AVLNF Avalon Advanced Materials Inc (QB)

Item 4. Information on the Company

A. History and Development of the Company

            The Company was amalgamated on July 24, 1991 under the British Columbia Company Act (now the British Columbia Business Corporations Act (“BCA”) under the name Keith Resources Ltd. pursuant to the amalgamation of Rockridge Mining Company and Meadfield Mining Corp..

            On September 29, 1994, the Company consolidated its share capital on a five-for-one basis and changed its name to Avalon Ventures Ltd..

            On July 18, 2005, the Company carried out a transition under the BCA by filing Notice of Articles and at the same time adopted new Articles to bring them in line with the requirements and alternatives available under the BCA, including increasing its authorized share structure to an unlimited number of common shares without par value and 25,000,000 preferred shares without par value. The new Articles also reduced the percentage of votes required from 75% to 66 2/3% to pass special and separate resolutions and gave authority to the Board of Directors to make capital alterations and changes to the Company’s name as permitted under the BCA.

            On February 17, 2009, the Company changed its name to Avalon Rare Metals Inc..

            On February 9, 2011, the Company continued under the CBCA.

            On February 24, 2016, the Company changed its name to Avalon Advanced Materials Inc..

            The Company’s head and registered office is located at Suite 1901, 130 Adelaide Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5H 3P5, (416) 364-4938.

            The Company is a reporting issuer in all of the provinces (except for the Province of Quebec) and territories of Canada. The Company’s shares are listed and posted for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange in Canada (the “TSX” or the “Exchange”) under the symbol “AVL”, trade on the OTCQX® Best Market (the “OTCQX”) in the United States under the symbol “AVLNF” and are also traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany under the symbol “OU5”.

            The Company operates principally in Canada and is currently extra-provincially registered to carry on business in Ontario, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

            Avalon is a mineral exploration and development company with a primary focus on rare metals and minerals with high technology and environmentally beneficial applications. Avalon operates primarily in Canada with a focus on rare metals and minerals, including lithium, tantalum, niobium, cesium, indium, gallium, germanium, rare earth elements (“REE”), yttrium, zirconium as well as tin.

            The Company is in the process of exploring or developing three of its five mineral resource projects. For at least the last three fiscal years the Company has expended substantially all of its efforts on the development of its Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements Project (“Nechalacho” or the “Nechalacho Project”), the East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project and Separation Rapids Lithium Project. The Company’s principal capital investments have been in its resource properties, with expenditures totalling $2,670,248, $4,085,283, and $3,485,658 in Fiscal 2017, 2016, and 2015 respectively.

             Nechalacho Project

            The Company completed its feasibility study (“FS”) on the Nechalacho Project in April 2013, and its Report of Environmental Assessment (the “Report of EA”) was approved by the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada (“AANDC”) in November 2013. Nechalacho is the Company’s most advanced project. A preliminary site preparation water license and land use permit has been issued which provides approval for first year site preparation work at the Nechalacho site. Full construction and operational license and permit for the Nechalacho site will take approximately 4-6 months to obtain once the Company commences the final application process.

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            Since the completion of the FS, Avalon has been focused on optimization work on the project development model, including metallurgical process optimization work and mine plan optimization. This has included work on recovery of other mineral products, notably zirconium. Although preliminary estimates of the capital and operating costs associated with these new processes may be higher than those contained in the FS, it is anticipated that the increased revenues from the additional “heavy” rare earths, europium through lutetium (“HREE”) production may yield an overall improvement in project economics. Demand for some of the other rare metals present in the Nechalacho resource such as zirconium, may see demand increases to justify further work on product development. Markets for rare earth elements, however, have remained quiet since the FS was issued and it is only since the start of 2017 that prices for certain REE (Nd, Pr, Dy) have begun to increase due to increased demand for magnets for motors of hybrid and electric vehicles. The quiet market since 2013 which led to the bankruptcy of at least two potential new producers outside China and a dramatic decline in investor interest has significantly reduced the amount of capital available for new rare earths development projects like Nechalacho. Consequently, expenditures on Avalon’s Nechalacho Project have remained minimal in 2016 and 2017.

            In fiscal 2016 Avalon conducted metallurgical testwork investigations related to the potential recovery of zirconium and production of marketable quality zirconium basic sulphate (“ZBS”) and zirconium oxychloride (“ZOC”) products. During fiscal 2017 a brief site visit was conducted to do the camp maintenance work and do some sampling on known lithium occurrences on the northern part of the property. Other activities centered around assisting regulators with regulatory development and caribou management planning that is important to the communities of interest. Reworking of the process design criteria, plant designs and cost estimates for both the Concentrator and Hydrometallurgical Plant, along with any revisions to the mine plan, are continuing to be developed internally

             Separation Rapids Lithium Project

            Growing demand for rechargeable batteries in electric vehicles and home energy storage is expected to result in continued growth in consumption of lithium. There is general consensus among industry analysts that demand for lithium will at least double over the next 10 years and that a supply deficit will emerge in the market as existing producers struggle to meet the rapidly growing demand. Several companies in the lithium business have already expressed interest in participating in the future development of the Separation Rapids Project. The potential exists for the Company to serve both the glass-ceramics and the battery materials markets going forward as the petalite mineral concentrate (which represents the final product for the glass-ceramics industry) is the intermediate product for making a battery material.

            The potential for production of high purity lithium hydroxide was demonstrated in the 2015 work program and a scaled-up test to further evaluate this process and generate cost information for a PEA focused on the battery materials market opportunity was completed. During 2016 the Company designed an innovative hydrometallurgical process to produce a lithium product from the petalite concentrate.

            In addition to the extensive environmental baseline work previously completed for the 2007 Project Description and Environmental Baseline Report, baseline studies were completed in 2017 to validate the historical work. Initial tailings and waste rock analysis test work was completed in 2016 and 2017 and is ongoing. A low risk zero discharge tailing management facility was designed. A water treatment system was designed for the updated process flowsheet. Work was advanced related to open pit mine design that allowed a waste rock management strategy to be developed. Any mitigation required for potential impacts to aquatic habitat near the site will be prepared for project permitting if required. No Species at Risk Act concerns were identified at the site, though additional baseline work may be required for the access road and potential power transmission line. The Company is also investigating alternatives for delivery of clean energy to the project site, utilizing local hydro-electric power generation capacity and/or power from waste wood products. Engagement with local indigenous peoples continued, including a valued components workshop and project updates, discussion of closure opportunities as well as preliminary discussions related to the potential development of a new “run-of-river” hydro power generation facility on the English River near the Project site. Further engagement on energy options is planned. A multi-ministry meeting was held to review the project with all applicable regulators, identify concerns and gaps and to ensure the appropriate permits and approvals are requested.

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            During the year ended August 31, 2017, the Company completed a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Separation Rapids Lithium Project, on which it had spent most of its efforts in fiscal 2016. Subsequent to the PEA the Company completed a small drill program and completed an updated mineral resource estimate subsequent to the end of fiscal 2017. The Company has also been proceeding with a series of metallurgical testwork to optimize its flowsheet design. The Company is primarily focused on the next steps required to move forward with the Phase 1 demonstration scale production facility. Several models for this plant are under consideration involving different throughput rates and variations of the flowsheet depending on the product mix to be recovered.

            The Company has embraced the principles of sustainability as core to its business practice and has made a strong commitment toward implementing corporate social responsibility (“CSR”) best practices. Contemporaneously with this filing, the Company is releasing its sixth comprehensive sustainability report entitled “Concentrating on Cleantech Materials Production” (the "2017 Sustainability Report").

            The Company believes that industrial demand for the advanced materials products it seeks to produce, particularly lithium compounds, is growing rapidly due to their importance in an expanding array of applications in new clean technology notably energy storage and electric vehicles.

B. Business Overview

Operations and Principal Activities

            The Company is a mineral exploration and development company with a primary focus on rare metals and minerals. Avalon presently owns six rare metals and mineral projects in Canada, three of which are under active development, but none of which are in production. It also owns royalty interests in two exploration projects which are not in production. For at least the last three years the Company has expended substantially all of its efforts on the development of Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements Project, its East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project and Separation Rapids Lithium Project.

             Nechalacho Project

            The Nechalacho Project is located at Thor Lake in the Mackenzie Mining District of the Northwest Territories (“NWT”), about five kilometres north of the Hearne Channel of Great Slave Lake and approximately 100 kilometres southeast of the city of Yellowknife. The property is comprised of five contiguous mining leases totalling 10,449 acres (4,249 hectares) and three claims totalling 4,597 acres (1,869 hectares). The leases are subject to one underlying 2.5% Net Smelter Returns (“NSR”) royalty agreement. Avalon has the contractual right to buy out this royalty on the basis of a fixed formula, which is currently approximately $1.5 million and which will increase at a rate equal to the Canadian prime rate until the royalty is bought out.

            The property is situated in an area referred to as the Akaitcho Territory, an area which is subject to comprehensive native land claim negotiations between the Government of Canada and the Treaty 8 Tribal Corporation, which consists of the Yellowknives Dene First Nation (“YKDFN”), the Deninu K’ue First Nation (“DKFN”) and the Lutsel K’e Dene First Nation (“LKDFN”). The Company has signed an Accommodation Agreement with the DKFN. The Company also recognizes that the Tiicho First Nation (“TFN”) has a settled land claim with the Government of Canada which provides for certain harvesting rights in the area of the Nechalacho site. The general area around the Nechalacho site is subject to Aboriginal rights asserted by two Métis organizations: the Northwest Territory Métis Nation (“NWTMN”) and the North Slave Métis Alliance (“NSMA”). During 2014, Avalon concluded a Participation Agreement with the NWTMN and commenced discussions with the NSMA.

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            Avalon’s next steps are primarily focused on continuing its process optimization work and new product development, with a view to producing an updated technical report incorporating the results of such work. Other goals include completing the acquisition of the land use permit and water license, carrying out an additional pilot plant trial of the new hydrometallurgical plant flowsheet (to confirm reagent recycle performance), finalize detailed plant designs and engineering, securing commitments on off-take and arranging project financing.

            The key factors going forward influencing the timely execution of the Nechalacho Project are securing one or more strategic or financial partners, securing sufficient binding agreements for off-take to support project financing, the availability of equity and debt financing at a reasonable cost and receipt of all requisite construction permits.

             Separation Rapids Lithium Project

            The Separation Rapids property consists of fifteen mineral claims and one mining lease covering a combined area of approximately 2,869 hectares (7,091 acres) in the Paterson Lake Area, Kenora Mining Division, Ontario, all of which are owned 100% by Avalon. The lease covers an area of 421.44 hectares over the area of the lithium pegmatite deposit and adjacent lands that may be used for mine development infrastructure. The original vendors retained a 2.0% “NSR” interest in the property, which was acquired in 2012 by a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company for $220,000. The deposit is a potential source of lithium minerals for use in the glass and ceramics industry and specialty composite materials as well as lithium chemicals for the battery industry.

            Growing demand for rechargeable batteries in electric vehicles and home energy storage is expected to result in continued growth in consumption of lithium. There is general consensus among industry analysts that demand for lithium will at least double over the next 10 years and that a supply deficit will emerge in the market as existing producers struggle to meet the rapidly growing demand. Several companies in the lithium business have already expressed interest in participating in the future development of the Separation Rapids Project. The potential exists for the Company to serve both the glass-ceramics and the battery materials markets going forward as the petalite mineral concentrate (which represents the final product for the glass-ceramics industry) is the intermediate product for making a battery material.

            The potential for production of high purity lithium hydroxide was demonstrated in the 2015 work program and a scaled-up test to further evaluate this process and generate cost information for a PEA focused on the battery materials market opportunity was completed. During 2016 the Company designed an innovative hydrometallurgical process to produce a lithium product from the petalite concentrate.

            During the year ended August 31, 2017, the Company completed a positive Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Separation Rapids Lithium Project, on which it had spent most of its efforts in fiscal 2016. The Company completed a small drill program in the spring of 2017 and updated its mineral resource estimate subsequent to the end of fiscal 2017. It also continues to optimize its metallurgical processes through a series of ongoing testing, with the intention of proceeding with a Phase 1 plant possibly as early as 2018. The key factors going forward influencing the timely execution of the Project are: securing sufficient product offtake commitments to support Project financing; the availability of sufficient equity and/or debt financing and receipt of all requisite operating permits and approvals.

            The Company currently relies on equity markets to raise capital to finance its exploration and development programs. The Company has no debt and no sources of revenue at the present time to finance its development programs other than investment income on its cash balances. As at August 31, 2017, the Company had adjusted working capital of $556,112 (which is calculated by adding back the deferred flow-through share premium of $49,467). As the de-recognition of the balance of the deferred flow-through share premium will not require the future out flow of resources by the Company, it is management’s belief that the adjusted working capital figure provides useful information in assessing the Company’s liquidity. The Company also may potentially finance exploration and/or development of its properties through joint ventures or other arrangements with third parties.

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Significant Acquisitions and Significant Dispositions

            The Company has not made any significant acquisitions or dispositions since the end of its 2015 fiscal year.

Competition

            The mineral industry in which we are engaged is highly competitive. Competitors include well capitalized mining companies, exploration companies and other companies having financial and other resources far greater than those of the Company’s. The Company competes with other mineral development companies in connection with the acquisition of rare metals and mineral properties. In general, those properties with defined process flowsheets to produce a commercially acceptable product at a competitive cost have a competitive advantage for market access and access to development capital. . Thus, a degree of competition exists between companies looking to acquire properties with such potential.

Dependence on Customers and Suppliers

            The Company is not dependent upon a single or few customers or suppliers for revenues or its operations.

Seasonality

            Certain of the Company’s operations are conducted in the NWT and northern Ontario. The weather during the spring and fall seasons can cause interruptions or delays in the Company’s operations. As a result, the preferable time for activities in these regions is the winter and summer when costs are more reasonable and access to the properties is easier. In the summer months, however, if the weather has been unusually hot and dry, access to the Company’s properties may be limited as a result of access restrictions being imposed to mitigate the risks of forest fires. Seasonality concerns can and will be designed into potential future operations to minimize impact on long term production.

