structure at the northern edge of the Lac des Montagnes Group.

The Warp project consists of 112 contiguous claims located approximately 63 kilometres east of the Whabouchi lithium deposit. The project includes strongly anomalous lake bottom sediments with several anomalies up to > 99.5th percentile of the entire database. The project is located within the Opatica Subprovince where pegmatites intruding tonalitic rocks were recently identified by government mapping in 2021. This area is vastly underexplored.

The Sulu project consists of a total of 175 claims spread across two blocks, respectively located approximately 40 and 50 kilometres northwest and north of the Moblan lithium deposit. Both blocks are located within portions of the Opatica Subprovince covered only by limited regional-scale mapping. The general unit covering both blocks is described as a “granite hosting pegmatites and paragneiss inclusions.” The Sulu SW block (22 claims) covers a strong lake bottom anomaly with a calculated value above the 99.5th percentile. The Sulu NE block also contains several lake bottom anomalies that are in the same percentile range. This area is vastly underexplored and poorly mapped but hosts anomalous lithium values in lake bottom sediments.

Midland is currently planning exploration programs on these projects and will provide a more detailed update of these programs in the coming weeks.

Cautionary statements:

Note that grades from grab samples and erratic boulders are not necessarily indicative of mineralized zones.

Mineralization occurring at the Corvette, Whabouchi, Moblan and James Bay lithium deposits is not necessarily indicative of mineralization that may be identified on properties held by Midland described in this press release.

About Midland

Midland targets the excellent mineral potential of Quebec to make the discovery of new world-class deposits of gold and critical metals. Midland is proud to count on reputable partners such as BHP Canada Inc., Rio Tinto Exploration Canada Inc., Wallbridge Mining Company Ltd, Probe Gold Inc., Agnico Eagle Mines Limited, Osisko Development Corp., SOQUEM Inc., Brunswick Exploration Inc., Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund, and Abcourt Mines Inc. Midland prefers to work in partnership and intends to quickly conclude additional agreements in regard to newly acquired properties. Management is currently reviewing other opportunities and projects to build up the Corporation portfolio and generate shareholder value.

This press release was prepared by Mario Masson. P.Geo., VP Exploration for Midland and Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, who also approved the technical content of this press release.

For further information, please consult Midland’s website or contact:

Gino Roger, President and Chief Executive Officer
Tel.: 450 420-5977
Fax: 450 420-5978
Email: info@midlandexploration.com
Website: www.midlandexploration.com

Neither 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.

This press release may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to vary materially from targeted results. Such risks and uncertainties include those described in Midland’s periodic reports including the annual report or in the filings made by Midland from time to time with securities regulatory authorities.

Documents:

MARIO MASSON, P. GEO.

V.P. Exploration

More than 30 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec.

Mario Masson holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from the Université de Montréal. Before joining Midland’s team, Mario worked several years has a geologist at Nipadex and Muscocho. In 1990, he started working for Noranda Exploration in Matagami has a Project Geologist and was a part of the team that found the Orchan West and Bell Allars deposits. He was also involved in the discovery of the Perseverance deposit in the Matagami Mining Camp in 2000. After this discovery, Mario and his team win the PDAC Bill Dennis Award in 2001. From 2002 to 2007, he was in charge of the exploration activities in the Noranda Mining Camp has a Senior Geologist for Noranda Inc – Falconbridge ltée – Xstrata Copper. In addition, he was also involved in the discovery of the West Ansil deposit in the Noranda Mining Camp in 2005, which allowed the Falconbridge ltée exploration team to win the Prospector of the Year award at the QMEA. Since January 2008, he is a part of Midland Exploration team as VP Exploration.

Gino Roger, ing.

President,CEO, Director

Since November 1, 2006, Gino Roger has been President and CEO of Midland Exploration Inc. In 1990, he obtained his Bachelor’s degree from Laval University in Geological Engineering. . From May 1990 to October 2006, Mr. Roger was a senior and regional project geologist for Xstrata, Falconbridge and Noranda. He actively participated in the generation, acquisition and negotiation of a number of projects and the discovery of base metal deposits. He mainly worked in Quebec, Ontario, BC-Yukon and Sweden on different metallogenic projects and environments: gold, VMS, Sedex, MVT and IOCG. He and his team received the prestigious QMEA prospector of the year award in 2005 for the discovery of the West-Ansil deposit. Mr. Roger is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. He acted as an administrator of the Quebec Mineral Exploration Association (QMEA) for more than 28 years and is still an administrator of CONSOREM.

