Rock Tech Lithium and Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper Receive 2026 Northern Innovators Award

Rock Tech Lithium and Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper jointly recognized with the 2026 Northern Innovators Award at CENCAN 2026 Award recognizes an innovative Ontario partnership evaluating crude tall oil as a locally sourced flotation reagent for lithium processing Project is supported by the Province of Ontario through the Critical Minerals Innovation Fund and includes research expertise from Queen's University TORONTO , Sept. 9, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Rock Tech Lithium Inc. is pleased to announce that Rock Tech and Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper have jointly received the 2026 Northern Innovators Award, presented by Mining Life & Exploration News at the Cen-Can Expo Gala Dinner in Thunder Bay. The award recognizes the organizations' cross-sector collaboration to evaluate crude tall oil—a by-product of Ontario's pulp and paper industry—as a potential locally sourced flotation reagent for lithium processing. Supported by the Province of Ontario through its Critical Minerals Innovation Fund ("CMIF"), the project brings together Rock Tech, Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper and Queen's University to explore how an existing forestry by-product could be used to support more sustainable, competitive and resilient critical minerals processing in Ontario. "This award recognizes how bringing Northern Ontario industries together can solve practical challenges and create new opportunities," said Mirco Wojnarowicz, CEO of Rock Tech . "Our collaboration with Thunder Bay Pulp and Paper and Queen's University shows the potential for Ontario's strengths in forestry, critical minerals and research to be combined to advance locally developed solutions. We thank Mining Life & Exploration News for this recognition and the Province of Ontario for supporting the project through CMIF." If successfully validated, crude tall oil could provide a more localized source of flotation reagents, create a potential new application for an Ontario forestry by-product and inform future technical and economic optimization of Rock Tech's Georgia Lake Lithium Project. The initiative supports Rock Tech's broader strategy to establish an integrated mine-to-converter lithium supply chain in Northern Ontario, connecting the Georgia Lake Project with the proposed Red Rock Lithium Converter. Additional information regarding the CMIF-supported crude tall oil project is available on Rock Tech's website. About Rock Tech Lithium Rock Tech is enabling the battery age by making the battery industries in Europe and North America more independent and competitive. The Company's goal is to ensure the supply of high-quality, locally produced lithium – supporting a resilient, sustainable, and transparent value chain from mine to battery-grade material. Rock Tech relies on responsible sourcing, state-of-the-art and proven technologies, and a clear focus on circular economy principles. The Company's lithium converter projects in Guben, Germany (24,000 tonnes LHM per year) and Ontario, Canada (up to 32,000 tonnes LCE per year) form the foundation for a stable and regional supply to the battery and automotive industries. The Guben converter has been recognized as a Strategic Project under the EU Critical Raw Materials Act. The raw materials for Rock Tech's converter projects are intended to be sourced exclusively from verifiably ESG-compliant suppliers. In Canada, Rock Tech relies, among other sources, on its wholly-owned Georgia Lake Project, which is intended to provide a stable and sustainable supply for the North American market and is being developed in close partnership with local Indigenous communities.