Government and Environmental Regulation

            The current and anticipated future operations of the Company, including development activities and commencement of production on its properties, require permits from various federal, territorial or provincial and local governmental authorities and such operations are and will be governed by laws and regulations governing prospecting, development, mining, production, exports, taxes, labor standards, occupational health, waste disposal, toxic substances, land use, environmental protection, mine safety and other matters. Companies engaged in the development and operation of mines and related facilities generally experience increased costs and delays in production and other schedules as a result of the need to comply with applicable laws, regulations and permits. Such operations and exploration activities are also subject to substantial regulation under these laws by governmental agencies and may require that the Company obtain permits from various governmental agencies. The Company believes it is in substantial compliance with all material laws and regulations which currently apply to its activities. There can be no assurance, however, that all permits which the Company may require for construction of mining facilities and conduct of mining operations will be obtainable on reasonable terms or that such laws and regulations, or that new legislation or modifications to existing legislation, would not have an adverse effect on any exploration or mining project which the Company might undertake.

See also Item 3. Key Information – D. Risk Factors – Regulations and Mining Law, Governmental Regulation.

Corporate Social Responsibility (“CSR”)

            Contemporaneously with the filing of this annual report, the Company released its sixth comprehensive Sustainability Report. The 2017 Sustainability Report is available for view or download on the Company’s website at: http://www.avalonadvancedmaterials.com . The 2017 Sustainability Report does not form part of this annual report.

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            The 2017 Sustainability Report was prepared in accordance with the streamlined October 2016 Global Reporting Standards. The 2017 Report incorporates a self-assessment of Fiscal 2017 performance and sets targets for 2018 against the applicable Mining Association of Canada's “Toward Sustainable Mining” indicators.

            In addition to the Company’s safety performance, the report includes many other accomplishments such as energy efficiency initiatives, community outreach, and metallurgical process improvements that contribute to improved environmental performance. Avalon is committed to working closely with its Aboriginal partners to create lasting economic and social benefits in the communities. In addition to its partners in the NWT, dialogue has been initiated with the Acadia First Nation in Nova Scotia as it relates to the East Kemptville Project and with Wabaseemoong Independent Nations (“WIN”) and Métis Nation of Ontario with respect to the Separation Rapids Lithium Project.

            To provide independent advice as to the efficacy of the Company’s CSR work, the Company maintains an independent Sustainability Advisory Committee (“SAC”) that meets intermittently to review all of the Company’s sustainability-oriented work at all its projects. No meetings were held in Fiscal 2017. In recognition of its sustainability efforts, Avalon was recognized for two straight years (2015 and 2016) by Corporate Knights’ Future 40 Responsible Corporate Leaders in Canada.

C. Organizational Structure

            The Company has three directly wholly-owned subsidiaries - Nolava Minerals Inc. (“Nolava”) (a Delaware company), Avalon Rare Metals Ltd. (a Delaware company), and 8110131 Canada Inc. (“8110131”) (a Canada company). None of these subsidiaries has carried on any operations since their incorporation except for the staking and exploration of certain mining claims in Utah, USA by Nolava and the acquisition of certain royalties by 8110131.

D. Property, Plants and Equipment

            The Nechalacho Project and the Separation Rapids Lithium Project are the Company’s material properties.

Nechalacho Project

(A)         Summary of Technical Report

             1. Current Technical Report

            The most recent technical report on the property is entitled “Technical Report Disclosing the Results of the Feasibility Study on the Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements Project” dated May 31, 2013, effective April 17, 2013, and prepared by Tudorel Ciuculescu, M.Sc., P.Geo. of RPA, Kevin Hawton, P.Eng. of Knight Piesold Limited, and Bernard Foo, P.Eng., Richard Gowans, P.Eng., Christopher Jacobs, C.Eng., MIMMM, and Jane Spooner, P.Geo., all of Micon, each of whom is a qualified person pursuant to NI 43-101.

             2. Property Description and Location

            The Nechalacho Deposit is situated on the Company’s Thor Lake property, located in Canada’s Northwest Territories (“NWT”), 100 kilometres southeast of the capital city of Yellowknife and five kilometres north of the Hearne Channel on the East Arm of Great Slave Lake. The property is within the Mackenzie Mining District of the NWT and Thor Lake is shown on National Topographic System (“NTS”) map sheet 85I/02 at approximately 62°06’30”N and 112°35’30”W (Zone 12, 6,886,500N, 417,000E - NAD83).

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            The Thor Lake property consists of five contiguous mineral leases (totalling 4,249 hectares or 10,449 acres) and three claims (totalling 1,869 hectares, or 4,597 acres). The claims were staked in 2009 to cover favourable geology to the west of the mining leases.

            The mining leases have a 21-year life and each lease is renewable in 21-year increments. Annual payments of $4.94 per hectare ($2.00 per acre) are required to keep the leases in good standing. Avalon owns the leases subject to various legal agreements described below. The mineral claims are in good standing with the next renewal date being October 24, 2015. As the required work is $5 per hectare, the total required annually on the claims is $9,301.31 and the fee due is $465.07.

            Two underlying royalty agreements were inherited with the title to the Thor Lake property: the Murphy Royalty Agreement and the Calabras/Lutoda Royalty Agreement. The Murphy Royalty Agreement is a 2.5% NSR royalty and has a provision for Avalon to buy out the royalty at the principal amount of $150,000 compounded annually at the average Canadian prime rate from May 2, 1982 to the buyback date (as at August 31, 2015 this amounted to approximately $1.4 million). The Calabras/Lutoda Royalty Agreement totals 3% NSR. In June, 2012, 8110131 Canada Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, acquired the NSR under the Calabras/Lutoda Royalty Agreement for $2.0 million.

             3. Exploration History

            The Thor Lake area was first mapped by J. F. Henderson and A. W. Joliffe of the Geological Survey of Canada (“GSC”) in 1937 and 1938. According to National Mineral Inventory records of the Mineral Policy Sector, Department of Energy, Mines and Resources, the first staking activity at Thor Lake dates from July 1970 when Odin 1-4 claims were staked by K. D. Hannigan for uranium.

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            In 1971, the GSC commissioned an airborne radiometric survey over the Yellowknife region that outlined a radioactive anomaly over the Thor Lake area (GSC Open File Report 124). Simultaneously, A. Davidson of the GSC initiated mapping of the Blatchford Lake Intrusive Complex. It has subsequently become clear that this radiometric anomaly is largely due to elevated thorium levels in the T Zone.

            In 1976, Highwood Resources Ltd., (“Highwood”) in the course of a regional uranium exploration program, discovered niobium and tantalum on the Thor Lake property and the property was staked in 1976 and 1977. From 1976 to 1979, exploration programs included geological mapping, sampling and trenching on the Lake, Fluorite, R, S and T Zones. Twenty-two drill holes were also completed, seven of these on the Nechalacho Deposit (referred to as the “Lake Zone” in the historic reports). This work resulted in the discovery of significant concentrations of niobium, tantalum, yttrium and REE.

            Recognizing a large potential resource at Thor Lake, Placer Development Ltd. (“Placer”) optioned the property from Highwood in March 1980 to further investigate the tantalum and related mineralization. Placer conducted geophysical surveys on the Nechalacho Deposit. Eighteen holes were drilled in 1980 and 1981. Preliminary metallurgical scoping work was also conducted, but when the mineralization did not prove amenable to conventional metallurgical extractions of tantalum, Placer relinquished its option in April 1982.

            From 1983 to 1985, work on the property was concentrated on the T Zone and included geochemical surveys, surface mapping, significant drilling, surface and underground bulk sampling, metallurgical testing and a detailed evaluation of the property by Unocal Canada. Five holes were also drilled in the Nechalacho Deposit to test for high grade tantalum-niobium mineralization and to determine zoning and geological continuity. Two additional holes were completed at the northeast end of Long Lake to evaluate high yttrium and REE values obtained from nearby trenches.

            In August 1986, the property was joint ventured with Hecla Mining Company of Canada Ltd. (“Hecla”). In 1988, earlier holes were re-assayed and 19 more holes were drilled into the Nechalacho Deposit, primarily in the southeast corner, to further test for yttrium and REE. However, in 1990, after completing this and considerable work on the T Zone, including some limited in-fill drilling, extensive metallurgical testing and conducting a marketing study on beryllium, Hecla withdrew from the project. In 1990, control of Highwood passed to Conwest Exploration Company Ltd. (“Conwest”) until 1996, at which time Conwest divested itself of its mineral holdings. Mountain Minerals Company Ltd. (“Mountain”), a private company controlled by Royal Oak Mines Ltd. (“Royal Oak”), acquired the 34% controlling interest of Highwood.

            In late 1999, the application was withdrawn. Royal Oak’s subsequent bankruptcy in 1999 resulted in the acquisition of the control block of Highwood shares by Dynatec Company (“Dynatec”). In 2000, Highwood initiated metallurgical, marketing and environmental reviews by Dynatec.

            In 2001, Navigator Exploration Corp. (“Navigator”) entered into an option agreement with Highwood. Navigator's efforts were focused on conducting additional metallurgical research at a third party geotechnical consultant firm in order to define a process for producing a marketable tantalum concentrate from the Nechalacho Deposit. These efforts produced a metallurgical grade tantalum (Ta)/zirconium (Zr)/niobium (Nb)/yttrium (Y) /REE bulk concentrate. The option was dropped in 2004, however, in view of falling tantalum prices and low tantalum contents in the bulk concentrate.

            Beta Minerals Inc. (“Beta”) acquired Highwood’s interest in the Thor Lake property in November 2002 under a plan of arrangement with Dynatec. No work was conducted at Thor Lake by Beta and in May of 2005 Avalon purchased from Beta a 100% interest and full title, (subject to royalty interests), to the Thor Lake property.

             4. Geology and Mineralization

            The Nechalacho rare metals deposit is hosted by the peralkaline Blachford Lake intrusion, an Aphebian-age ring complex emplaced in Archean-age supracrustal rocks of the Yellowknife Supergroup. The principal rock types in the intrusion are syenites, granites and gabbros and associated pegmatitic phases hosting rare metal mineralization. The key rock units in the vicinity of the mineralization are the Grace Lake Granite, the Thor Lake Syenite and nepheline-sodalite syenite referred to by Avalon as the “Nechalacho Nepheline Syenite”. The Grace Lake Granite surrounds the Thor Lake Syenite with the two separated by the enigmatic "Rim Syenite". The host of the Nechalacho Deposit mineralization, the Nechalacho nepheline syenite, is within and below the Thor Lake Syenite, and exposed locally in the northwest part of the Thor Lake Syenite.

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            Five distinct zones or deposits of rare metal mineralization have been identified as being of potential economic interest: the Nechalacho Deposit and smaller North T, South T, S and R Zones. The Nechalacho Deposit is the largest, containing significant yttrium, tantalum, niobium, gallium and zirconium mineralization. The Nechalacho Deposit is particularly notable for its enrichment in the more valuable HREEs such as europium, terbium and dysprosium, relative to light rare earth elements (“LREEs”) such as lanthanum and cerium.

            The Nechalacho nepheline syenite that hosts the Nechalacho Deposit has the following key distinctive features which contrast it to the Thor Lake Syenite and Grace Lake Granite:

• It has a distinct chemical composition showing undersaturation in quartz, with nepheline and sodalite variously as rock-forming minerals.
• It has cumulate layering.
• It contains zircono-silicates including eudialyte.
• It is the host to the Nechalacho zirconium-niobium-tantalum-rare earth mineralization.

            This syenite is only exposed at surface in a window through the Thor Lake Syenite in the area encompassing Long Lake to Thor Lake. It is believed to dip underneath the Thor Lake Syenite in all directions. This is supported by drilling north of Thor Lake, within and close to Cressy Lake. Also, the Nechalacho Deposit mineralization, which occurs in the top, or apex, of the syenite, is also present in throughout this window through the Thor Lake Syenite. This unnamed syenite is referred to in the AIF as the "Ore (Nechalacho) Nepheline Sodalite Syenite".

            The Nechalacho Deposit is a tabular hydrothermal alteration zone extending typically from surface to depths of approximately 200, characterized by alternating sub-horizontal layers of relatively high and lower grade REE mineralization. HREEs are present in the Nechalacho Deposit in fergusonite ((Y, HREE) NbO4) and zircon (ZrSiO4), whereas the LREEs are present in bastnaesite, synchysite, allanite and monazite. Niobium and tantalum are hosted in columbite as well as fergusonite.

            There is a gradual increase in HREE from surface to depth within the Nechalacho Deposit with the lowermost sub-horizontal layer, which is also the most laterally continuous, being referred to as the Basal Zone. Accordingly typical proportions of heavy rare earth oxides (“HREO”) relative to total rare earth oxides (“TREO”) in Upper Zone can be 6% to 10%, but in the Basal Zone averaging over 20% and reaching as high as 50% in individual samples. There is also a tendency for the Basal Zone, which undulates to some extent, to increase in HREO with depth.

            The Nechalacho Nepheline Syenite consists of a layered series of increasingly peralkaline rocks with depth. A consistent downward progression is observed from hanging wall sodalite cumulates, through coarse grained to pegmatitic nepheline aegirine syenites which are locally enriched in zirconosilicates, to foayaitic syenite with a broad zone of altered “pseudomorphs-after-eudialyte” cumulates (referred to above as the Basal Zone). This upper sequence is strongly to intensely hydrothermally altered by various sodic and iron-rich fluids. Pre-existing zircon-silicates (eudialyte) are completely replaced by zircon, allanite, bastnaesite, fergusonite and other minerals. Below the Basal Zone cumulates, mineralization decreases rapidly, but alteration decreases more gradually, with relict primary mineralogy and textures increasingly preserved. Aegirine and nepheline-bearing syenites and foyaitic syenites progress downward to sodalite foyaites and naujaite. Drilling has not extended beyond this sodalite lithology to date. Minerals related to agpaitic magmatism identified from this lower unaltered sequence include eudialyte, catapleite, analcime, and possibly mosandrite.

