Critical Minerals for Clean Technologies

Despite the fact that we normally consider batteries when discussing lithium, it’s not the one utilization for the factor. Excessive-purity lithium can also be a required element for glass-ceramic purposes. Lithium minerals throughout the Separation Rapids Venture deposits include the excessive purities obligatory for glass-ceramic merchandise.

President and CEO, Don Bubar, has understood the significance of a diversified asset portfolio for over a decade. But, he stays pleasantly shocked by the demand for each mineral they’ve been concentrating on for a few years. Bubar states, “I figured a while in the past, it made sense to maintain us diversified and be ready to react shortly if there’s sudden new demand for one in every of these crucial minerals. It was a method we have had for the final ten years — however I by no means anticipated they’d all be in demand on the identical time. We’re now beginning to make the most of the most effective alternative — our lithium challenge.”

Avalon Superior Supplies’ different tasks goal property starting from tin to uncommon earth oxides. The one hundred pc owned East Kemptville Tin Venture is actively being explored and comprises tin and indium in addition to copper, zinc and lithium. The challenge is present process a preliminary financial evaluation to information its growth. The corporate additionally has three pipeline tasks that may obtain extra consideration sooner or later.

An skilled and educated administration crew leads the corporate. Bubar, CEO {and professional} geologist, has labored within the mining trade since 1977 and has led Avalon Superior Supplies since 1995. Jim Andersen, CFO, brings 30 years of expertise in company finance to information the corporate’s growth. Andersen is joined by Cindy Hu, chartered skilled accountant and controller, who has expertise in wealth administration for each private and non-private firms. The technical crew Contains Zeeshan Syed, VP, Exterior Affairs with useful resource expertise in Alberta and former expertise in authorities. He’s joined by senior metallurgist Georgi Doundarov who has over 30 years of intensive managerial, operations, technical expertise worldwide, and supervisor of ESG and sustainability Amiel Blajchman who has over 19 years’ expertise in environmental and social influence evaluation and group engagement.

Firm Highlights

• Avalon Superior Supplies is a Canadian-based mineral exploration and growth firm with property concentrating on a number of crucial minerals, together with lithium and tin.
• The corporate’s whole portfolio consists of property situated in secure jurisdictions all through Canada.
• The corporate’s flagship challenge, Separation Rapids, is poised to produce Ontario’s first lithium refinery and create a home provide chain for the crucial mineral. It strategically aligns with the Ontario Important Minerals technique, main sustainability options with its distinctive lithium petalite deposit in Northwestern Ontario.
• The petalite deposit can doubtlessly serve each the worldwide glass-ceramics trade and the electrification sector.
• Don Bubar, president and CEO, had the foresight to accumulate property masking a number of crucial minerals. Consequently, whereas the race to carbon neutrality heats up, the corporate is able to provide the important minerals that producers want.
• Avalon Superior Supplies is a Canadian enterprise that has been in enterprise for over 25 years, specializing within the crucial minerals sector.

The high-grade lithium challenge has the potential to produce two distinct lithium markets: glass-ceramics and vitality storage. The challenge covers 9,172 acres and is one hundred pc owned by Avalon Superior Supplies. The corporate is at present conducting a feasibility examine and exploring the property for extra lithium pegmatite assets.

Primarily based on this useful resource, Avalon Superior Supplies is growing Ontario’s first lithium refinery. Its manufacturing strategically aligns with the Ontario Important Minerals technique that helps inexperienced options and native financial alternatives. As soon as in manufacturing, this facility can assist develop a safe, home provide for this crucial mineral.

Avalon Superior Supplies is main sustainability options by means of its lithium petalite deposit in Northwestern Ontario. It has the capability of serving each the worldwide glass-ceramics trade and the electrification sector. The power to course of this mineral to make a number of merchandise offers alternatives for a number of income streams.

