Lithium Africa names Dr. Thomas Benson CEO

Lisbon, Portugal--(Newsfile Corp. - June 22, 2026) - Lithium Africa Corp. (TSXV: LAF) (FSE: 6MQ) (OTCQB: LTAFF) (" Lithium Africa " or the " Company ") is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Thomas Benson as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. The Company expects to provide a corporate update regarding the leadership transition following Dr. Benson's appointment. Dr. Benson joined the board of directors of the Company (the " Board ") in April 2026 and will continue to serve as a director.

He currently serves as Vice President of Global Exploration at Lithium Argentina AG (TSX: LAR) (NYSE: LAR) (" Lithium Argentina ") and will continue to support Lithium Argentina in an advisory capacity following his transition to Lithium Africa. Tyron Breytenbach, P.Geo, co-founder and current Chief Executive Officer of Lithium Africa, will step down as Chief Executive Officer and a director effective July 1, 2026 and transition to the role of Capital Markets Advisor. In this role, Mr. Breytenbach will remain actively engaged with the Company to support continuity across capital markets activity, strategic relationships, and growth priorities.

Mr. Breytenbach commented, "Building Lithium Africa alongside our partners and team has been a privilege of my career. The Company is now well-capitalized, well-partnered, and positioned for its next phase of growth, and I am proud to hand the reins to someone whose technical leadership has helped shape where we are today." Dr. Benson commented: "I am grateful to Tyron and the Board for the support and the opportunity to lead Lithium Africa as we enter the next phase of growth. My focus now is to build Lithium Africa into a leading exploration company through disciplined capital allocation, rigorous technical evaluation, and the same lithium-specific, cutting-edge exploration methods I have applied at some of the world's largest lithium deposits.

By drilling priority targets and advancing them through clear technical decision points, and by drawing on the expertise of our local African teams, we aim to define large-scale lithium resources and create long-term value for shareholders, host countries, and local communities." Sam Pigott, President and Chief Executive Officer of Lithium Argentina AG, further commented: "Tom has been integral in helping Lithium Argentina define several of the largest lithium brine resources globally. We're delighted he'll continue supporting our team and wish him every success in leading Lithium Africa." About Dr. Thomas Benson Dr. Benson is an internationally recognized lithium exploration leader. As Vice President of Global Exploration at Lithium Argentina AG, and previously in the same role at Lithium Americas Corp., he led exploration and resource development on the Thacker Pass Project (Nevada, USA) — now the largest NI 43-101 compliant lithium resource and reserve in the world 1  — and on the Caucharí-Olaroz and Pozuelos-Pastos Grandes brine systems in Argentina, both of which rank among the largest lithium resources globally and are in production and development, respectively. 2  He has built deep technical and commercial experience working with Ganfeng Lithium across multiple joint ventures and has led major institutional due diligence processes on lithium projects at every stage of development.

Dr. Benson has served as Geological Advisor to Lithium Africa since 2023 and joined the Board in April 2026, contributing to project identification, acquisition, and exploration strategy across the Company's African portfolio. Dr. Benson holds a Ph.D. from Stanford University focused on volcanology and lithium systems, and a Bachelor's degree in geology from Harvard University. He has held research affiliations with MIT, Columbia University, and the Iceland Geological Survey as a Fulbright Scholar, has published in Nature and Science , and in 2025 served as Editor for two special issues of Economic Geology focused on lithium deposits.

Restricted Share Unit ("RSU") Grant In connection with his appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Benson will be granted 750,000 RSUs of the Company, subject to the Company obtaining disinterested shareholder approval at the upcoming AGM to be held on August 21, 2026 and acceptance by the TSX Venture Exchange. About Lithium Africa Corp. Lithium Africa has established a 50/50 joint venture partnership with GFL International Co., Ltd. to advance lithium exploration across Africa. Through this partnership, the Company holds an indirect 50% interest in a portfolio of hard rock lithium assets across South Africa, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, and Zimbabwe.

For more information, please visit www.li-africa.com . ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF LITHIUM AFRICA CORP. Carl Esprey, Executive Chair For further information regarding the Company, contact: Jeanne Liu, Corporate Communications at investors@li-africa.com , 1.604.771.7125 Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this news release that are not historical facts may be forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities legislation, including statements in respect of the Company's leadership transition, Dr. Benson's appointment as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Breytenbach's continued role as Capital Markets Advisor, Dr. Benson's continued advisory role with Lithium Argentina, the proposed RSU grant and acceptance thereof by the TSX Venture Exchange, and the Company's plans and programs for its exploration portfolio in Africa. These forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

In addition, the forward-looking statements require management to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. There is significant risk that the forward-looking statements will not prove to be accurate, that the management's assumptions may not be correct and that actual results may differ materially from such forward-looking statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements.

Generally forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of terminology such as "anticipate", "will", "expect", "may", "continue", "could", "estimate", "forecast", "plan", "potential" and similar expressions. These forward-looking statements are based on a number of assumptions which may prove to be incorrect which, without limiting the generality of the following, include: the ability to raise funds through private or public equity financings; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive regulatory approvals; risks inherent in exploration activities; the impact of exploration competition; unexpected geological conditions; changes in government regulations and policies, including trade laws and policies; failure to obtain necessary permits and approvals from government authorities; volatility and sensitivity to market prices; volatility and sensitivity to capital market fluctuations; environmental and safety risks including increased regulatory burdens; weather and other natural phenomena; and other exploration, development, operating, financial market and regulatory risks. The forward-looking statements contained in this press release are made as of the date hereof or the dates specifically referenced in this press release, where applicable.

Except as required by applicable securities laws and regulation, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable securities laws. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. 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 release. 1  Based on Lithium Americas Corp.'s news release dated January 7, 2025, titled "Lithium Americas Increases Mineral Resource and Reserve for Thacker Pass," and the independent NI 43-101 technical report titled "NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Thacker Pass Project Humboldt County, Nevada, USA," effective December 31, 2024. 2  Based on Lithium Argentina's news release dated March 11, 2026, titled "Lithium Argentina Expands Cauchari-Olaroz Resource Estimate; Supports Stage 2 Development Plan," and Lithium Argentina's news release dated November 10, 2025, titled "Lithium Argentina and Ganfeng Announce PPG Scoping Study Results and Stage 1 Environmental Approval." To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/302138 Newsfile Corp. June 22, 2026 - 4:00 AM PDT News by QuoteMedia www.quotemedia.com