            The part of the Nechalacho Deposit alteration system that is enriched in REEs varies between 80 metres and 190 metres in vertical thickness, with the alteration usually starting from the surface. The whole alteration system is enriched to varying degrees in rare earth elements, zirconium (“Zr”), niobium (“Nb”) and tantalum (“Ta”), relative to unaltered syenite, with average values over the whole approximately 200 metres thick alteration package of approximately 0.75% to 1.0% total rare earth oxides.

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            Within this alteration envelope, there are sub-horizontal zones of increased alteration accompanied by increased REE enrichment alternating with less enriched REE zones. Within the more intensely altered zones, the effect is that the original textures and mineralogy of the host rock are no longer apparent.

            These zones of increased alteration, which can vary in thickness from a few metres to tens of metres, can frequently contain TREO grades in the range of 2% and higher. The lowermost band, referred to as the Basal Zone, contains the highest proportion of HREO. Overall, the HREO proportion of the TREO within the 80 metres to 190 metres thick alteration system is typically between 7% and 15%. However, within the Basal Zone, this proportion is typically greater than 20% and can locally exceed 30% over the full width.

             5. Exploration

            In 2005, Avalon conducted extensive re-sampling of archived Nechalacho Deposit drill core to further assess the yttrium and heavy REE resources on the property. In 2006, TetraTech-WEI (formerly Wardrop Engineering Inc.) (“TetraTech”) was retained to conduct a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the Nechalacho Deposit (Preliminary Economic Assessment on the Thor Lake Rare Metals Project, NT Wardrop Document No. 0551530201-REP-R0001-03). In 2007, Avalon commenced further drilling of the Nechalacho Deposit. Apart from support of geoscience graduate theses which included mapping of the property, Avalon’s exploration activities at the site were confined to drilling.

             6. Drilling

            Avalon has carried out the following drilling on the Nechalacho Deposit, summarized to August 31, 2015:

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            Minor differences to previous tables disclosing historic drilling statistics are due to previous errors and decisions by the data compilers as whether to exclude or include abandoned holes with no assays.

            Resource estimates with the effective date of May 3, 2013 included drill results up to August 27, 2012 and the updated resource estimates, completed after the FS, included drill results up to March 2, 2013. See “Nechalacho Project - Mineral Resource Update”. There was no drilling done in 2015.

             7. Sampling, Analysis and Security of Samples

            A comprehensive core logging and sampling protocol was established for the July 2007 drilling program. This protocol has been strictly applied for all of the drilling programs since 2007. In addition, a comprehensive geotechnical logging protocol was introduced at the start of the summer 2009 drill program. The Company's Vice President, Exploration, William Mercer, Ph.D., P.Geo. (Ontario), P. Geo (NWT), provided overall direction on the project and is responsible for monitoring the QA/QC protocol for the laboratory analyses and provided overall direction on the project.

            Core sizes range from BTW diameter for the initial 2007 drill program to NQ2 in the winter/summer 2008 program and NQ2 or HQ in 2009 and 2010. Since 2011, a second rig recovering very large PQ sized core was mobilized to site to maximize the amount of material available for the bulk sample while the first rig continued with HQ equipment.

            Core is placed in standard wooden core boxes at the drill by the driller helper, with a wooden marker placed at the end of each core run marking the metreage from the surface. Throughout the BTW-NQ programs drill rods were imperial lengths of 10 feet, and core markers were written in feet on one side of the wooden block, and using a metric conversion chart, written in metres on the opposite side of the block. The HQ drilling initially used both imperial and metric rods, so markers were in both feet and metres to ensure proper measurement.

            In general, in the mineralized zones, core recovery is very high, effectively 100%. As a result, core handling is not expected to materially affect the results in terms of accuracy or reliability. In addition, as the mineralization is disseminated, there is not expected to be a significant sampling effect on accuracy or reliability.

            After inspection by the geologist at the drill, the boxes are closed with wooden lids and taken to the core logging facility at the camp by snowmobile in the winter and by boat and ATV in the summer. At camp, the boxes are opened by the geologist on outdoor racks. In good weather, logging and other geotechnical measurements are done outside; in poor weather and in winter, core is processed in a heated core shack. Core is initially measured to determine recoveries, and marked incrementally every metre. This marking serves as a guide for magnetic susceptibility, rock quality determinations (“RQD”), and density measurements. Magnetic susceptibility is measured every metre with a hand-held ‘KT- 10 magnetic susceptibility meter’. Density is measured every five metres by weighing a section of drill core in air and then weighing by submersing the sample in water and comparing the difference between dry and submersed weight. A typical core sample for density measurement averages 10 centimetres in length. Geotechnical logging, comprising RQD, are performed for each run.

            Core is generally very clean when brought to camp, and requires no washing except for occasional sprays of water when mud is present. The geologist marks out major rock units and completes a written description for the entire core sequence. Frequent readings using a handheld Thermo-Scientific Niton® XLP-522K hand held analyzer act as a guide to areas of mineralization and general chemistry of a specific interval. The final task is to mark out with a china marker specific sample intervals for the length of the entire drill hole. On average, assay samples are two metres long except where, in the geologist’s opinion, it is advisable to follow lithological boundaries. Due to the long widths of mineralization with the Basal Zone averaging over 20 m thick, even spaced sampling is not considered a significant factor in resource estimation. Consequently, individual samples can vary in length when encountering lithological changes, as efforts are made not to split across well-defined lithological boundaries. A list is made of all sample intervals as a record and also a guide to the core splitting technicians. All geological, geophysical and geotechnical data was originally entered into a custom designed database, provided and maintained by an external consulting firm.

            Subsequently, starting in 2012, Avalon started using Maxwell Geoservices software (LogChief and DataShed) to enter and control data into the Datashed database.

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            At the first step of data entry, the data is checked for corrected and completed required fields which are necessary to import into LogChief. Adjusted procedures for different fields in LogChief can be considered control manager on data entry and possible available errors. Those parts of the data which includes errors are rejected and sent back to field geologists for correction. The data is then synchronized from LogChief to DataShed. An exception to the sampling process described above is that for PQ core. Due to the weight of the core, about 18 kgs per metre, and for safety reasons related to lifting heavy samples, samples were restricted to 1 metre core lengths.

            Due to the strong hydrothermal alteration of all lithologies, identifying specific precursor lithologies has proven quite difficult, particularly in the early drill programs. Early lithological coding tended to incorporate hydrothermal alteration, commonly making it difficult to correlate units between drill holes. As more information became available from deeper drilling and specific textures and lithologies were compared to other unaltered, alkaline deposits elsewhere, such as Illimausaq in Greenland, a new lithological code was produced using, as a basis, the recognizable precursor lithologies. This has greatly advanced the understanding of the lithology, mineralogy, and to a lesser degree the petro-genesis of the deposit.

            After all tests and core observations are completed, and prior to splitting, the core is photographed outdoors using a hand-held digital camera. Down-hole distance and hole number are marked so as to be visible in all photos. Core is generally photographed in groups of six boxes. Starting in the 2009 summer drill program, drill core was also logged for geotechnical characteristics. This was initiated with the guidance of external geotechnical consultants. Some of the holes were logged from top to bottom, while others were logged above, below, and within the Basal Zone, to determine rock quality characteristics of both the mineralized zones and country rocks. Efforts were made to select holes with varying orientations to provide comprehensive orientation characteristics of planar structural features. The geotechnical logging was done on core logging sheets and entered electronically in to a custom-designed Excel spreadsheet provided by the geotechnical consultants. A total of 385 holes were logged in whole or in part. Holes which were partially logged included the Basal Zone and a minimum 10 metre interval above and below. When the core has been logged and photographed, it is stored in core racks outside the core splitting tent, from which they are then brought in to the core shack to be split and sampled. Core photos are stored on the camp computer in addition to an external hard drive.

            For all core except PQ, the core splitter would break the core into smaller lengths to fit into the mechanical core splitter, split the core in half, and placed one half in a plastic sample bag with the other half placed back into the core box in sequence to serve as a permanent record. In programs after 2009, for mineralized intervals, the core was split initially into halves and then one half into quarters. One quarter was utilized as an assay sample, a second quarter retained as a library sample, and the full half core bagged in intervals identical to the sample interval, as a metallurgical sample. The sample interval is marked on a sample tag in a three-part sample book and a tag with the corresponding sample number is placed in the sample bag. The sample bag is also marked with the corresponding sample number using a felt marker. The bag is then either stapled or zip-tied closed, and placed in a rice bag with two other samples. Most rice bags contain three samples to keep weight to a manageable level. The rice bag is then marked on the outside with corresponding sample numbers contained within, and a second number identifying the rice bag itself. A sample shipment form is then completed, generally in increments of 50 rice bags, which constitutes a single shipment. The sample form is enclosed in an appropriately marked rice bag, with a duplicate paper copy kept in camp, and also kept on electronic file.

            Starting in winter 2010, a second drill was added, also using HQ core. This core was sampled as above. From July 2010 on, this rig was converted to PQ diameter core in order to obtain more metallurgical sample. This core, weighing about 18 kg per metre, was initially sawn in order to acquire an assay sample of about 1.5 kgs, with a second cut for a library sample of about 1.5 kg, leaving about 14 kg for metallurgical purposes. However, due to the hardness of the rock, it was deemed that sawing the core was impractical due to low productivity. Consequently a test was completed of coarse crushing the whole core to 3.3 mm in 1 metre samples. Then an assay sample and a library sample were split out and the remaining 3.3 mm material retained for metallurgical purposes. The results of the test that studied the particle size distribution and the homogeneity of the sample indicated that this was a satisfactory procedure for both assaying and metallurgy, and for mineralized intervals this PQ core procedure continued to be followed. For unmineralized core, a section was sawn off weighing about 3-5 kg per sample to avoid the cost of crushing whole core and the remaining core stored at site.

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            Standards are inserted routinely every 15 ^th sample with the primary laboratory and every 35 ^th sample with the secondary laboratory. Blanks, composed of split drill core of unaltered and un-veined diabase dyke intersected in drilling beneath Thor Lake, are inserted every 40th sample. Samples are shipped by air from Thor Lake to Yellowknife. The standard shipment is 50 rice bags, or a total of 150 samples per shipment. The rice bags are zip-tied for security, and are met and unloaded in Yellowknife by a representative of a third-party expediter. The expediter takes the samples to its warehouse and inventories all samples and produces a manifest which is sent electronically to Thor Lake camp, and accompanies the shipment. The samples are then taken by the expediter to the core processing lab facilities. At this point, the laboratories take custody of the samples. Core is sent to the preparation laboratory with specification that all core should be crushed to 90% passing 10 mesh with a supplementary charge if necessary. For samples from drill holes completed in 2007, every sample pulp was duplicated and sent to the secondary laboratory for check analyses. Subsequent to this (2008 to 2009), approximately every tenth pulp was sent for duplicate analysis in the secondary laboratory. Standards are inserted in the duplicate sample stream by Avalon employees prior to shipping to the secondary laboratory.

            All remaining drill core is stored on site at Thor Lake. Core is temporarily racked at the exploration camp while being logged. In summer 2012, a large core storage facility was constructed at the T Zone Mine site that was sufficiently large to store all drill core from the project. In addition, sample rejects were brought from Yellowknife in wooden bins, each of about one tonne. Pulp samples and further sample rejects are stored in a locked secure facility within Yellowknife airport. Historic core, particularly T-Zone core, is stored at the mine site, while Nechalacho Deposit core is stored at the camp storage.

            Any assay results obtained prior to 2007 (holes 1 to 51) are referred to as the “older holes”. These did not have internal Quality Assurance/Quality Control (“QA/QC”) and were analyzed for a limited set of elements; however, six of the old holes were reassayed in 2008 for the complete suite of elements. Avalon has changed the laboratories used for analysis over time. For the first year of drilling by Avalon (2007), the primary laboratory was an independent laboratory located in Ancaster, Ontario (“Lab 1”), and the secondary laboratory was in Vancouver, British Columbia (“Lab 2”). Samples were shipped to the Lab 1 facility in Ancaster, Ontario for preparation, and a duplicate pulp was submitted to Lab 2 in Vancouver for complete check analysis.

            For the 2008 winter and summer programs, the preparation laboratory was a different laboratory in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (“Lab 3”) and the primary analytical laboratory was Lab 2 in Vancouver, British Columbia. A split of every tenth sample reject was sent to a different independent laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia (“Lab 4”) for check analyses. All core was analyzed by Lab 2 using two analytical packages: Group 4A and Group 4B. Lab 4 analyzed the samples with the MS81 method. Lab 2’s Group 4A is a whole rock characterization package comprising four separate analytical tests. Lab 2’s Group 4B is a Total Trace Elements by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry (“ICP-MS”). This package comprises two separate analyses. For 2008, secondary samples, comprising roughly every tenth reject sample supplied by Lab 2, were shipped to Lab 4, where the samples were analyzed by the package MS81. This is a combination of lithium metaborate/ICP atomic emission spectrometry (“ICP-AES”) for whole rock values, lithium borate/ICP-MS for refractory mineral values and other elements, and aqua regia/ICP-MS for volatile elements.

            Starting with the winter 2009 drilling campaign, all samples were prepared at the a different preparation facility in Yellowknife, Northwest Territories (“Lab 5”), and a subsample shipped and analyzed at Lab 4 in Vancouver, British Columbia by lithium metaborate/tetraborate fusion and dilute nitric acid digestion, followed by whole rock and 45 element multi-element ICP analysis (Lab 4 sample method ME-MS81). All samples contained within intercepts above the 1.6% cutoff criteria and any additional samples exceeding analytical limits or of geological significance are re-run using similar Lab 4 method ME-MS81H for higher concentration levels. ME-MS81H is a similar method but with greater dilution in the analytical procedure. Every tenth sample has a duplicate pulp prepared from the sample reject which, with inserted standards and blanks, was sent to Lab 2 in Vancouver, British Columbia for check analyses. Results were monitored for key elements, and in cases of QA/QC issues, re-analysis was requested. Values were reported by the laboratories in parts per million (“ppm”) and converted to rare earth and rare metal oxides by Avalon geologists.

