Avalon Advanced Materials Announces Commencement of Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") for Avalon's Thunder Bay Lithium Conversion Facility
Avalon Advanced Materials Announces
Commencement of Preliminary Economic
Assessment ("PEA") for Avalon's Thunder Bay
Lithium Conversion Facility
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 16, 2024) -
Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.
(TSX: AVL)
(OTCQB: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has engaged DRA
Americas Inc., a 100% owned subsidiary of DRA Global ("DRA") to commence a Preliminary Economic
Assessment ("PEA") of a lithium hydroxide conversion facility.
The Project will be administered under AVL's wholly owned subsidiary Lake Superior Lithium Inc.
The
PEA will consider feed sourcing of high-grade lithium concentrates from various sources.
The lithium
conversion facility will feature the environmentally friendly Metso lithium conversion technology. This study
will include lithium concentrate reagent receiving and storage, processing, and site infrastructure as well
as shipping/handling of product and byproduct off site.
The Metso lithium conversion technology is being deployed globally with two currently under construction
and expected to be operational from 2025.
The Metso innovative technology is an acid-free lithium
conversion approach that eliminates the use of hazardous reagents and produces a byproduct that is a
mixture of sand and limestone. The byproduct material can be used in the production of construction
materials.
In June of 2023, Avalon purchased "a crown jewel" brown field industrial site within Canada located at
965 Strathcona Avenue in the heart of Thunder Bay, Ontario.
The 100% owned site is a 383 Acre site
and has direct access to all infrastructure needs including access to 80-100 MW of electrical power,
natural gas, town water and sewer, rail and two on site rail spurs, road access near the Trans Canada
Highway, and an open water port on the shore of Lake Superior.
The proposed production level of the facility would be based on similarly designed units and is
anticipated to be in the order of 30,000 tonne per year lithium hydroxide (LiOH) production with an
operating life of over 20-years.
The facility would be designed to produce both lithium hydroxide and
lithium carbonate to address demand for the down stream consumers.
Avalon has engaged DRA as the lead consultant to work closely with the Company, its technology
partner Metso and all subcontractors and concentrate supply partners.
DRA will provide overall
coordination of the PEA pulling together and integrating all aspects of the project.
Avalon Chief Executive Officer Scott Monteith commented, he is pleased to see the PEA kick off.
"The
forecasted battery manufacturing capacity is expected to increase over the coming years as world EV
and battery utilization becomes more mainstream.
The decision to pursue production of battery grade
lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate is driven by continued strength in lithium battery demand and
North American supply chain needs for high quality product produced in North America."
About DRA Global
DRA Global Limited is an international multi-disciplinary engineering, project delivery and operations
management group, predominantly focused on the mining, minerals, and metals industry.
The Group has an extensive track record spanning almost four decades across a wide range of
commodities. Our teams have deep expertise in the mining, minerals, and metals processing industries,
as well as related non-process infrastructure such as, water, and energy solutions.
DRA covers all major mining centres with offices across Africa and the Middle East, North and South
America, and the Asia-Pacific.
About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.
Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is a Canadian advanced manufacturing company focused on vertically
integrating the Ontario lithium supply chain.
The Company, through its joint venture with SCR-Sibelco NV,
is currently developing its Separation Rapids lithium deposit near Kenora, ON, while also continuing to
advance the Snowbank lithium and Lilypad lithium-caesium projects.
Avalon is also working to develop
its Nechalacho rare earths and zirconium project located in the Northwest Territories.
This deposit
contains critical minerals for use in advanced technologies in the communications and defense
industries among other sectors.
In addition to these upstream activities, Avalon is executing on a key initiative to develop Ontario's first
midstream lithium hydroxide processing facility in Thunder Bay, ON, a vital link bridging the lithium
resources of the north with the downstream EV battery manufacturing base in the south.
For more information and media inquiries, contact Zeeshan Syed, President, Avalon Advanced
Materials Inc., at 416-364-4938 or
.
Forward-Looking Information
This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian
securities legislation.
Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to statements related to the
PEA timing, administration and content, that the proposed production level of the facility would be based
on similarly designed units and is anticipated to be in the order of 30,000 tonne per year lithium
hydroxide (LiOH) production with an operating life of over 20-years, that the facility would be designed to
produce both lithium hydroxide and lithium carbonate, and completion of the Company's business
objectives, and the timing, costs, and benefits thereof.
Generally, forward-looking information can be
identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "add" or "additional", "advancing",
"anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "appears", "believes", "can be", "conceptual", "confidence",
"continue", "convert" or "conversion", "deliver", "demonstrating", "estimates", "encouraging", "expand" or
"expanding" or "expansion", "expect" or "expectations", "forecasts", "forward", "goal", "improves",
"increase", "intends", "justification", "plans", "potential" or "potentially", "promise", "prospective",
"prioritize", "reflects", "robust", "scheduled", "suggesting", "support", "top-tier", "updating", "upside", "will
be" or "will consider", "work towards", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain
actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".
Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that
may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be
materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including risks
associated with mineral exploration and development operations such as: environmental hazards and
economic factors as they affect the cost and success of the Company's capital expenditures, the ability
of the Company to obtain required permits and approvals, the ability of the Company to obtain financing,
uncertainty in the estimation of mineral resources, uncertainty with respect to the ability to successfully
construct and develop the Company's lithium processing facility, the price of lithium, no operating history,
no operating revenue and negative cash flow, land title risk, the market price of the Company's
securities, the economic feasibility of the Company's mineral resources and the Company's commercial
viability, inflation and uncertain global economic conditions, uncertain geo-political shifts and risks,
successful collaboration with indigenous communities, changes in technology and advancements in
innovation may impact the development of the Company's technology innovation centre and its lithium
hydroxide processing facility, future pandemics and other health crises, dependence on management
and other highly skilled personnel, title to the Company's mineral properties, the ongoing war in Ukraine
and Israel, extensive government and environmental regulation, reliance on artificial intelligence
technology to influence mining operations, volatility in the financial markets, uninsured risks, climate
change, threat of legal proceedings, as well as those risk factors discussed or referred to in the annual
information form of the Company dated November 28, 2023 (the "AIF") under the heading "Description
of the Business - Risk Factors". Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions,
estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and perception of
trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management
believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made,
but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and
expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be
placed on forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that such
expectations will prove to be correct. In addition to other factors and assumptions identified in the AIF,
assumptions have been made regarding, among other things: management of certain of the Company's
assets by other companies or joint venture partners, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration and
development activities without undue delays or unbudgeted costs, the ability of the Company to obtain
sufficient qualified personnel, equipment and services in a timely and cost effective manner, the ability of
the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner, the ability of the Company to obtain all
necessary financing on acceptable terms and when needed, the accuracy of the Company's resource
estimates and geological, operational and price assumptions on which these are based and the
continuance of the regulatory framework regarding environmental manners. Readers are cautioned that
the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions that may have been used.
Although the
Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially
from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to
be as anticipated, estimated or intended.
There can be no assurance that such information will prove to
be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such
information.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.
The
Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with
applicable securities laws.
To view the source version of this press release, please visit
https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/205603