Sayona Mining Limited is launching a major new drilling program in partnership with SOQUEM Inc. at the Moblan Lithium Project in Northern Québec, with the aim of further expanding its lithium resource base amid accelerating demand for the key battery metal. The drilling program will commence in February 2022 and will consist of 55 drill holes totalling nearly 9,000 metres. The program is being conducted in partnership with SOQUEM Inc, which holds a 40% stake in the Moblan project, with Sayona holding the remaining 60% interest. SOQUEM will use its in depth knowledge of the project and the region to act as operator. The Moblan project is located about 100km north of the town of Chibougamau and approximately 85 kilometres from the Cree (First Nations) community of Mistissini. The project is accessible yearround via the Route du Nord and its proximity to Chibougamau and Mistissini with their available infrastructure makes it an ideal location for exploring and mining deposits of industrial energy minerals. The program aims to investigate the lateral and shallow extensions of the deposit, which has already been identified over a length of 1.5 kilometres and remains open in all directions. It also aims to test the Moleon areas, as well as several spodumene pegmatite dykes that were investigated during previous prospecting campaigns. Sayona is committed to engaging local communities as the project progresses, including First Nations and other local community members, consistent with its stakeholder engagement approach. Authier drilling: Sayona has developed the leading lithium asset base in North America following its successful acquisitions of NAL and a 60% stake in the Moblan Lithium Project, together with its Authier and Tansim projects. At Authier, recent drilling further enhanced the Company's confidence in the quality and expansion potential of its resource. A 25hole, 3,908m diamond drill program was undertaken with the results of the first 22 holes received. Assay results are expected soon from the additional three holes. Product testing: The purity of the Québec spodumene product has already been confirmed by successful CSIRO tests, which showed Authier spodumene is capable of being processed into 99.99% lithium hydroxide. A portion of these samples were dispatched to Novonix Battery Technology Solutions in Nova Scotia, Canada, for further testing to confirm the product's conformance with commercial battery cells. Testing at Novonix has been delayed due to COVID19 shipping delays and customs clearance issues, however new samples have subsequently been provided from ICS Lithium for retesting in Canada in January. These results are expected to show the product's conformity with lithiumion battery standards and enable performance comparisons in commercial cells suitable for potential offtake partners. WA lithium development: Concerning the Company's Western Australian lithium portfolio, Sayona's earnin partner, Altura Mining (now known as Morella Corporation Limited), has announced the completion of an extensive technical review over the Mallina Lithium Project and the rest of the tenement package related to the earnin in the Pilbara. Drawing upon its geological knowledge and experience in the region, Morella plans to commence drilling at Mallina during the first half of 2022, with the potential to define another key lithium resource. Sayona's Pilbara gold leases are prospective for intrusionrelated gold mineralisation, similar to De Grey Mining's Hemi discovery. Subject to the necessary drilling and heritage approvals, Sayona aims to undertake the first drill testing of these Hemistyle targets in 2022. On the corporate front, Sayona has seen its shareholder base expand enormously over the past year, from approximately 4,600 shareholders in September 2020 to currently around 27,000. The Company's Annual General Meeting is now scheduled for late January 2022 and the Board looks forward to engaging with shareholders on the growth opportunities ahead. Speaking from Québec, Sayona's Mr. Lynch said the outlook was bright for the Company's lithium resource expansion in the Canadian province.