            Since 2007, Avalon has commissioned a specialist laboratory from British Columbia to generate standards called AVL-H, AVL-M or AVL-L (2007), S0409 (2010) (sometimes referred to as H2) and S229 and S236 (2010).

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For the 2007 standards and S0409, Avalon then commissioned an independent consultant to review the round robin and assess the quality of the data and for S339 and S336 another independent consultant was similarly commissioned.

            Statistics on QA/QC samples submitted during the period January 2011 to August 2012 are presented below.

            The following table shows the interlab comparison for the period June 2010 and December 2011.

NOTES:
(1) RPHD: Relative Percent Half Difference

            Avalon monitors the results of its internal standards during routine analysis of drill core. Due to the large number of elements involved, it would be impractical to apply a normal logic table of failures where an analysis batch is failed on the basis of issues with one element. Avalon followed the following procedure for assessing analytical data: Batches were not failed if the samples analysed were clearly far below any economic levels (not mineralized), unless the standards results were very grossly out.

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            The results of the standards were reviewed to see how many elements were out of acceptable range as recommended in the standard certification, and if four elements were out of range (greater than three standard deviations), but two high and two low, and the remaining 14 elements were in range, the batch was accepted.

            If five elements or more elements were out of acceptable range (greater than three standard deviations), and all in the same direction, either biased all high or all low, then the batch was re-analysed.

            More recently, subsequent to the May 3, 2013 resource estimate, Avalon added an additional criterion as follows: If the overall Net Metal Return (“NMR”) of the standard is outside the range of +/-10% of the recommended value, then the batch is considered for reanalysis.

             8. Mineral Processing and Metallurgical Testing

            Extensive metallurgical testwork has been completed at a number of different laboratories and a large number of testwork reports have been issued to summarize this work. Much of the pertinent metallurgical and mineralogical development studies have been undertaken using bulk composite samples that represent the Nechalacho deposit mineralization spatially and in terms of lithology. These selected composite samples tended to be selected to represent mineralization at different depths in the deposit in terms of elevation. The composites designated UZ were from Upper Zone mineralization and BZ were from Basal Zone mineralization.

            Since 2010, Avalon has completed four flotation pilot plant tests at two different labs. All of these pilot plants were conducted using bulk samples sourced from drill core.

             Mineralogy

            The mineralogy of the Nechalacho deposit has been studied using QEMSCAN®, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and an electron microprobe (EMP). Nechalacho mineralization is hosted in nepheline syenite that has been extensively hydrothermally altered in areas of mineralization. The payable elements of the Nechalacho deposit are typically hosted in a number of minerals, summarized as follows:

• LREEs dominantly occur in bastnaesite, synchisite, monazite and allanite.
• HREEs dominantly occur in zircon, fergusonite and rare xenotime.
• Zirconium (Zr), along with HREE, niobium and tantalum occurs in zircon and other zircono-silicates (eudialyte).
• Niobium and tantalum occur in columbite and ferrocolumbite, fergusonite and zircon.

            The mineralogy of the Nechalacho ore is complex and guides metallurgical development and performance.

             Hydrometallurgical Testwork

            Six hydrometallurgical pilot plant campaigns were conducted between June and October, 2012. The main objectives of these campaigns were to:

• Test a continuous version of the hydrometallurgical flow-sheet.
• Optimize REE extraction in the pregnant solution.
• Remove target contaminants (iron, uranium and thorium).
• Ensure the final mixed rare earth precipitate product had an acceptable grade of REE while reducing the uranium and thorium contents below 500 ppm.
• Ensure the concentrations of species in the filtrate from the tailings circuit met target environmental levels.

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            The final pilot plant campaign, which operated between September 24 and October 5, 2012, demonstrated the technical viability of the process and provided crucial input for the final hydrometallurgical flowsheet, process design criteria and process engineering adopted for the FS.

             Refinery

            The refinery comprises two plants, the leaching and the separation plants. The leaching plant removes impurities from the hydrometallurgical precipitate in order to attain a purified feed to the separation plant where the individual rare earth products will be produced.

            A large number of testwork reports have been issued to summarize the testwork that has been undertaken at a number of different laboratories. All relevant testwork has been completed using the rare earth precipitate produced during the hydrometallurgical pilot plant testwork program.

             9. Mineral Resource and Mineral Reserve Estimates

             Resource Estimate in the Feasibility Study

            The mineral resource estimate for the Nechalacho Project presented in the FS based on the block model prepared by Avalon was audited originally by Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. (“RPA”) on November 21, 2012. Subsequent to this, Avalon updated the database and re-estimated the resource as of May 3, 2013. The update included correction of some minor assay data entry errors and drill hole locations. The net effect of these changes is considered immaterial as the resource change was less than 1% in most individual parameters. The largest changes were for ZrO ₂ grade, and the effect was an increase in grade in Measured and Indicated resources of between 0.1% and 3.2% of the overall grade in the various categories.

            The resource estimated by Avalon and accepted by RPA that was the basis for the mineral reserves estimate given below (See “Nechalacho Project – Mineral Reserve Estimate”) for the Nechalacho deposit is summarized in the table below. The mineral resource is reported at a cut-off value of US$320/t. The effective date of the mineral resource estimate is May 3, 2013. This resource has been subsequently updated as of August 15, 2013 (See “Nechalacho Project – Mineral Reserve Estimate”). The tables of the May 3, 2013 mineral resource have been provided for completeness purposes.

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              The cutoff grade was determined using both rare metals and rare earths as they all contribute to the total revenue of the Nechalacho deposit. An economic model was created, using metal prices that were updated from those used in the pre-feasibility study, flotation and hydrometallurgical recoveries, the effects of payable percentages, and any payable Net Smelter Return (“NSR”) royalties. The payable percentages of elements (Zr, Nb, Ta) contained within the Enriched Zirconium Concentrate (“EZC”) were also included. The net revenue generated by this model is termed the NMR. The mineral resource estimate is based on the minimum NMR value being equal to an operating cost of US$320/t, a break-even cut-off value.

             Resource Database

             The database for the November 21, 2012 mineral resource estimate for the Nechalacho deposit contained 490 drill holes totalling 104,918.7 m. The database included 51 historic drill holes amounting to 5,588 m and 439 recent drill holes with a total length of 99,330.6 m. The estimate was based on 33,236 samples assayed for rare metals, rare earths, and other elements, from 450 drill holes, 48 historical and 402 recent. Samples from 41 historical drill holes have incomplete or no REE assays results. Only 21 of the historical drill holes sampled the Basal Zone, as it was not a target at that time.

             The up-dated database and re-estimated resource for the Nechalacho Deposit made by the Company as of May 3, 2013 are based upon detailed core logging, assays and geological interpretation by Avalon geologists and independently audited by RPA. The only change from the November 2012 Update is correction of some minor errors in the database that had no material effect, except to change some numbers in the second decimal place as noted above. The drill holes and their related assays form the basis for the creation of two domains of REE mineralization: an upper LREE-enriched domain (“Upper Zone”) and a lower HREE enriched domain (“Basal Zone”).

             Resource Classification

             For all domains, blocks populated using a 240m X 240m X 120m search ellipse and up to 120 m away from a drill hole were classified as inferred.

             Within the Upper Zone, blocks populated using a 60m X 60m X 30m search ellipse and a minimum of 2 drill holes were classified as Indicated. A manually digitized contour was used to reclassify isolated blocks or patches of Indicated material into the Inferred category. No Upper Zone material was classified as Measured.

             Within the Basal Zone, blocks populated using a 60m X 60m X 30m search ellipse and up to 60 m away from a drill hole were classified as Indicated. A manually digitized contour was used to select and reclassify isolated blocks or patches of Indicated material to the Inferred category. In the Basal Zone, two separate areas supported by diamond drilling spaced at 25 m were manually digitized to define the Measured blocks.

             The classification details are outlined in the table below.

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             Mineral Reserve Estimate

             The mineral reserve estimate for the Nechalacho Project presented in the feasibility study was estimated from the block model prepared by Avalon and audited originally by RPA on November 21, 2012 which was updated and re-estimated as of May 3, 2013. The mineral reserve estimate is derived from this block model by applying the appropriate technical and economic parameters to extraction of the REE with proven underground mining methods.

             The mineral reserve has been estimated based on conversion of the high grade mineral resources at a cut-off value greater than US$320/t NMR. Payable elements include the REE, zirconium, niobium and tantalum. No Inferred mineral resources were converted to mineral reserves. The high grade mineral resources are 34.7% and 14.7% of the total Measured and Indicated mineral resources, respectively.

             The key design criteria set for the Nechalacho mine are:

• Initial design based on a 20-year life-of-mine (“LOM”) of high grade material.
• Mechanized cut or drift and fill and long hole mining methods with paste backfill.
• Minimum mining thickness of 5 m.
• Extraction ratio of 94.2%.
• Internal dilution of 8.5%.
• External dilution of 5% applied to all stopes.
• Estimated total average dilution for the life of mine of approximately 11%.
• Production rate of 2,000 t/d ore (730,000 t/y).
• Ore bulk density of 2.91 t/m ³ .

              The mineral reserve estimate for the Nechalacho Project shown in the table below has an effective date of May 3, 2013. The figures in the table are rounded to reflect that the numbers are estimates. The conversion of mineral resources to mineral reserves includes technical information that requires subsequent calculations or estimates to derive sub-totals, totals and weighted averages. Such calculations or estimations inherently involve a degree of rounding and consequently introduce a margin of error. Where these occur, Micon International Limited (“Micon”) does not consider them to be material.

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              Micon believes the key assumptions, parameters and methods used to convert mineral resource to mineral reserve are appropriate. To the best of Micon’s knowledge there are no known mining, metallurgical, infrastructure, permitting or other relevant factors that may materially affect the mineral reserve estimate.

             Mineral Resource August 15, 2013 Update

             Subsequent to the FS, an internal resource update was completed and released on August 15, 2013. This update reflects the improved understanding of the geometry of the resource. It incorporates drill results from the eight-hole winter 2013 drill program and the final 41 holes from the 2012 summer drill program. These holes were not incorporated into the resource model used in the FS.

             The estimated Measured Mineral Resources in the base case now stand at 12.56 million tonnes averaging 1.71% TREO, 0.38% HREO and 22.5% HREO/TREO. The only change of consequence in methodology from the November 26, 2012 Resource estimate was that the base case cut-off grade, expressed as Net Metallurgical Return (“NMR”), increased from US$320 to US$345 per tonne due to minor changes in estimated operating costs, as per the FS. Work is continuing on optimizing the mine plan to incorporate more of the high grade ore identifiable at higher NMR cut-offs into the early years of production.

             The mineral resource estimate was prepared by a senior resource geologist employed by Avalon Advanced Materials Inc., under the supervision of the Company's Vice-President, Exploration, William Mercer, Ph.D., P.Geo. (Ont), P. Geo. (NWT) who is the qualified person for Avalon for this resource estimate. Dr. Mercer is also providing overall direction on the project and monitoring of the QA/QC on the laboratory analyses.

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             The main change in estimation method utilized in this resource estimate was relative elevation. This methodology is one way to adapt the estimation method to the rolling nature of the bottom of the Basal Zone.

             10. Mining Operations

             Underground mining of the Measured and Indicated mineral resource of the Basal Zone was investigated for the FS. The majority of the mineral resource of the Basal Zone contemplated for development lies directly beneath and to the north of Long Lake, approximately 200 m below surface. Thus, the deposit is to be mined using underground mining methods.

             The planned mine production rate is 2,000 t/d (730,000 t/y) of ore and the mine life based on that portion of the Mineral Resources that have been defined in sufficient detail to qualify as Mining Reserves is 20 years.

             Geotechnical information for the mine design was based on geotechnical data collection completed in conjunction with Avalon’s on-going exploration drill program. The analysis indicated that excavations 15 m wide, 5 m high and 100 m in length will be stable with the proper installation of ground support and mitigation strategies.

             The deposit at the Nechalacho Project is relatively flat lying and will be mined with a combination of longhole stoping, and cut and fill methods. The mine will be accessed through a mine portal located near the concentrator. The dimensions of the 1,600 metre main ramp were designed to accommodate the overhead conveyor system and access for men and equipment.

             Sub-zones less than 10 metres thick will be mined by cut or drift and fill methods in a primary and secondary mining sequence. Sub-zones over 10 metres thick will be mined with longhole stoping. Secondary stopes would be mined after the adjoining primary stopes have been filled. The mining of the secondary stopes would be the same as the mining of the primary stope.

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              Blasted material would be mucked and transported by rubber tired equipment to the crusher station. The crushed ore would be transported to the surface by conveyor.

             Paste backfill will be used to improve the overall mine stability, reduce the surface footprint for the Nechalacho TMF, and enable the extraction of secondary stopes for increased mining recovery.

             11. Processing and Recovery Operations

             The metallurgical processing described below is that in the FS.

             Processing – Flotation Concentrator

             The grinding circuit was designed to be a conventional rod mill/ball mill operation. The rod mill will be operated in open circuit, and the ball mill in closed circuit with classifying hydrocyclones. A final grind p80 of 38µm is targeted.

             The cyclone overflow was designed to gravitate to two stages of magnetic separation, followed by a desliming circuit. The magnetics from the magnetic separation circuit and the fines from desliming will be routed to tailings. The deslimed slurry will feed the flotation circuit.

             This flotation circuit design comprises three stages of bulk flotation, four stages of cleaner flotation and a single cleaner scavenger stage. Flotation concentrate would be pumped to a gravity separation circuit for further enrichment before being thickened and filtered to final product concentrate. The light material (gravity tailings) would be recycled to the bulk rougher flotation circuit.

             Concentrate production will be stored in a covered bulk storage facility and shipped to the hydrometallurgical processing plant each summer using barges to cross Great Slave Lake at the rate of 145,000 wet tonnes per year (10% moisture is assumed).

