www.avalonraremetals.com
Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (TSX & NYSE Amex: AVL) is a mineral exploration and development company focused on rare metals deposits in Canada. Its flagship project, the 100%-owned Nechalacho Deposit, Thor Lake, NWT, is emerging as one of the largest undeveloped rare earth elements resources in the world. Its exceptional enrichment in the more valuable 'heavy' rare earth elements, which are key to enabling advances in green energy technology and other growing high-tech applications, is one of the few potential sources of these critical elements outside of China, currently the source of 95% of world supply. Avalon is well funded, has no debt and its work programs are progressing steadily. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones. Avalon's performance on community engagement in the north earned it the 2010 PDAC Environmental and Social Responsibility Award.
Avalon Rare Metals discovers extensions to Nechalacho rare earth elements deposit
Avalon Rare Metals (OTCQX:AVARF) has announced the remaining assay results from the 2010 winter drill program on the Nechalacho REE (rare earth elements) deposit at Thor Lake in Canada, reporting grades of up to 2.50 HREO and 30% HREO/TREO (heavy rare earth oxides/total rare earth oxides).
The recent results are highlighted by the discovery of extensions to the high grade Basal Zone in step-out holes drilled around the presently delineated inferred resources and further high grade REE intersections in several holes drilled to define the Basal Zone in the West Long Lake area.
All but 5 of the 21 holes intersected significant REE mineralization in the Basal Zone. The results included 2.07% TREO and 27.4% HREO/TREO over 47.45 metres, 2.50% TREO and 30% HREO/TREO over 16.55 metres, 2.16% TREO and 30% HREO/TREO over 16.75 metres, 2.16% TREO and 29% HREO/TREO over 21.1 metres and 2.35% TREO and 30% HREO/TREO over 24 metres.
The winter program utilized two rigs with Rig #1 carrying out infill definition drilling to convert more of the Inferred Resources in the Basal Zone to the Indicated level of confidence, while focusing on areas that are only accessible under frozen conditions.
Three step-out holes confirmed extensions to the deposit to the south, north and west respectively, with all of these holes intersecting the Basal Zone beyond the boundaries of the existing inferred and indicated mineral resources and demonstrating that the deposit was open in all three directions.
The recent step-out hole intercepts confirm the correlation between the airborne magnetic anomaly and subsurface REE mineralization. Less than 20% of the prospective area indicated by the magnetic anomaly has been explored to date.
Avalon anticipates that the results form definition drilling will increase both the tonnage and grade of the Indicated Resources in the deposit when the resource estimate is updated this summer. Results of the resource update are expected to be available by mid to late August.
Last month, the company revealed the positive findings of the prefeasibility study (PFS) on Nechalacho. According to Avalon, the PFS results demonstrate with a high degree of confidence that the project development model is technically feasible and Nechalacho will provide satisfactory returns on invested capital with acceptable risk.
The study proposes an 18-year mine life, based on a 12Mt NI43-101 Probable Mineral Reserve estimate grading 1.70% TREO (Total Rare Earth Oxide), with initial production of approximately 1,000 metric tonnes per day (tpd) which will subsequently ramp-up to 2,000tpd in year four.
