Avalon Rare Metals Provides Update on East Kemptville Project

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (TSX:AVL) announced an update on progress at its East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project, Nova Scotia, Canada, and announce the release of its fourth annual comprehensive Sustainability Report entitled Balancing Opportunities along with the release of its 2015 annual filings.
As quoted in the press release:

Update on East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project
The Company is continuing to work towards completing a Preliminary Economic Analysis (“PEA”) on the East Kemptville Project. While the Company had originally targeted having a PEA completed by the end of November, that timeline has proven to be unrealistic. The Company now plans to have a PEA completed in early calendar 2016 which will allow for the 2015 drilling data to be compiled and integrated into an updated resource estimate. It will also allow more time for completion of ongoing metallurgical testwork and finalization of the transfer of surface tenure at the site to Avalon.
The 2015 drilling program was completed on November 19, 2015, at a total of 4,514 metres in twenty two holes. Initial results from this drill program were released on November 3, 2015. Assays are now pending for the remaining drill holes which tested the Duck Pond Zone and the Main Zone extension. The PEA will now incorporate all the new data generated from the 2015 work program including the results of preliminary environmental assessment work.
Before finalizing the PEA, the Company plans to evaluate a number of alternative development scenarios for the scale of the operation. One interesting possibility to be considered is to initiate production at a relatively small scale by utilizing the existing ore stockpiles on the site, before eventually re-starting mining operations at a larger scale. This scenario has the attraction of potentially realizing production and cash flow in the relative short term with a small initial capital investment in a mill and gravity circuit to produce tin concentrate. A detailed cost-benefit analysis of this scenario is presently being undertaken by the Company’s technical team.
Discussions continue towards reaching an agreement to transition full title to the property to Avalon. The parties now expect to be able to conclude an arrangement for transfer of surface tenure in Q1 of calendar 2016.

2015 Sustainability Report
The 2015 Sustainability Report was prepared in accordance with the Global Reporting Initiative (“GRI”) Version 4 guidelines for core reporting. In accordance with the guidance, the Company conducted a review of the 2014 detailed materiality assessment process identifying the topics that have the highest priority to the Company and its communities of interest. This report focuses on the social, environmental and economic issues that are most material to the Company. In response to comments from our readership, a more focused report has been prepared and formatted to facilitate easy access to the sections of the report of most interest to the reader. It also provides the detailed underlying data for those who wish to complete a more in-depth analysis and links to related corporate governance.
The 2015 Report also incorporates a self-assessment of Fiscal 2015 performance and sets targets for 2016 against the applicable Mining Association of Canada’s Toward Sustainable Mining indicators. In addition to safety performance, the report highlights many other positive accomplishments such as the risk management program, management system development and metallurgical improvements that contribute to improved environmental performance to name a few.

Avalon Rare Metals President and CEO, Don Bubar, stated:

Avalon continues to integrate sustainability into all aspects of its business. Reporting on our sustainability successes and challenges keeps our stakeholders informed and ourselves accountable. We believe that there is significant potential for creating additional shareholder value through exceptional sustainability performance and we remain committed to doing our part to advocate for improved sustainability performance across the entire natural resource extraction sector.