             The tailings will be thickened, the overflow from which will be pumped to the process water tank although a portion will be fed to a water treatment plant to remove impurities. The tailings thickener underflow will be directed to either the TMF or the paste backfill plant. The paste backfill plant has been designed to produce 1,738 t/d of backfill using concentrator tailings.

             Processing – Hydrometallurgical Plant

             A hydrometallurgical plant in the FS was designed to be built at Pine Point to produce mixed rare earth concentrate from the flotation concentrate at the planned rate of 49,900 tonnes per year (at approximately 16.5% TREO and a secondary product of EZC at the rate of approximately 103,800 tonnes per year (containing 12.5% Zr).

             The hydrometallurgical plant designed for Pine Point comprises the following process sections:

• Pre-leach.
• Sulphuric acid bake.
• Water leach.
• Neutralization and impurity removal.
• Impurity removal re-dissolution.
• Rare earth precipitation.

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• Waste water treatment.
• Tailings neutralization.

             The concentrate barged from Nechalacho would be fed to the pre-leach section of the plant where excess sulphuric acid produced in the water leach section will be used to neutralize the base materials. The product from the pre-leach circuit would be filtered and the solids fed to the acid bake system while the filtrate would feed the iron reduction circuit.

             The filter cake from the pre-leach circuit would be mixed with concentrated sulphuric acid and fed into the acid baking rotary kiln where the REE in the concentrate would be converted to sulphates at a temperature of 220 ^o C. The discharge from the acid bake kiln would be leached in water to recover approximately 80% of the LREE and 50% of the HREE. The solids containing the balance of the REE, along with most of the zirconium, niobium and tantalum, would be filtered, washed, neutralized and dried to approximately 8% moisture. This dried product would be packaged and shipped to customers as EZC.

              The rare earth filtrate from the water leach process would be cleaned through several neutralization and impurity removal steps. The resulting slurry would be filtered and washed and the final rare earth precipitate dried to approximately 8% moisture.

             In order to minimize process water usage in the plant, tailings water would be recycled into the water leach circuit. Pilot plant results showed no negative changes in REE recoveries with recycled tailings water.

              The mixed rare earth concentrate is envisioned in the FS to be shipped in 35-40 tonne capacity sealed containers and taken by truck to the rail head at Hay River and then by rail to a REE Separation Plant and Refinery in Geismar, Louisiana. The Company has investigated the potential for sales of EZC directly to customers, primarily in China.

              Tailings from the hydrometallurgical process would be stored in a tailings management facility to be constructed within a historic open pit. Decant water from the tailings management facility will be discharged to an adjacent historic open pit for natural infiltration into the groundwater aquifer.

             Rare Earth Separation Plant and Refinery

             In August 2011, the Company concluded that rare earth separation and refining should be a part of its development plan and a PFS on the rare earth separation plant and refinery was commissioned and subsequently completed in March 2012. The FS also included a rare earth separation plant and refinery.

             In the FS, the separation plant and refinery is planned to be situated adjacent to an existing industrial facility in Geismar, Louisiana where Avalon had a purchase option on a suitably-sized property. Electrical power, fresh water, sodium hydroxide and hydrochloric acid would be supplied via tie-in to an adjacent third party chemical production facility and rail spurs connected to the existing rail line in the adjacent facility would accommodate shipment of concentrate feed stock to and shipment of marketable product from the separation plant. The design capacity in the FS has been based on the PFS capacity of 10,000 tonnes per year of TREO although forecast average annual production from the FS would be approximately 6,800 tonnes of TREO.

             The rare earth refinery design consists of two key sections, the leaching plant to remove impurities, and the separation plant where products are separated and refined to the quality required for the customers.

             The leaching plant design comprises a series of processes, including re-dissolution of the mixed rare earth precipitate, re-precipitation, solvent extraction and selective precipitation. Impurities, principally uranium and thorium, would be removed in a series of dissolution, selective precipitation, filtration and solvent extraction steps.

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             The separation plant design uses solvent extraction circuits based on the common Chinese configuration of stages and is divided into 16 extraction steps, each with a specific number of stages for loading, extraction, washing and stripping, and sized according to the feed composition. The design of entire extraction circuits comprises a total of approximately 1,000 mixer/settlers.

             The separation plant design will produce 10 different pure rare earth oxides products in accordance with the specifications indicated in the following table.

NOTES:

              A kerosene mixture is used as the extracting agent for most separations. Hydrochloric acid is used as the stripping agent. Deionized water is added in the washing and stripping stages to dilute and adjust the reagent concentrations.

             The purified strip solution from the respective solvent extraction stage would feed the atmospheric precipitation tanks where soda ash or oxalic acid is added in order to precipitate the pure REE as carbonates or oxalates, respectively. The slurry streams containing the precipitates are thickened, filtered, dried and calcined to produce pure rare earth oxides. The filtrate is then forwarded to the water treatment facility. The mixed holmium, erbium, thulium, and ytterbium stream will be precipitated as carbonate and, hence, would not be calcined.

             The dry rare earth oxide or carbonate products are cooled and then packaged in drums ready for shipment to customers. The product storage facility would provide two weeks capacity, to interface between plant production and continuous product dispatch via rail, air or ocean transportation.

             12. Infrastructure, Permitting and Compliance Activities

             Permit Status and Environmental Issues

             The Nechalacho property is situated in an area known as the Akaitcho Territory, an area which is subject to a comprehensive land claim negotiation involving four communities of the Dene Nation. The area is also subject to a settled Land Claim of the Tli Cho Government who refer to the area as the Monfwe overlap.

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              Under the Mackenzie Valley Resource Management Act (“MVRMA”) and Regulations, the Mackenzie Valley Land and Water Board (“MVLWB”) administers land use permits and water licenses. Upon completion of a preliminary screening process, projects deemed to potentially have significant adverse impacts are referred to the Mackenzie Valley Environmental Impact Review Board (“MVEIRB”) to initiate an environmental assessment process. The MVRMA allows local and particularly Aboriginal input into land and water use permitting. The MVRMA establishes a three-part environmental assessment process:

• Preliminary screening (MVLWB)
• Environmental assessment (MVEIRB)
• Environmental impact review (MVEIRB, if necessary)

             Subsequent to the acquisition of the Thor Lake property, and continuation of community engagement meetings, Avalon applied to the MVLWB for an exploration permit, and a two year permit was granted as of July 2007. It was under this permit that the drilling programs in 2007 to April 2009 were conducted. Avalon applied for an extension of this permit in early 2009, and a two year extension was granted by the MVLWB making the permit valid to July 2011. In December 2009, Avalon applied for an addendum to the existing exploration permit to allow for a second drill unit to be added to the program and the construction of a short take-off and landing (“STOL”) airstrip. The permit addendum and a separate airstrip land use permit were granted and issued in January 2010 and valid to July 2011. The land use permit for the construction of the airstrip has since been satisfactorily concluded. Current exploration activities at Thor Lake are under a new land use permit issued by the MVLWB on June 23, 2011, that was originally issued for a period of five years beginning on July 5, 2011. However, on July 7, 2016, the MVLWB granted Avalon an extension of this permit to July 4, 2018.

              On April 23, 2010, Avalon submitted a land use and water license permit application through the MVLWB, for the mining, flotation processing and hydrometallurgical processing in the NWT. Upon completion of the MVLWB preliminary screening process, the Nechalacho Project was referred to the MVEIRB on June 11, 2010, for environmental assessment.

              On May 20, 2011, the Company submitted the Developers Assessment Report (“DAR”), (more commonly referred to as an Environmental and Social Impact Statement). In November, 2011, the DAR was deemed by MVEIRB to be in conformity with the terms of reference. First Round information requests were received and addressed from November 2011 to May 2012. In mid-August 2012, Avalon participated in the environmental assessment process technical sessions organized by MVEIRB for various regulators and community representatives. Subsequently, Avalon completed and submitted all additional work and undertakings requested by MVEIRB and other regulators for clarification purposes at the technical sessions. Avalon then entered and completed the Second Round Information Requests stage. The environmental assessment process ended with public hearings held on February 18 – 20, 2013 in Yellowknife, NWT and February 22, 2013 in Fort Resolution, NWT. The final Report of Environmental Assessment (the “Report of EA”) was released by MVEIRB on July 26, 2013, recommending approval by the responsible Ministers. This approval was received on November 4, 2013. Applications for the necessary construction and operating permits and licences were submitted in December 2013, and were subsequently amended into a two phase permitting process of 1) low impact site preparation activities and; 2) the full construction and operations permits. A Class A Land Use Permit and Class B Water Licence were approved on April 24, 2014 and May 22, 2014 respectively for identified low impact activities including site preparation, early camp erection, portal development and associated infrastructure such as roads, power and water treatment expected to take up to a full year, pending financing. Avalon submitted a $50,000 security payment for the first phase of this activity and completed the site clearing phase of the project. The additional phases may proceed with the filing of additional site security. The permitting process for the full construction and operating permits continued to advance, including public Technical Review Sessions held in Yellowknife July 22-24, 2014. Responses to intervener comments were initiated in 2014; however since these technical review sessions the work on these permits has since been progressing intermittently to conserve resources. Approximately 4-6 months would be required to finalize these permits, once the Company commences the final application process. This would not in any way limit the first year of pre-construction activity as approved under the existing permits, qualified by the filing of identified financial assurance.

              In its 220 page Report of EA, MVEIRB set out five measures that, when implemented, will mitigate any predicted environmental impacts so that they are no longer significant. These measures require the Company to:

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• Ensure through comprehensive monitoring that the water released from the Project into the receiving environment does not cause significant impacts;
• Develop and implement a wildlife and wildlife habitat protection plan and wildlife effects monitoring program, with an emphasis on caribou, and mitigation if required; and
• Complete a socio-economic agreement with the Government of the Northwest Territories ("GNWT") before construction begins.

              Work on advancing plans to implement the measures identified above has been well advanced, including engagement with the Company’s Aboriginal partners and regulators. As part of its philosophy of open and transparent communications, engagement with Aboriginal partners on the environmental management plans required as part of the permitting process was initiated prior to submission to the regulators, helping to both improve the quality of the plans and facilitate the permitting process. Following the technical review sessions with regulators and the communities of interest, the Company has submitted proposed and updated water quality monitoring programs, wildlife and wildlife habitat protection plans and a wildlife effects monitoring program for which discussions are ongoing. The socioeconomic agreement has been put on hold pending finalizing of the project designs. Updates to plans were submitted in late 2014 in response to intervener comments and annual reports are submitted to the government as per the water license requirement.

             A copy of all information submitted by the Company can be found on MVEIRB’s public registry at www.reviewboard.ca.

             Avalon has received a letter from Transport Canada that confirmed that the water bodies located within the tailings management facility (“TMF”) are not considered navigable and do not require any additional authorizations from Transport Canada. A section 35(2) fisheries authorization or letters of advice from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (“DFO”) under the Fisheries Act (Canada) may be required, though the ponds within the TMF are not considered as fisheries habitat (do not contain fish). In addition, a response from DFO to the MVEIRB stated that “DFO has not identified any activities or components of the project that require an authorization or permit under the Fisheries Act”.

              Past exploration activity on the Thor Lake property included underground bulk sampling, drilling and trenching on a separate rare metals resource called the North T deposit. Stockpiles of waste rock from underground development have been progressively reclaimed by Avalon without obligation. Three old construction camp trailers have been sent to Yellowknife for disposal while three remaining trailers have been refurbished for future use by Avalon, and a building is being used to store equipment. There is little surface disturbance from historical exploration activities apart from miscellaneous buildings, a 60,000 gallon capacity fuel tank farm (empty), a tent camp and a core storage area left on the Thor Lake property. There are no significant environmental liabilities left by past exploration activities. The diesel fuel remaining in the tank farm was consumed during the 2007 and 2008 exploration programs. The Company has undertaken extensive general cleanup of material left from previous exploration utilizing First Nations labour. During 2014, a fire break was constructed around the property and a fire sprinkler system installed on the core storage area as a precaution against forest fires concerns during the year. In 2017, a site maintenance and cleanup campaign was completed at the exploration camp and commentary was submitted to the Government of the NWT related to proposed regulatory initiatives and the draft caribou management plan.

             Accessibility, Climate, Physiography and Planned Infrastructure

             The Thor Lake property is characterized by low relief, between 230 m and 255 m above sea level and relatively subdued topography. The area is a typical boreal forest of the Canadian Shield and is primarily covered by open growths of stunted spruce, birch, poplar and jack pine which mantle isolated, glaciated rocky outcrops. Approximately one third of the property is occupied by lakes and swamps. Thor Lake is generally shallow with typical depths of the order of three to four metres.

             Topography is typical of the Canadian Shield, gently rolling with abundant bedrock exposure with glacial till cover, and numerous shallow lakes. Vegetation is dominated by spruce and poplar which do not grow to a size to be harvested economically.

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             Air temperature at the Nechalacho site recorded from June, 2008 to October, 2010 displayed typical seasonal fluctuations, with warm temperatures occurring from late May to August, with the coldest period occurring from December to February. The monthly average temperatures expected at site range from -26°C in January to 16°C in July. Monthly average temperatures rise above 0°C for significant periods of time in May and fall below 0°C for significant periods in October.

             Average annual total precipitation at Thor Lake is approximately 275 mm. Rainfall predominates during May to October, and snowfall predominates during October to April. Six snow courses were established throughout the Nechalacho site in March, 2009. Mean snow depths varied from 31.3 cm to 66.6 cm in the vicinity of Thor Lake. Forested areas that were generally less exposed to wind had a tendency to accumulate the thickest snowpacks.

             Relative humidity is generally highest during the winter months, while summers are generally drier.

             The dominant wind direction at the site is from the east-northeast during November to June. Wind directions had a tendency to be more dispersed from July to October; however, an east-northeast trend was still evident. The average hourly wind speed at 20 m above ground level is 4.54 m/s. Wind speeds at 20 m above ground are generally in the range of 2 to 6 m/s, with occasional wind speeds exceeding 10 m/s.

