The NEWS Release has a TIDBIT of Considerable Importance__That being the Mention of
Concentrate Supply PARTNERS.
I do NOT Recall ANY MENTION has EVER BEEN Made regarding ANY Supply Partners
and This IS one of the 2 ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS if Avalon Will EVER ACHIEVE the Goal
of the TBay Plant__The OTHER Being the NEED to Get the 100s of Millions Capital Cost
for the Plant
So Far ALL the OTHER Lithium Companies in the TBay area are INDICATING they ALL
ARE wanting to Build their OWN PLANT__So Management ABSOLUTELY HAS to
Turn ALL of Them INTO ""Supply PARTNERS""__Otherwise NO GO for the TBay Plant
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."