Jean-Pierre Janson

Chairman of the Board

Since 2019, Jean-Pierre Janson has been a consultant for Richardson Wealth Limited. From 2005 to 2019, he was Senior Director, National Wealth Management, at Richardson GMP Limited. He has also been a director and Chairman of the Board of Midland Exploration Inc. since 2005. Over the past 30 years, Mr. Janson has served as Managing Director at CIBC Wood Gundy Financial Services (Quebec) Inc. (Eastern Canada) and held executive positions at Merrill Lynch Canada Inc. and Midland Walwyn Inc. He has also been a director of Tri Origin Exploration Ltd. since May 2004 and a trustee of BTB Real Investment Trust since September 2007. In addition, he is a director of SIDEX s.e.c. and Harfang Exploration. In over 30 years in the financial services industry, he has built a reputation of trust and respect.

RENÉ BRANCHAUD

Secretary and Director

René Branchaud holds an LLB from Université Laval obtained in 1982. He has been a lawyer since 1983 and is a partner of the law firm Lavery, de Billy L.L.P. He has a vast experience as secretary and director of mining corporations.

INGRID MARTIN

Chief Financial Officer

Ingrid Martin holds a Bachelor in Business Management from the École des hautes études commerciales (HEC), in Montréal, Quebec. She is a member of the Order of Chartered professional accountants of Quebec since 1990 and possesses a vast experience as consultant for public companies. She acts, also, as Chief Financial Officer of Vior Inc. Mrs. Martin is devoting 40% of her time to Midland Exploration.

PAUL ARCHER

Director

Paul Archer has a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Engineering and a Master’s degree in Earth Science. He has more than 35 years of experience in the mining industry, particularly in exploration for gold and base metals in Archean terrains. He developed his expertise working with various companies, including Shell Minerals, Noranda Exploration, Northgate Explorations, Westminer Canada and SOQUEM, where he was Regional Manager for Northern Quebec. On May 1, 1996, Mr. Archer joined Virginia Mines as Vice-President of Exploration and Acquisitions and Director. Mr. Archer was actively involved in the discovery and development of the Eleonore project, from the preliminary field campaign through to the sale of the deposit to Goldcorp. In November 2014, he joined Osisko’s management team following the Osisko/Virginia merger. He was elected President of the Quebec Prospectors Association in 1996 and 1997. Over the years, Mr. Archer has received, on behalf of Virginia, several prestigious prizes, including the Bill Dennis Award from the PDAC in 2006 for the discovery of the Eleonore deposit.

ANNIE DUTIL

Director

Annie Dutil is a member of the Quebec CPA Order and is Nomad’s corporate controller. Ms. Dutil brings over 15 years of extensive mining knowledge, specifically in the areas of public accounting, compliance with financial information obligations and regulatory matters. Prior to joining Nomad, Ms. Dutil has held a number of positions at PwC, including a role as director where she has led the Capital Markets and Accounting Advisory Services group in Montréal. In her current and previous roles, she has assisted several companies in their capital markets activities, including initial public offerings, financings, cross-border transactions and complex accounting and regulatory matters. Ms. Dutil is the co-founder of the Montreal chapter of Women in Mining and is involved in many community and philanthropic activities, currently serving as a member of the Board of Directors of Factry, the School of the Creative Sciences, and Théâtre de la Banquette Arrière.

Jean des Rivières

Director

Mr. Jean des Rivières holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Geology from Université du Québec à Montréal and a Master’s degree of Science in Geology from École Polytechnique de Montréal affiliated to the University of Montreal. He has over 35 years of diversified experience in the exploration and mining industries while working in more than 50 countries touching base and precious metals. He most recently held the position of global Vice President Metals Exploration at BHP and previously held managerial and technical positions at Rio Algom, BHP, and Noranda. With BHP, Mr des Rivières chaired the Inclusion and Diversity committee of the Americas. After a successful career, he recently joined the board of directors of First Majestic Silver Corp., Montero Mining and Exploration Ltd., and Midland Exploration Inc.