             The Thor Lake site has no road access from Yellowknife, although there is a historical 5 kilometre road from the Thor Lake site to the shore of Great Slave Lake. This road is presently used to haul supplies shipped by barge or trucked on an ice road to the Thor Lake site. At the present time, year round access is primarily achieved by aircraft. The use of winter ice roads on Great Slave Lake is also feasible, but is not included as an integral part of the FS. A temporary barge dock and a materials storage area will be constructed on the shore of Great Slave Lake. A camp, offices, shops, yards, diesel tank farm, propane storage facility, and access roads to the tailings management facility and the barge dock on Great Slave Lake will be developed. Electrical power at the site will be initially provided by a diesel power generating station, supplemented if possible by renewable energy sources including solar power. The diesel plant design is based upon having spare capacity at any given time. Opportunities for the construction of a road to site will continue to be monitored due to the potential financial and safety benefits, though this would be the subject of an additional environmental assessment process.

             The proposed location of the hydrometallurgical plant contemplated in the FS is at Pine Point, NWT, which is a brownfield site formerly used as a lead/zinc mining operation located 90 kilometres east of Hay River in the NWT. This proposed site is accessible by all-weather roads and highways. A temporary barge dock and yard at the shore of Great Slave Lake would be developed for the movement of concentrate and supplies. Offices, shops, yards, and access roads to the tailings management facility and the temporary barge dock on Great Slave Lake would need to be developed. Clean (low GHG) electrical power would be obtained from the southern NWT power grid, from the Taltson Dam hydroelectric facility. The use of diesel generators to supplement the grid power is planned for times when hydroelectric power availability is limited at the expanded production rate.

             13. Capital and Operating Costs

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NOTES :

              The scope of the estimate encompasses the engineering, administration, procurement services, construction, pre-commissioning and commissioning of the project. The estimate was completed to a level consistent with an AACEI (Association of Advanced Cost Engineering International) Class 3 estimate with target accuracy level of ±15%, based on second quarter 2012 prices, excluding escalation.

              The total estimated pre-production capital cost is $1.453 million. The life-of-mine sustaining capital is estimated at $122 million.

             The FS operating cost estimates have been prepared on an annual basis for the life of the mine. The operating cost estimate has been prepared with an estimated level of accuracy of ±15% based on the design of the plant and facilities as described in detail in the FS.

             Cash Flow Analysis

             An assessment of the project has been prepared on the basis of a discounted cash flow model, from which net present value (“NPV”), internal rate of return (“IRR”), payback and other measures of project viability can be determined. Assessments of NPV are generally accepted within the mineral industry as representing the economic value of a project after allowing for the cost of capital invested. A 10% discount rate is commonly used for the base case.

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              A summary of the Life of Mine cash flows and the cumulative discounted and undiscounted cash flows is presented below.

             The table below shows the results of the economic evaluation of the FS projected cash flows.

             The FS estimates that the Nechalacho Project provides a payback of 4.3 years on the undiscounted cash flow, or 6.3 years on the cash flow discounted at 10%/year, leaving a considerable reserve “tail”. The cash operating margin is seen to remain positive over the whole Life of Mine period, and is particularly strong in the first four years of full production.

             14. Exploration, Development and Production

             Optimization of the FS

             During the course of executing the FS, Avalon had identified a number of opportunities for project optimization that may improve project economics, reduce technical risk, enhance metallurgical recoveries, improve operational efficiencies and to meet environmental requirements. These include:

• Reviewing the current mine plan and design in particular the crusher location, access ramp and paste backfill system.
• Optimization of the crushing and grinding circuit, plant layouts and materials of construction.
• Laboratory testwork on the concentrator flowsheet to further improve reagent selection and flotation recoveries.
• Improvements to the hydrometallurgical plant processes.
• Alternative impurity removal scenarios.

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• Potential to separate lanthanum and cerium at the hydrometallurgical plant and stockpile for future sales.
• Potential to reintroduce cracking of zircon to increase direct production of HREE and separate the by-products from the EZC.
• Potential sales of magnetite by-product from the concentrator.
• Potential to defer construction of the refinery and toll process mixed rare earth concentrate through a refinery or refineries built and operated by others.
• Potential to use excess capacity in the refinery to toll process third party production and reduce operating costs.
• Updated environmental studies, including water treatment testing to demonstrate compliance with regulatory requirements.
• Energy options and other potential cost reductions associated with road access.

              These opportunities are under consideration and will continue to be investigated as the Nechalacho Project proceeds.

(B)         Current Work and Future Plans

              Subsequent to the completion of the FS in April 2013, the Company has been investigating optimization opportunities identified in the FS and conducting testwork/technical studies necessary to confirm potential benefits and with a view to potentially updating the development model of specific opportunities among those noted above. A number of design optimization activities were initiated that have focused primarily on improving project economics, improving operation efficiency and reducing project risk. These include the following:

• Underground mine plan, including mining method, underground equipment and facilities
• Nechalacho site and concentrator building layout and design
• Hydrometallurgical plant location
• Concentrate handling and shipping
• Metallurgical process development for both the concentrator and hydrometallurgical plant

              In addition two further drill programs were completed in winter (HQ rig) and summer (PQ rig), 2014. These programs, totalling 22 holes and 4,908 metres, were mainly for the purpose of collecting further mineralized drill core for metallurgical purposes. The geological drill database has been updated but no new resource has been estimated.

             Underground Mine

             An initial study was carried out to determine the most appropriate mining method to be used. Particular consideration was given to the mining cost, the undulating floor of the Basal Zone, the changing Basal Zone thickness, and the need to be able to maintain a relatively constant grade of ore. A hybrid mining method consisting of “drift and fill” primary stopes, and “up-hole” bulk mining (uppers for the secondary stopes) was selected and a new mine plan developed accordingly for a 2,000 tonnes of ore per day, 20 year life-of-mine operation.

             Concentrator Plant

             The crushing and milling circuits have also been re-examined. The milling circuit can be revised to include a SAG mill allowing the removal of secondary and tertiary crushing and resulting in more energy efficient comminution circuit. A further study concluded that there were both cost and operability advantages in moving the primary crusher from the underground location previously considered, to an above ground location near the SAG mill. This change also included replacing the conveyor system with haul trucks to bring the ore to the surface.

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              Laboratory testwork and a pilot plant trial of an updated Concentrator flowsheet have also been completed. This work has confirmed a potential overall improvement in REE flotation recoveries to approximately 89% (compared to approximately 78% in the FS) using a simpler and easier to operate flowsheet.

             These results were achieved using a flowsheet without de-sliming ahead of flotation, with no gravity enrichment of final concentrate and with zero recycling of tailings from the four stages of cleaner flotation; all of which will result in a simpler plant to operate. The principal change has been the introduction of a superior reagent suite together with an increase in the flotation mass pull from 18.0% to 21.4% .

             Environmental testing of the new tailings composition from the modified reagent suite has indicated no negative impacts on environmental performance. A simplified flowsheet is anticipated to improve environmental performance through reduced energy use, reduced carbon dioxide emissions and improvements in water treatment efficiencies.

             As part of the optimization work, potential modifications are expected to be made to the site layout and the concentrator including revising the milling equipment and developing the surface ore handling/crushing area, modifying the equipment layout in the concentrator building and reducing the required size and volume of the building.

             Hydrometallurgical Plant Flowsheet

             Significant modifications to the Hydrometallurgical Plant flowsheet are now envisaged based on the extensive testwork program undertaken since the FS.

             This flowsheet optimization work for the Hydrometallurgical Plant has resulted in the development of an alkali cracking process to potentially replace the sulphuric acid baking used to treat the flotation concentrate in the FS. Optimization of this flowsheet is nearly completed with the details around reagent recovery and recycling being the only outstanding items. Work here has indicated an 80% reduction in hydrochloric acid (“HCl”), 90% reduction in magnesium oxide and almost 100% reduction in calcium carbonate could be achievable.

             The sulphuric acid baking process utilized in the FS resulted in approximately 47% of the HREE contained in the flotation concentrate (as well as the niobium and tantalum) remaining trapped in the Enriched Zirconium Concentrate (“EZC”) specialty by-product. The alkali cracking process successfully alters (or “cracks”) the zircon in the flotation concentrate which enables the contained HREE (and most of the zirconium) to be released into solution. Total HREE recoveries reporting to the Refinery could now be in excess of 90% of the HREE in the flotation concentrate, as opposed to the approximately 52% recovery contemplated in the FS. In addition, the alkali cracking process would allow for the recovery of zirconium in a form for which there is already established markets.

             A further benefit of this alternative process is that the hydrochloric acid will be recovered without the use of sulphuric acid and the production of large volumes of gypsum waste. Instead, a clean sodium chloride (salt) waste product is produced which is easier to dispose of and could potentially be of some use. The reduction in HCl transport achieved through re-cycling is an additional cost and sustainability advantage.

             Light rare earth element (“LREE”) leach recoveries are also generally improved with the updated flowsheet (with the exception of cerium which becomes oxidized during the cracking process, making it less amenable to the acid leaching).

             Hydrometallurgical Plant Location.

             Several sites in western Canada are under consideration for the location of a potential new Hydrometallurgical Plant design. The original design contemplated in the FS was planned to be located in Pine Point, NWT, but this area has insufficient infrastructure to support the new potential plant design. Geismar was also considered as a potential location, but costs for transporting the concentrate to Louisiana remain high. Eventually a number of potential sites meeting the necessary infrastructure requirements were identified in Saskatchewan and Alberta and these are now undergoing further evaluation. An excellent potential site was identified in Saskatchewan, but nothing has yet been finalized.

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             The potential for re-locating the Hydrometallurgical Plant outside the Pine Point, NWT area would likely require the shipment of concentrate by rail from Hay River, NWT. The entire shipping process has been carefully looked at including the containers required both for barge shipment and rail shipment, the concentrate loading requirements at Nechalacho, barging across Great Slave Lake, rail car requirements for shipment from Hay River, and a storage/trans-shipment facility at Hay River. A concept has been developed to include all of the shipping components from container loading at Nechalacho to railcar loading in Hay River in a single contract, potentially reducing project capital costs and simplifying the shipping operation.

             It is noted that these changes have been presented to the regulators, Aboriginal groups and other communities of interest and due to the environmental benefits of these changes associated with lower energy use, fewer reagents and water treatment benefits, are not considered significant and will not impact on the permitting process in the NWT.

             Metallurgical Process Development

             Metallurgical testwork since the FS has been conducted under the direction of the Company’s Senior Vice President, Metallurgy and Technology Development, Mr. David Marsh. Recent work has focused on various optimization opportunities within the FS base case flowsheets for the Concentrator and in particular for the Hydrometallurgical Plant.

             A further integrated pilot plant campaign has been planned, but will only proceed when funding becomes available. This is designed to fully evaluate process performance particularly with the incorporation of the acid recovery circuit(s) and associated recycle streams and would include all unit operations from crushing of ore right through to the generation of a mixed rare earth precipitate. The total bulk sample of ore required for this pilot plant is approximately eight tonnes. The material is being stored in Yellowknife and Lakefield, Ontario, until such time as the funding becomes available to proceed with the pilot plant work, presently estimated at approximately $4.0 million. There is no firm timeline for when this work will be carried out.

             Efforts to recover the niobium and tantalum from the solid residue after acid leaching have so far proved unsuccessful and work in this regard has been placed on hold. This latest work has confirmed that total HREE recoveries of approximately 93% can be achieved in the hydrometallurgical plant directly from the flotation concentrate.

             The final economics for the potential revised process are still being determined. However, initial estimates of increased power and reagent consumption associated with the processes and logistical issues have necessitated consideration of alternative locations for the hydrometallurgical plant with better infrastructure and reagent availability.

             In fiscal 2016 Avalon conducted metallurgical testwork investigations related to the potential recovery of zirconium and production of marketable quality zirconium basic sulphate (“ZBS”) and zirconium oxychloride (“ZOC”) products.

             Refinery

             In early 2014 the Company entered into an agreement which would have had Solvay toll-process the Company’s rare earth concentrate into separated and purified rare earth oxides rather than the Company building its own refinery. In early 2016 Avalon and Solvay mutually terminated their refining agreement and left the door open to initiate discussions on an updated refining toll contract when market conditions became favorable for such discussions to take place.

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             Markets Update

             The Company continues to monitor developments in the global rare earths market. Illegal production in China is reported to be at least 20,000 tonnes per year and some estimates go as high as 40,000 tonnes. Verification of the exact quantity being produced or sold illegally is very difficult. As a result of the illegal activity, the market price for all rare earths has fallen dramatically and availability out of China is reported to be good. This has lowered the pressure on non-Chinese consumers to seek outside China sources of supply and has led, in part, to the Chapter 11 filing of Molycorp Inc., one of the two major producers of rare earths outside China. In 2016 very few consumers of rare earths were concerned about the availability of rare earths. Low pricing levels and product availability has reduced the interest of consumers in investing in rare earth projects outside China. However, since the start of 2017 prices for certain REE (Nd, Pr, Dy) have begun to increase due to increased demand for magnets for motors of hybrid and electric vehicles. Future price trends for rare earths still depend on decisions made in China. China remains the dominant producer at approximately 90% of supply. Prices could continue to increase as demand increases and if China continues to restrict output from illegal producers and continues to restrict output from producers who do not follow environmental regulations. Prices could be maintained or even fall as demand increases if China decides to release stockpiles of rare earths it has apparently accumulated during the last few years or if it instructs government approved producers to increase supply.

             2017 Work Program

             During fiscal 2017 a brief site visit was conducted to do the camp maintenance work and do some sampling on known lithium occurrences on the northern part of the property. There are three mineralized zones on the property immediately north of Thor Lake with geology similar to classic pegmatite deposits, referred to historically as the R-, S- and T-Zones. It was known that these zones contain lithium-bearing minerals but no systematic mapping and sampling had previously been conducted. The work in this short program concentrated on the S Zone, which is exposed in outcrop and old trenches. Continuous chip samples were collected in the trenches and thirteen selected samples sent for analysis as an initial test for lithium enrichment. The remaining samples will be analyzed in the next phase of analytical work. The thirteen initial samples were submitted to a lab in Yellowknife for preparation and analysis yielding encouraging results. The average Li ₂ O content of all thirteen samples was 1.0% Li ₂ O with two samples containing over 2% Li ₂ O. Understanding of the overall distribution of lithium in the S Zone will improve with further analytical work and mineralogical studies.

