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| March 06, 2014 --- Vol. 08, No. 10 | March 2014
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Northwest Territories
RARE EARTHS – Avalon Rare Metals Inc. March 3 said it has entered in an agreement with Solvay, a world-leading producer of essential chemicals, to process Avalon’s rare earth concentrate into pure rare earth oxides for an anticipated period of 10 years from the start of deliveries to Solvay’s rare earth separation and refining plant located in La Rochelle, France. In addition, Solvay will provide Avalon with technical support for the further design optimization, engineering and commissioning of Avalon’s hydrometallurgical processing plant that will produce a concentrate from ore mined from the Nechalacho deposit at Thor Lake, Northwest Territories. Avalon will ship concentrates to La Rochelle containing 98.5 percent rare earth oxides and Solvay will return separated oxides of praseodymium, neodymium, europium, gadolinium, terbium, dysprosium, lutetium and yttrium ranging in purity from 99.5 to 99.99 percent. The tolling agreement also provides Solvay with the opportunity to purchase selected rare earth oxides from Avalon. All rare earth products not purchased by Solvay will be sold by Avalon and delivered directly from the La Rochelle plant. Avalon previously planned to process the ore at a hydrometallurgical facility in Pine Point, NWT, and ship the mixed rare earth concentrate to a refinery it planned to build in Louisiana. Avalon said the decision to use Solvay's facilities to refine the company’s mixed rare earth concentrate makes the property optioned for a refinery, potentially available as an alternative location for the hydrometallurgical facility. Avalon President and CEO Don Bubar said, “This tolling agreement greatly reduces the technical risk and costs associated with building, commissioning and operating a dedicated REE refinery for the Nechalacho project, making the whole project a less risky and more attractive investment opportunity. In addition, this reduces the potential for delays in initial product deliveries as perceived by our customers, who know they can rely on Solvay to produce the quality they require in a timely, proven, and reliable way. Solvay and Avalon also share similar values for environmental and social responsibility, which furthers our goal of becoming a sustainable operator.” Avalon is continuing its feasibility study optimization work and will now integrate the Solvay tolling agreement into the project development model.
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