JEAN-FRANÇOIS LARIVIÈRE, P.GEO.

Project geologist

More than 20 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec.

Project geologist for Midland Exploration, Jean-François holds a PhD from Université du Québec à Chicoutimi in Mineral resources, specialist in zinc-bearing mineralization with an expertise in metallogeny of metalliferous deposits.

RICHARD ST-CYR, P. GEO.

Project geologist

More than 30 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec, British Colombia and Dominican Republic.

Project Geologist for Midland Exploration since 2012, Richard holds a Bachelor degree in Resources Geology from Université du Québec à Montréal. Before joining Midland’s team, he was a Project Geologist for Services Technominex – Aurizon Mines, Sirios and Unigold on several gold exploration projects. Between 1997 and 2006, he worked has a Project Geologist (5 years) and Technical Director (4 years) for the Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund. At the beginning of his career, Richard worked as a Prospector for SOQUEM, Virginia Gold / Barrick Gold on gold projects in James Bay and Northern Quebec. He was also involved in the exploration of the Eskay Creek discovery in British Colombia.

LOUIS-PHILIPPE RICHARD, P.GEO.

Project geologist

More than 10 years of experience in mineral exploration in Quebec.

Project geologist for Midland Exploration, Louis-Philippe holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology from Université Laval. Prior to joining the team, he worked 4 years for Nemaska Exploration / Monarch Resources / Nemaska Lithium in the Nemiscau area where he managed and participated exploration campaigns for lithium, gold and base metals. He also participated in the development of the Whabouchi lithium project.

Romain Deflin, P.Geo.

Project Geologist

Project Geologist for Midland Exploration, Romain Deflin holds a degree in geological engineering from l’ENSG (École National Supérieure de Géologie in Nancy) and a master degree in Mineral Resource Exploration from Université de Lorraine. He completed a 4 months internship with Midland before joining the team permanently in 2019.

Philippe Allard, Geo. M.Sc.

Project geologist

More than 20 years of experience in mineral exploration in Québec, Canadian Arctic, and Dominican Republic.

Project Geologist for Midland Exploration since May 2019, Philippe holds a Bachelor degree in Geology and a master in Earth Sciences from UQAM (Université du Québec à Montréal). Before joining Midland’s team, Philippe worked as an Exploration Geologist for Goldcorp, Ressources Sirios, Unigold and the Nunavik Mineral Exploration Fund (NMEF). At the beginning of his career, he also worked as an assistant geologist and a geologist for Virginia Gold Mines, Cambiex, Miramar Mining, Noranda Exploration, SOQUEM and Services Miniers du Nord on gold and base metals projects, mainly in James Bay. Moreover, he was at the origin of the discovery by prospection of the Cheechoo deposit in James Bay in 2010.

SYLVAIN TRÉPANIER, P.GEO.

Geologist Consultant

More than 20 years of experience in mineral exploration and research in Quebec.

Sylvain Trépanier holds a Bachelor’s degree in Geology, a Master’s degree in Earth Science and a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Software Engineering from Université du Québec à Montréal. Sylvain began his career for Noranda in 1995 and worked on various projects in Quebec until 2001. From 2004 to 2012, he worked has a research geologist at CONSOREM. During his years working at CONSOREM, he has carried out numerous research projects applied to mineral exploration and has developed expertise recognized in Quebec in various fields related to exploration: lake-bottom, streams and tills sediments geochemistry, alterations lithogeochemistry, statistical data processing and potential mineral evaluation by artificial intelligence. He is the author of several scientific articles, research reports and public presentations. He designed and developed the Lithomodeleur software for geochemistry treatment, which is now widely used in Quebec by exploration companies, governments and universities. From 2012 to 2016, he worked for Virginia Mines and Osisko Gold Royalties as a Senior Research Geologist and was involved in most of the company’s projects in James Bay and the Labrador Trough. He is co-recipient of the QMEA Jean-Descarreaux Award in 2011 with the CONSOREM team. Mr. Trépanier joined Midland in November 2016 as a VP Exploration James-Bay/Northern Quebec.