Archives

Reports and Tables

The following reports and tables will further augment the reader's understanding of the NI 43-101 Compliant Resource information below.

• Detailed Element Grades for West Long Lake Resources Reported on September 8, 2010
• Detailed Elements by Drill Hole (L10-229 to L10-249): July 19, 2010

NI 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimate Update, June 2010

In June 2010, Avalon updated its January 2010, NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Nechalacho deposit incorporating additional information as a result of progress on the Prefeasibility Study. The main differences to the earlier resource estimate relate to the cutoff grade and the incorporation of credits for niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta) and zirconium (Zr).

Indicated Mineral Resources for the Basal Zone are now estimated at 14.48 million tonnes of 1.82% TREO, with an additional 6.89 million tonnes of 1.45% TREO in the Upper Zone. The Basal Zone Indicated Resources are the key input into the Prefeasibility Study mine plan.

The estimated Inferred Mineral Resources for both Basal and Upper Zones total 175.93 million tonnes averaging 1.43% TREO, representing 2.5 million tonnes of in-situ TREO. This amounts to a 100% increase in contained TREO from the previously reported estimate (news release of January 14, 2010). With this new resource estimate, Nechalacho now ranks as the second largest REE deposit in the world by reported TREO and the third largest contained niobium deposit in the world by reported Nb2O5.

To review the full news release, click here.

NI 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimate Update, January 2010

In January 2010, Avalon updated its August 2009, NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Nechalacho deposit (formerly Lake Zone deposit) to updated Indicated Mineral Resource estimate based on assay results of 44 definition holes (9,101 metres) drilled during the 2009 summer drilling program. Indicated Resources in the Nechalacho Basal Zone increased by 102% to 9.00 million tonnes grading 1.86% TREO with 23.1% HREO/TREO at the 1.60% TREO cut-off.

The main objective of the 2009 summer drill program was to confirm continuity between earlier widely-spaced drill holes to allow more of the Inferred Resources in the Basal Zone of the Nechalacho deposit to be classified as Indicated. These Indicated Mineral Resources are the basis for the development model being prepared for the Prefeasibility Study ("PFS"). This objective was achieved and the revised Inferred and Indicated Mineral Resources can be reviewed on the full news release, click here.

Nechalacho, formerly the Lake Zone Deposit

In a formal First Nations ceremony in September 2009, Avalon re-named the Lake Zone Rare Earth Elements Deposit to the Nechalacho Rare Earth Element Deposit. Held at the Thor Lake work camp, the new name was officially unveiled with a traditional Feed the Fire Ceremony, co-hosted by the Yellowknives Dene First Nation Chief Edward Sangris and Chief Ted Tsetta.

To the knowledge of Avalon, this naming ceremony represents the first time that a mineral exploration project has been given an Aboriginal name by a First Nation in this way. In effect, the First Nation is lending the name to the project for the life of its operation.

Nechalacho ('Nay - Cha - La - Cho') or "a point where you can almost dock" is the traditional place name for the northeast shore of the Hearne Channel on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake, near the deposit location. It evokes a distinct sense of place to traditional land users who have been there for many generations. It is a rocky shoreline with steep cliffs that prevented boaters from pulling ashore during windy weather for which the area is known.

NI 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimate Update, August 2009

In August 2009, Avalon's updated its February 2009, NI 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Lake Zone deposit to incorporate all the assay data generated from the winter drilling program. As expected, with much of the drilling being from more closely-spaced "in-fill" holes at about 50m spacing, this has increased the proportion of the resource that can be classified as Indicated.

The 2009 winter drilling resulted in a new Indicated Mineral Resources being defined in the southern continuation of the high-grade Basal Zone, in the Long Lake area. These Indicated Mineral Resources total 4.4 million tonnes grading 1.97% TREO (containing 25.4% HREO) at the 1.60% TREO cut-off grade and are distinct from the 2.186 million tonnes grading 2.14% TREO (20% HREO) of Indicated Mineral Resources in the central part of the Basal Zone deposit (February 3, 2009) .

To review the full news release, click here.

The full August 2009 table of resources can be accessed here.

NI 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimates, February - March 2009

Avalon disclosed a new 43-101 compliant resource estimate for the Lake Zone deposit in February 2009 (filed on SEDAR March 2009), based on the drilling completed during 2007-2008, plus some of the historic drill holes that were re-assayed for the full suite of REEs. The resource estimate was prepared by Wardrop and provided separate resource estimates for the Upper Zone and Basal Zone as well a combined resource Total. To review the full news release, click here.