Separation Rapids Lithium Project

(A)          Summary of Technical Report

             1. Current Technical Report

             The most recent technical report on the property is entitled “NI 43-101 Technical Report on the Preliminary Economic Assessment of Lithium Hydroxide Production Separation Rapids Lithium Project Kenora, Ontario” dated November 10, 2016, effective October 21, 2016 (the “Technical Report”) and prepared by Steven R. Aiken, P.Eng. and Kevin E. Hawton, P.Eng. of Knight Piesold Limited, Richard Gowans, P.Eng., Christopher Jacobs, CEng, MIMMM, Eur Ing, Bruce Pilcher, CEng, FIMMM, FAusIMM(CP) and Jane Spooner, P.Geo, all of Micon, and David L. Trueman, Ph.D., P.Geo, each of whom is a qualified person pursuant to NI 43-101.

             The current Technical Report follows an earlier, Pre-feasibility Study (“PFS”) completed in 1999 and updated in 2000, also by Micon. The PFS was based on the original development model of producing a lithium mineral product for glass-ceramics applications and did not consider battery materials as a potential primary product. The Technical Report was prepared to exclusively evaluate the lithium battery materials market opportunity and the economics of producing a lithium hydroxide product from the petalite concentrate, something which has not been done previously to the knowledge of the Company. It does not preclude the possibility of producing petalite concentrate for the glass-ceramics market, since it is an intermediate product for battery materials production. Future work will consider both markets as opportunities.

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             2. Project Description, Location and Access

              The Separation Rapids property is located in northwestern Ontario, 55 km due north of Kenora and about 70 km by road. It is centred on latitude 50 15’ 30” N, longitude 94 35’ W (UTM coordinates: 388441E 5568996N in Zone 15, NAD83). In the Technical Report, the property consists of eight mineral claims and one Mining Lease. The claims comprised 90 claim units, totalling 1,440 ha (3,558 acres). The Mining Lease encompasses the mineralized zone and is referred to as Lease or Licence Number 108395 (Paterson Lake CLM469). The lease covers an area of 421.441 ha over the area of the Separation Rapids Lithium Deposit (“SRLD”) and adjacent lands. Subsequent to the Technical Report Avalon acquired an additional seven claims bringing the property to fifteen mineral claims comprising 153 claim units totalling 2,448 hectares. With the Mining Lease the total area is now 2,869 hectares.

              Other than minor reclamation requirements that are largely funded under the existing Advanced Exploration Approval (presently called Bulk Sample Permission), there are no known environmental liabilities associated with the Separation Rapids property. Avalon has the right to access the Separation Rapids property to conduct routine exploration work, although additional Exploration permits will be required for larger scale work programs such as diamond drilling in the future. This involves further consultation with Indigenous peoples. There are no known factors or risks that may affect access, title or the right or ability to perform work on the property.

              Mining and mineral concentration will take place at the Separation Rapids property. Petalite concentrate will be shipped by truck to a hydrometallurgical processing plant planned to be located in the City of Kenora, Ontario. A trans-shipment facility will be required in order to access rail transportation for product shipment and inbound supplies. Avalon has not made the final site selection for the hydrometallurgical plant and trans-shipment facility and has not acquired ownership or rights to any land for these facilities.

             The Separation Rapids area is typical of much of northwestern Ontario and the Canadian Shield. The property is relatively flat with an average elevation of approximately 350 m asl. Local topographic relief is limited to 50 m or less with typical Precambrian glaciated terrain. The English River system is proximal to all claim groups. The area is located within the Boreal Hardwood Transition or Mixed Boreal Forest. A Species at Risk Act assessment was completed and no endangered or at risk species were identified in the area of the proposed project. The climate is typical of Canada’s mid-latitudes with long, cold winters and comparatively short spring-summer-fall periods.

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             The closest centre with significant services is Kenora. Forestry, tourism and mining are the three largest sectors of the Kenora economy.

             Properties immediately adjacent to the property were held by Avalon, Pacific Iron Ore Corporation, GoldON Resources Ltd. and Gossan Resources Ltd. Subsequent to the completion of the Technical Report Avalon has acquired the claims owned by GoldON.

             3. History

             Rare-element mineralization in the area was first encountered along the English River near Separation Rapids in 1932. The petalite-bearing SRLD and an associated group of rare-metal pegmatites, were discovered by Dr. Fred Breaks of the Ontario Geological Survey (OGS) as a result of a detailed study of rare-metal pegmatites in the region between 1994 and 1996.

             4. Geological Setting, Mineralization and Deposit Types

             The Late Archean SRLD belongs to the petalite sub-type of the complex-type class of rare-metal pegmatites. The SRLD, its parent granite, the Separation Rapids Pluton, and associated rare-metal pegmatites occur within the Archean Separation Lake Metavolcanic Belt (SLMB) which forms the boundary between the English River subprovince to the north and the Winnipeg River subprovince to the south. Both subprovinces are part of the larger Archean Superior Province of the Canadian Shield. Avalon has divided the SRLD into the Separation Rapids Pegmatite, the Western Pegmatite and the Eastern Swarm.

             As described in the Technical Report, petalite, potassium feldspar and sodium feldspar are the major rock-forming and primary minerals in the Separation Rapids Pegmatite (SRP), with subordinate amounts of other minerals including spodumene, lithian muscovite, lepidolite, and quartz. The petalite-bearing Unit 6 is the principal unit of interest within the Separation Rapids Pegmatite (SRP). Geological mapping and assays for surface and drill core samples show that mineralogy and lithium oxide (Li ₂ O) grades of the mineralization in the SRP are relatively homogeneous and that the petalite is close to the theoretical (stoichiometric) chemical composition, as well as being very pure, with marked absence of deleterious elements such as iron. Subsequent to the completion of the Technical Report Avalon has completed further work on the mineralogy and resources and also drilling as reported in Section (B)(c) below due to recognition of the abundance and importance of lepidolite increased since the completion of the report.

             5. Exploration

             Following the discovery of the SRLD in 1996, Avalon carried out a brief prospecting and sampling program in November, 1996. This was followed by a program of geological mapping, trenching, line-cutting and magnetometry in 1997 and 1998.

             In the period from 2000 to 2014, little work of a geoscientific nature was carried out at the property. The main activity relating to advancing the project was metallurgical and, consequently, the main activities at site were collection of samples, up to bulk sample size, for metallurgical testing.

             6. Drilling

             Avalon undertook a number of drilling campaigns between 1997 and 2001. In the Technical Report the total number of drill holes is 72 for a cumulative total of 10,708 m, as summarized in table 6.1. Three of these holes were drilled between 26 April and 4 May, 2001 for the purposes of a geomechanical investigation of the rock mass at the proposed open pit mine and to develop suitable pit slope design parameters. The potential for water inflow into the open pit was also evaluated.

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             7. Sampling, Analysis and Data Verification

             Surface samples taken in the 1990s were shipped to independent laboratories, the one in Thunder Bay, Ontario for preparation then to other independent laboratories in Mississauga, Ontario and Vancouver, British Columbia for subsequent assaying. Surface samples were analysed for lithium and a range of other elements including tin, rubidium, cesium, tantalum, gallium and niobium.

             In the 1990s, drill core was logged and split with half of the core being sent for assay and the other half being stored in core boxes on site. Core sample intervals were varied according to the lithology, to a maximum of 3 m. Split core samples were shipped to a laboratory in Don Mills, Ontario, where they were assayed for lithium, rubidium, cesium and tantalum. A total of 2,516 drill core samples were assayed with an additional 223 duplicate analyses. Check-assaying was routinely carried out for lithium and rubidium in an independent laboratory.

             The drilling database contains 185 specific gravity values for various lithologies on the SRLD. This comprises 118 measurements on pegmatite, 66 on amphibolite and one measurement which was considered an outlier and was rejected. The average SG for pegmatite is 2.62 for the 118 samples (one high outlier at 3.16 removed). The average SG for amphibolite (waste) is 3.04 based on the 66 measurements. The SG measurements show low variability (standard deviation of 0.08, or 3% for pegmatite and 0.05 or 2% for amphibolite) indicating that the risk of significant error is also low.

             The mineral resource estimate completed was based on the original drilling by Avalon in 1997 to 2001, and the assay database created in 1999. Quality assurance/quality control procedures were applied and included check assays at a second laboratory and independent assaying. Subsequently, Avalon completed further verification of the drill data, including cross-checking the database against original field records, such as drill logs, cross-checking the assays against laboratory assay certificates and reassaying drill core splits with inserted internally certified lithium standards. The comparison of the different independent laboratory data sets is favourable. This indicates high and acceptable reliability in the analyses.

             Avalon also verified the drill hole database against historic data records such as drill logs, assay certificates, and other original sources of data in order to ensure that there were no errors present in the Avalon database used for resource estimation. Drill hole angle, direction and the maximum hole depth were also verified.

             As of 6 July, 2016, the Avalon database contained records for 2,790 downhole samples which were assayed for the 1997, 1998 and 2001 drill programs. A random sample of 12% of the assay values contained in the Avalon database were compared against the values as reported on the original certificates of analysis. No errors were found in the downhole assay values as entered into the Avalon database from the original historic database.

             Avalon prepared a certified rock lithium analysis standard by shipping 16 kg of Separation Rapids Pegmatite to an independent laboratory in Langley, British Columbia that specializes in preparing samples for rock analysis standards. A Round Robin analysis procedure was then completed with five samples of the material being shipped to each of six laboratories for lithium analysis, with associated analytical methods performed.

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              It was concluded that the lithium standard was a suitable standard for QA/QC of Separation Rapids drill core samples. The certified value for the standard SR2016 is 1.48%Li ₂ O with a standard deviation of 0.03% Li ₂ O for future analyses of Separation Rapids samples.

             8. Mineral Processing and Metallurgical Testing

             A number of phases of metallurgical testing since 1997 have been completed by Avalon using samples obtained from the SRLD. The work prior to 2014 was mainly undertaken at a lab in Ontario. This work not only included the recovery of petalite, but also a number of other mineral products which can be found in the lithium bearing pegmatite as well. The work since 2014 has focused on the recovery of a petalite flotation concentrate and the subsequent processing of this concentrate to produce a high quality lithium hydroxide product suitable for the lithium battery industry.

             Avalon utilized a German company that specializes in the processing of high purity industrial and strategic minerals to develop a process for recovering the petalite and achieving target product grade of >4% ^LiO 2 ^{. This} contractor also investigated the recovery of a low impurity feldspar by-product and tested this product to determine its suitability in a number of industrial applications.

             Avalon investigated the potential to use petalite as a source of both lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide. Initial investigations for producing these lithium chemicals were completed by two separate independent contractors.

             Table 8.1 lists all the flotation/concentrator testwork reports issued since the project was re-activated in 2014. Table 8.2 lists the hydrometallurgical testwork programs.

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Through the completion of these testwork programs Avalon was able to demonstrate the following:

• A petalite concentrate assaying over 4% Li ₂ O can be produced which, because of its low impurity levels, is potentially an excellent feed material to the specialized glass/ceramics industries.
• A low impurity mixed (sodium/potassium) feldspar concentrate can also be produced which has applications in a number of ceramic applications as well as a filler in paints and other products.
• There is potential to produce other by-products from the mineralized material, including a high purity quartz, and for additional lithium recovery from the magnetic fraction.
• The petalite can be used as a feed source to produce both lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide for the battery and energy storage industries.
• The use of electrodialysis has been shown as a viable for producing lithium hydroxide from a lithium sulphate solution.

             There remain a number of areas within the process flowsheet that have the potential for improvement and optimization in terms of lower costs and increased process efficiencies.

             9. Mineral Resource Estimates

              Lithium and feldspar mineral resource estimates for the Separation Rapids project have been prepared by Benjamin Webb, P.Geo. (B.C.), Principal of BMW Geoscience LLC. The mineral resource estimates have been reviewed in detail by David L. Trueman, Ph.D., P.Geo., who is the Qualified Person for the resource estimates.

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             Lithium Mineral Resource Estimate

             The Technical Report project database contains 69 drill holes for 10,171 m with 2,790 assay results. The data were used to create a 3D model of the host lithology which was used to constrain the interpolation of assays. The project database is maintained in Maxwell DataShed™ software and the resource estimation utilized MineSight 3D.

             The Separation Rapids Lithium Project Measured plus Indicated and Inferred mineral resource effective October 21, 2106 are presented in the table 9.1 below.

Footnotes:

       (d) Lithium Markets

              The demand for lithium chemicals, such as lithium carbonate and lithium hydroxide, has been growing rapidly in recent years, driven predominantly by lithium ion rechargeable battery technology now in high demand for electric vehicles and other energy storage applications. Current projections indicate continued growth in lithium demand from the battery sector for the foreseeable future. Because lithium is marketed in different forms, (including lithium minerals used in glass and ceramics) aggregate lithium demand and supply is usually expressed in terms of lithium carbonate equivalent (“LCE”).

              In 2017, several countries announced new policies to ban the sale of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the future including Norway by 2025, India by 2030 and France and the UK by 2040. China announced that it would also ban the sale of ICE vehicles in the future without a target date, but further announced minimum EV sales quotas beginning in 2019 at 10% of total vehicle sales. Since some 26 million cars were sold in China in 2016, 10% of sales in 2019 is expected to amount to at least 2.6 million vehicles, an ambitious target

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              So far during 2017 several auto makers have made announcements revealing significant increases in hybrid (HEV) and electric vehicle (EV) production targets. BMW, Ford, GM, Honda, Mercedes, Volvo, Jaguar, Mazda and Volkswagen have each made significant announcements. Volkswagen stated it would offer 80 electric models by 2025 and 300 models by 2030. A market observer estimated that VW would require more than 50% of the lithium produced worldwide in 2015 to produce the electric vehicles it expects to sell by 2030.