Venture Highlights:

• Strong Infrastructure: The challenge has street entry and is shut to scrub hydro-power, permitting for lithium manufacturing with little waste and environmental impacts.
• Important Exploration Accomplished: Avalon Superior Supplies acquired the property in 1996 and has expended over C$15 million on exploration and growth. Exploration contains 69 exploration drill holes and extra work centered on tantalum potential.
• Good Useful resource Estimates: As of 2017, the challenge is indicated to include at the least 10 million tonnes of ore with 1.37 % lithium and 0.3 % rubidium oxide. This information is predicated on 72 drill holes drilled between 1997 and 2017.

Positioned in Nova Scotia, the one hundred pc owned East Kemptville Tin Venture covers 10,000 acres of promising tin and indium deposits. Tin is required in a number of rising applied sciences and is taken into account essentially the most impacted by them, as it’s required in renewable energies, robotics, and EVs.

Venture Highlights:

• Redeveloping Beforehand-Mined Oxides: Along with conventional exploration and growth, the challenge additionally contains re-developing the historic 5.87 million tonne ore stockpile that had been deemed economically impractical on the time. With present costs, it’s believed that it’s now possible to course of this ore to get better tin concentrates utilizing new sensor based mostly ore-sorting know-how.
• Substantial Useful resource Estimates: A 2018 useful resource estimate revealed an indicated 22.97 million tonnes of tin ore with a cutoff grade of 0.10 %. The cutoff grade was decided based mostly on previous mining exercise within the challenge. There are additionally roughly 20 million tonnes of wastes that may now be re-processed to get better tin, copper, zinc, indium, lithium and doubtlessly gallium and germanium.
• Financial Feasibility in Progress: The earlier financial evaluation was promising, however it’s believed that there are a number of alternatives for enchancment, corresponding to superior ore sorting know-how. The corporate is at present awaiting a brand new financial feasibility examine together with securing full floor rights to develop a sorting plant.

The tasks above are receiving many of the firm’s centered consideration, however it additionally holds three different property for future exploration and growth.

Highlights for Upcoming Initiatives:

• Nechalacho: Positioned within the Northwest Territories, the polymetallic asset is believed to include uncommon earth parts, lithium, and tantalum. The property covers 14,228 acres.
• Lilypad Cesium-Tantalum: The challenge is one hundred pc owned by Avalon Superior Supplies and comprises cesium, tantalum, and lithium. Historic exploration signifies the presence of comparatively excessive concentrations of tantalum and cesium in comparison with most lithium pegmatites.
• Warren Township Feldspar: The challenge is close to street and rail infrastructure that grants easy accessibility to markets in Southern Ontario and Northeastern United States. It comprises calcium feldspar, which is used for reinforcing glass fiber.

Administration Crew

Donald S. Bubar – President and CEO

President and CEO Don Bubar is a geologist with over 40 years of expertise in mineral exploration and growth in Canada. Bubar has a bachelor’s of science diploma from McGill College and a grasp’s of science from Queen’s College. From 1984 to 1994, he labored for Aur Assets as exploration supervisor and later vice chairman of exploration. Bubar has been president and CEO of Avalon Superior Supplies since 1995. He served as a director of the Prospectors and Builders Affiliation of Canada (PDAC) for 9 years and chair of its Aboriginal Affairs Committee from its creation in December 2004 till retiring from the PDAC board in March 2013. All through his profession, he has been an advocate for elevated Indigenous participation within the mineral trade, first by means of the PDAC, and later by means of the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. As well as, Bubar serves on the Advisory Board to the College of Science of McGill College and on the board of administrators of PDAC’s earth science schooling program; Mining Issues.

R.J. (Jim) Andersen – CFO, Vice President of Finance, and Company Secretary

Jim Andersen is a chartered skilled accountant with 30 years of expertise within the mining trade. He graduated with excessive distinction from the College of Toronto with a bachelor’s of commerce diploma, then began his profession with the mining companies crew at Coopers & Lybrand in Toronto, Ontario. He obtained his chartered accountant designation in 1993, after having positioned twentieth in Ontario on the 1992 Uniform Ultimate Examination. Andersen started his personal accounting apply in 1994 and was in control of Avalon Superior Materials’s audit from 1996 to 2000, previous to becoming a member of the corporate as its CFO in 2001.