To read in full the Compliant Resource Estimates, please click on Avalon NI 43-101 March 2009

Work Program, 2007-2008

Avalon completed drilling programs on the Lake Zone in 2007 and 2008 to confirm the inferred resources, increase geological understanding of the deposit, and supply drill core samples for preliminary metallurgical testing:

* includes field expenditures, community engagement, environmental work, metallurgy, engineering; ** YTD 31Aug

 The drilling was completed on an average hole-spacing of 100m to 150m, deemed necessary to outline the extent of the deposit, confirm the levels of rare earth elements, and indicate any zoning in grade and widths of mineralization.

The summary-level conclusions from the 2007/8 Lake Zone program were:

• The extent of the deposit was confirmed with mineralization intersected over an oval shaped area with a diameter of approximately 1.5 kms. The deposit was still open in all directions except to the east.
• The REE mineralization is associated with a package of alteration that starts close to surface over the whole area of the deposit, and is typically about 150m thick with elevated REE, along with Zr, Hf, Nb and Ta.
• The enrichment of HREE proportion of the TREE in higher in comparison with many typical rare earth bearing mineral deposits. The ratio of HREO/TREO in the overall enrichment zone averages 9%.
• Within the overall alteration package, there are subhorizontal layers of greater enrichment that vary between a few meters and several tens of meters thick.
• The lowermost enriched layer, referred to as the Basal Zone, has even greater enrichment in the HREO, and averages over 20% HREO/TREO. As a result the gross value per tonne of the Basal Zone is significantly higher than the upper enrichment zones. The Basal Zone was determined to average 17m in thickness.
• The Basal Zone is remarkably persistent, with few drill holes not intersecting it. The upper enrichment zones are less persistent. There is a sharp cut-off of mineralization at the bottom of the Basal Zone.
• The grade of REE varies over the known lateral extent of the Basal Zone, with the southeast part presently showing the largest number of drill holes with relatively higher grades. However, there are wide-spaced individual drill holes elsewhere in the deposit with higher relative grades that would require drilling offset holes in the future.

The Lake Zone is exceptional in its enrichment in individual HREE. For example, within the Basal Zone of drill hole L08-118, there was an 8m interval of 3.71% TREO with 5800ppm (5.8 kg/tonne) Nd2O3, 1728ppm (1.7kg/tonne) Dy2O3 and 283 (0.28kg/tonne) Tb4O7. The Lake Zone is also enriched in other rare metals such as Zr, Hf, Nb, Ta and Ga.

Preliminary Economic Assessment, May 2007

The PEA completed by Wardrop confirmed the rapidly growing demand for REE from an independent market study prepared by BCC Research, and that the Thor Lake project can achieve acceptable returns on invested capital. As such, Avalon is advancing to a pre-feasibility or feasibility level of analysis.

NI 43-101 Compliant Resource Estimates, January 2007 

In 2006, Wardrop digitalized the historic drilling information for the Lake Zone and North T deposits and prepared a new 43-101 compliant resource estimate, confirming that the Lake Zone represents a very large Inferred Mineral Resource of some 375,410,000 tonnes using a relatively low yttrium cut-off grade (0.01%Y203).

 Both LREE and HREE mineralization are found in the Lake Zone: LREE mainly occur in bastnaesite, monazite, synchisite and allanite; HREE, including yttrium, occurring in a tantalum-niobium oxide mineral called fergusonite and in zircon. There is no significant beryllium in the Lake Zone. There is however widespread enrichment in zirconium in the form of zircon (a potential by-product). Niobium, tantalum and gallium are also potential by-products.

The relatively high proportion of the more valuable HREE in both the Lake Zone and the T Zone deposits is key to their economic development potential.

Avalon Work Program, 2005-2006

In June 2005, Avalon initiated a re-evaluation of the economic potential of the Thor Lake property, focused primarily on the REE. Initial assay results  confirmed high levels of HREE enrichment over broad intervals in the Lake Zone and extremely high levels in select grab samples from the R-Zone.

In September 2005, Avalon conducted additional re-sampling and assaying for the full suite of REE of historical drill cores from the Lake Zone; designed to begin to map out internal zonation patterns and detailed mineralogical studies. The results confirm the presence of elevated REE values throughout the Lake Zone and local zones of enrichment.

In 2006-2007, Wardrop Engineering Inc ("Wardrop") carried out a Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA") to model potential development scenarios for the Lake Zone REE deposit, confirm the economic potential of the REE resource and help in the design of a definition drilling program to define Indicated Mineral Resources in the higher grade portions of the deposit. The work involved estimation of inferred resources from existing drilling information supplemented by analytical work. Wardrop also completed an audit of historical resources and reserves reported for the North T deposit, which became the then-new resource estimate when it was discovered that there was a significant zone of yttrium + HREE mineralization that had not been included in the previously reported beryllium-based resource estimates.