Essential Metals Limited announced Pioneer Dome Lithium Project update. Visual observation of drill core supports the potential for mining at Dome North to commence at surface with the likely upgrading of shallow Resources from Inferred to Indicated. HIGHLIGHTS: Successful diamond drill programme completed, comprising of six holes drilled into the upper approximately 40m of the Cade Deposit and seven holes drilled into the Davy Deposit for a total of 909 metres.

At Cade abundant fresh spodumene was observed in drill core intersections within the Mineral Resource boundaries. Some weathering is evident within the contact zones between the pegmatite and wall rock as well as where fissures/fractures have facilitated water ingress into the pegmatite. At Davy fresh spodumene was observed in three of the drill holes with variable weathering in the other four holes.

Minor lepidolite was seen in some holes. Assays and XRD analysis are awaited to confirm lithium grades and mineralogy. The drill core is being prepared for dispatch and the laboratory has advised a 12-week turnaround time.

The recently completed air-core programme testing multiple and, in some cases coincident, lithium, gold and nickel targets, did not locate any spodumene-bearing pegmatites, but several pegmatites were intersected in the southern and central areas of the Project. PIONEER DOME LITHIUM PROJECT: The 450km2 Pioneer Dome Project (ESS: 100%) is located in the core of Western Australia's lithium corridor in the Eastern Goldfields, approximately 130km south of Kalgoorlie and 275km north of the Port of Esperance. A Mineral Resource1 of 11.2Mt @ 1.21% Li2O has been defined at `Dome North' in the northern area of the Project.

The southern Yilgarn area is recognised as being well-endowed with spodumene deposits, including the Bald Hill Mine, the Mt Marion Mine and the Buldania Project, all of which are located within 80km of the Pioneer Dome Project. The world-class Greenbushes Deposit, the Mt Holland Mine and the Mt Cattlin Mine are located further west, south-west and south-south-west, respectively. AIR-CORE DRILL PROGRAMME AT DOME NORTH: An air-core (AC) drill programme comprising 29 holes for 1,390m was carried out to test the Heller NE (north-east) and `Davy to Cade' targets generated from the August 2021 slim-line RC programme.

The drilling did not appear to intersect any new spodumene-bearing pegmatites; however, coarse flakes of muscovite were observed in the weathered zone in several drill holes, which is evidence of pegmatitic material. Assay results are expected towards the end of May and will be used to further evaluate the prospectivity of the areas drilled with the objective of determining if any `near misses' of pegmatite bodies occurred. SCOUT AIR-CORE DRILL PROGRAMME: An air-core (AC) reconnaissance drill programme was undertaken in the Dome South (south, south-west and south-east) and Dome Central areas.

The programme comprised 72 holes drilled for a total of 3,000m. The drilling programme aimed to test LCT targets based on pegmatites logged in historical gold and nickel drilling, as well to test additional gold and nickel targets.