Cindy Hu – Controller

Cindy Hu joined Avalon Superior Supplies in 2007, previous to which she was a senior supervisor with the accounting agency Andersen & Firm. She is a chartered skilled accountant with over 20 years of expertise in public accounting apply and monetary reporting, primarily for junior public firms and personal wealth administration portfolios. Hu earned her bachelor’s of commerce diploma from Laurentian College in 1996.

Georgi Doundarov, M.Sc., P.Eng, PMP, CCP – Senior Metallurgist

Georgi Doundarov has over 30 years of intensive managerial, operations, technical, challenge, and monetary expertise in Canada, Europe, and Asia. His expertise covers the entire life cycle of a mine from research, engineering, building, commissioning and operations to closure. As well as, he has in-depth technical experience in course of engineering, plant design, building, commissioning and closure, challenge and operations administration, plant analysis and optimization, NI 43-101 compliant feasibility research, metallurgical testing. He additionally has experience in analysis and growth for base, valuable, ferrous, and specialty metals and industrial minerals. Certified Individual beneath NI 43-101, Skilled Engineer of Ontario, Licensed Venture Administration Skilled (PMP) beneath the PMI, Licensed Price Skilled (CCP) beneath the AACEI.

Zeeshan Syed – Vice President of Exterior Affairs

Zeeshan Syed is a graduate of the London Faculty of Economics with a grasp’s of comparative politics and economics diploma. He has over fifteen years of multi-sector govt management and brings deep experience as a global enterprise growth knowledgeable, local weather change negotiator, nonprofit founder, and pure assets regulator. This offers Syed with a novel perspective of an vitality system more and more marked by change and disruption. Previous to becoming a member of Avalon Superior Supplies in 2019, Syed was centered on public-private partnerships and administration in public service, the nonprofit sector, and politics. He has served within the Workplace of the Prime Minister, with the Authorities of Alberta, and with the United Nations Secretariat.

Amiel Blajchman – Supervisor of ESG and Sustainability

Amiel Blajchman is an expert agrologist and a Canadian knowledgeable in environmental and social influence evaluation and group engagement. He has over 19 years’ expertise working for personal sector shoppers, Indigenous communities, authorities businesses, mining firms. Blajchman has expertise working with worldwide multilateral banks in managing the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) dangers of complicated, high-profile tasks.

Blajchman refined his experience throughout senior roles main Cedar Water Technique, an ESG consulting agency. He served as lead sustainability govt with a number of mining firms, managing greater than 50 worker departments with annual budgets of higher than US$14 million. Amiel has delivered influence evaluation coaching to trade, group, and authorities, serving as a senior advisor to federal Deputy Ministers. He has a powerful fame for achievement within the trade with a confirmed monitor file managing pure useful resource sector tasks. Blajachman has expertise working in over 9 international locations on 4 continents and is fluent in each French and English. Presently, he’s the vice chair of Ve’ahavta: Jewish Humanitarian Response, chair of Ve’ahavta threat administration and governance committees, and has served on varied different charitable boards. Bajchman has additionally been concerned in growing home emission buying and selling rules and greenhouse fuel (GHG) offset methods.

Amin Dhillon – Director of Communications

Amin Dhillon joins Avalon after a decade working in nationwide media. She has intensive expertise working with manufacturers and media retailers to create and produce digital media content material and branded communications. Her media work makes a speciality of sharing tales that concentrate on variety and inclusion. Dhillon graduated from the College of Manitoba with a level in commerce.

Employees and Consultants

• Ron Malashewski, P.Eng (AB), Neighborhood Relations Advisor, Kenora
• David Marsh, FAusIMM (CP), Senior Consulting Metallurgist
• William Mercer, Ph.D., P.Geo, Consulting Geologist
• Chris Pedersen, P.Geo., Consulting Venture Geologist
• Mark Wiseman, BSc (Hon), MBA, Sustainability Advisor
• Mary Leung, Workplace Supervisor