              It is clear that new lithium supply sources will be needed to meet the growing demand for batteries for electric vehicles. The Separation Rapids Lithium Project will be well-situated to serve new battery production facilities contemplated in North America. Just one well-known example, the lithium battery Gigafactory of Tesla Motors Inc. in Nevada which began production in early 2017, is expected to consume up to 25,000 tonnes per year of lithium hydroxide after it has reached full production.

              For the purposes of its 2016 PEA, Avalon used a price assumption of US$11,000 per tonne FOB plant for lithium hydroxide consistent with price forecasts developed in mid 2016 by Roskill Information Services. Prices as reported by other services such as Benchmark Minerals Intelligence have continued to escalate since that time due to rapidly growing demand from battery makers. Current prices estimates by Benchmark Mineral Intelligence are US$17,500/t for lithium carbonate in September 2017. (Lithium hydroxide typically carries a premium of US$2,000/t over lithium carbonate to reflect the added processing cost of converting carbonate to hydroxide)

              Lithium chemicals are getting most of the attention in the market and the media due to the increased demand projected for lithium ion batteries in electric vehicles. The markets for glass and ceramics (which commonly use lithium in the mineral form) will also continue to be a growth market for lithium albeit not at the rate anticipated for lithium battery applications. Many existing and new glass formulations for automotive, cell phones, and video displays that require high strength, contain lithium and this will remain an important market in years to come.

             Numerous expressions of interest have been received from potential customers for the Company’s lithium products and discussions on off-take commitments are ongoing. Once off-take commitments are secured that define the priority lithium product lines, the Company can finalize the design and engineering of the Phase 1 plant. With demand for lithium growing rapidly and few advanced lithium projects ready to commence production, the Company is well-positioned to bring a new supply to the market to serve priority customers, once project financing is in place.

       (e) Environmental Assessment and Community Engagement Update

             Avalon is committed to developing the Project based on modern CSR principles and reporting on its performance in its annual Sustainability Reports. These CSR principles include commitments to minimize environmental impacts, ensuring the health and safety of employees, creating benefits for local communities and providing full transparency in its social and environmental performance. The Company and the Project are well known in the local community.

             The Company completed site water, sediment, fish, invertebrate and endangered species studies in June and October that successfully advanced the validation of the 1999 environmental baseline study. Sites for infrastructure, including the tailing management facility, have been identified that do not impact fish or other wildlife habitat. Leachate work has been initiated on the site rock and tailings to confirm that these have a low risk of generating acid rock drainage. The original baseline environmental study prepared in 1999 and updated in 2007, required the spring and fall 2017 data collection to further update this study and align it with recent regulatory changes. A Draft Project Description and Environmental Impact Assessment was subsequently produced.

              Permitting was advanced through a multi-ministry meeting to review the completed Draft Project Description, discuss the provincial permitting process and to obtain regulator input into the project planning and confirm the proposed environmental work program. Separate discussions were held with federal regulators which also included the probable exemption of the project from the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (“CEAA”) due to the low environmental impact of the project and the fact that the project does not exceed any of the regulated triggers under the Act. No fish or fish habitat will be impacted by the project, eliminating the need for associated permits under the Federal Fisheries Act.

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             Initial studies suggest that aggregate stockpiles, tailing and concentrate storage areas will not contribute effluents of environmental concern. Additional environmental assessment of the waste rock and tailing materials, based on recent drilling and metallurgical work, was initiated in an effort to validate the earlier work. Dry stacking of tailing and concentrates will minimize long term storage risk, water use and optimize effluent quantity. A final project description may not be required if the Project is exempted from the CEAA process. The data will be required to support the provincial permit applications only. This has the advantage of shortening the permitting time line significantly.

             The Project is located in the traditional land use area of the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations (“WIN”) for which they have stewardship under an agreement with the Province. The Company first signed an MOU with WIN in 1999 which was renewed when the Project was re-activated in 2013. Avalon management has been keeping WIN leadership informed on Project activities and remains committed to fulfilling its community consultation obligations and partnering with WIN on Project business opportunities. The Company has also initiated dialogue with the Métis Nation of Ontario who holds Aboriginal rights in the area. Following the completion of the Draft Project Description, positive project review meetings were held with the Wabaseemoong Chief and Council and with the Metis Nation of Ontario at a Valued Components Workshop in order to review the project and obtain guidance and comments on environmental aspects of the project.

              Overall, the Company does not anticipate any delays in securing the necessary permits and approvals to proceed with the Phase 1 production facility.

       (f) Future Work

              The Company is primarily focused on the next steps required to move forward with the Phase 1 demonstration scale production facility. Several models for this plant are under consideration involving different throughput rates and variations of the flowsheet depending on the product mix to be recovered. The nature of the resource, with two main lithium minerals, offers considerable flexibility in lithium products. Some consumers are interested in mineral concentrate (either petalite or lepidolite) and some are more interested in the lithium derivative products, either carbonate or hydroxide. The Company continues to talk to potential strategic partners interested in securing lithium supplies. The product mix, final flowsheet and production capacity will be determined in collaboration with our partner(s).

              Near term priorities are all related to flowsheet optimization laboratory work and production of small product samples for customer evaluation. Following completion of the current testwork program, the Company will be in a position to proceed with another bulk sample trial in order to generate the information necessary to complete the final flowsheet design and engineering for the Phase 1 Plant. When this work is completed, financing is secured and any necessary operating permits are in place the Company will be in a position to proceed with Phase 1 plant construction possibly as early as 2018.

              The present concept is to build this facility at a scale that would facilitate on-going profitable small-scale production. A throughput rate of in the order of 100,000 tonnes per annum of ore is envisioned which would require a capital investment in the rate of $30-40 million. A Phase 1 Plant at this scale could potentially be in operation before the end of 2019. Once the lithium products are fully qualified and commitments on off-take received, the Company would then proceed with scale-up of the operation to expand product output. This might be done in two steps before full-scale production is achieved in order to ensure a successful transition without compromising product quality.

              Further drilling is also contemplated in order to increase the total lithium resources in the main Separation Rapids lithium deposit, which is open for expansion to depth below 200 metres with the deepest holes at present indicating similar widths and grades as in the near surface holes. In addition, the lepidolite-rich sub-unit of the main pegmatite is also open for expansion to depth and along strike. This work is considered a second priority since the existing resource is more than adequate to serve the requirements for Phase 1 production start-up and there is a high degree of confidence in the potential for delineating additional economic resources on the property.

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             Unless otherwise noted, the technical information on the Separation Rapids Lithium Project has been reviewed and approved by the Company’s Senior Vice President, Metallurgy and Technology Development, Mr. David Marsh, FAusIMM (CP), or Dr. William Mercer, PhD, P.Geo. (Ontario), P. Geo. (NS), Vice President, Exploration, who are both Qualified Persons under NI 43-101.

Other Properties and Assets

              In addition to the Nechalacho Project and the Separation Rapids Lithium Minerals Project, the Company owns three other rare metals and minerals projects, one of which (the East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project) is currently active. The Company’s other assets which are inactive are the Warren Township Calcium Feldspar Project and the Lilypad Lakes Tantalum-Cesium Project. The Company abandoned its interest in the New Brunswick Tin Exploration Project in fiscal 2017. The Company also owns royalty interests in two development projects which are not in production.

              Unless otherwise stated, the technical information contained in this section of the Annual Report in respect of other properties and assets of the Company has been reviewed and approved by Dr. William Mercer, P.Geo., Vice President, Exploration who is a qualified person for the purposes of NI 43-101.

East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project

             The 100% owned East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project is located approximately 45 kilometres northeast of Yarmouth, in Yarmouth County, southwestern Nova Scotia in the vicinity of the former East Kemptville Tin Mine. Highway #203, which connects the Town of Yarmouth to the southwest with the Town of Shelburne to the east, passes a short distance to the northwest of the project area. The East Kemptville Tin mine was developed in 1985 on a resource of tin-copper-zinc mineralization known geologically as a “greisen”. Greisens are hydrothermal mineral deposits associated with granites consisting of a stockwork of mineralized veins and replacement zones in altered and mineralized granitic rocks.

              The Company holds mineral rights at East Kemptville through a “Special Licence”, a form of mineral tenure granted by the Province of Nova Scotia in circumstances where there is a history of previous industrial land use activity (such as mining) in the area of interest. It does not immediately convey surface land rights and, accordingly, access must be arranged with the permission of surface rights holders (which was done in 2014 and renewed for 2015 and 2016). Ultimately, with completion of a feasibility study and related environmental assessment work, a form of mining lease is obtainable from the government to secure the requisite surface land rights. Negotiations with the surface rights holders toward securing full tenure to the East Kemptville site are advancing steadily, (including a detailed due diligence review on environmental liabilities).

             The Company first acquired a Special Licence at East Kemptville in 2005 and it has been subsequently renewed multiple times while the Company negotiated access to the site. During the year ended August 31, 2015, by Order in Council, the Government of Nova Scotia approved an application for a new Special Licence reflecting the entire original mine site. The total area covered by the new Special Licence is 2,880 acres. The new Special Licence designated Special Licence No. 50462, has a term of three years beginning February 2, 2015, is renewable for an additional two one-year periods and includes an obligation to incur $5.25 million in expenditures by January 31, 2018 (of which $3,152,858 had been incurred by August 31, 2017). The Company is unlikely to meet the expenditure requirements of the Special Lease by and the Company will need to negotiate with the government to renew or replace the special licence. Subsequent to the end of fiscal 2017, the Company commenced the process toward converting the Special Licence into a mining lease which it anticipates completing in the first half of 2018.

             A drilling program was completed in the summer and early fall of 2014. It comprised of seven drill holes totaling 984 metres on the Baby Zone. The objective of the drill program was verification of historic drill data by 86 twinning in some cases, of historic drill holes, but applying quality control and quality assurance processes as specified under CIM guidelines for resource estimation.

             In October 2014, the Company completed its first resource estimate prepared in accordance with NI 43-101 for the East Kemptville Project. As announced in the Company’s news release dated October 31, 2014, the estimated Indicated Mineral Resources are 18.47 million tonnes averaging 0.176% tin, 0.173% zinc and 0.064% copper and the estimated Inferred Mineral Resources are 16.95 million tonnes averaging 0.148% tin, 0.122% zinc and 0.062% copper at a 0.10% tin cut-off grade, as more fully detailed in Table 1 below. Note that the 0.10% tin cut-off grade employed in the base case simply reflects the cut-off grade used historically.

Table 1: Mineral Resources, East Kemptville Main and Baby Zones

Notes:

              In February 2015, the Company completed a Conceptual Redevelopment Study (the “Study”), on the East Kemptville Tin Deposit (the “Deposit”) to confirm the business case for re-development of the Deposit. The Study was prepared by Hains Engineering Company Limited of Toronto (“Hains”) and indicated that, given the preliminary assumptions used on costs and revenues, there is potential for attractive economics. The Study was very preliminary in nature and included inferred mineral resources that are considered too speculative geologically to have the economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to be categorized as mineral reserves. Further definition drilling will be required before these mineral resources can be incorporated into a mining reserve and relied upon in an economic analysis for feasibility study purposes. There is no certainty that these inferred resources will be converted to reserves or that the preliminary economics indicated in the Study will be realized.

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              Hains’ proposed model assumes conventional open pit mining with milling rate at 10,000 tonnes per day. Whittle pit optimization based on the NI 43-101 resource released in October 2014 indicated a pit containing 49.3 million tonnes of mineral resources (which includes resources classified both as Indicated and Inferred) within the pit at average diluted grades of 0.113% tin. 0.131% zinc and 0.053% copper, including 5.87 million tonnes of low grade stockpile material.

              A 2015 drilling program was completed in November 2015 and had the objective of upgrading inferred mineral resources in the Main and Baby Zones into the indicated and measured categories as well as testing other known tin occurrences in the area. In addition, the drilling program provided further samples for metallurgical testing and assisted in developing geotechnical knowledge of the deposit. Twenty-two drill holes totalling 4,514 metres were completed, on the Main, Baby and Duck Pond Zones with assay results from the Baby Zone holes released on November 3, 2015. Results were in line with expectations and confirm continuity of the mineralized zone to depth. During the Quarter, the surface ore stockpiles were resampled and the historical estimate of average grades was confirmed. During 2016 a series of grab samples were collected from the surface ore stockpiles and the results provided a confirmation of the reported historical estimate of the average grade of the stockpiles as given in the table below. In addition, bulk samples were collected from the stockpile for metallurgical testwork. A drilling program will be required to more systematically sample the stockpiles and map the internal grade distribution in more detail. This information will be included in a future resource update.

             The estimate of resources present in the Low Grade Stockpile at East Kemptville reported by Rio Algom Limited in the East Kemptville Closure Plan Report dated December 1993 and filed with the Government of Nova Scotia was verified. In order to verify the tonnage a volume estimate was completed utilizing the original 1983 topography prior to mining, topography from the 1992 topographic survey and present topography to estimate the volume of the stockpile. A density (SG) of 1.6 t/m ³ was then applied as this was considered reasonable from past experience with estimating resources in stockpiles and dumps. The estimate of tonnage is within 5.5% overall of that given by Rio Algom in the mine closure document.

              In order to verify the metal grade of the low grade stockpile, a surface sampling program was completed. A program was completed with two independent samples at points at 50 m intervals across the length and width of the low grade stockpile, plus samples around one side of the bottom of the pile. The two samples from each site were kept separate in order to investigate any sampling bias on the part of one or other sampler. The samples collected totalled 270 kgs in weight. Locations were determined by chain, compass and handheld GPS. Samples collected from each site were shipped to Activation Laboratories Limited for analysis including multielement Ultratrace-7 (56 elements) and XRF for Sn (plus 19 elements including whole rock analysis). The grades estimated by Avalon in 2015 are in reasonable agreement to the average resource grade reported by Rio Algom Limited in the above mentioned Closure Plan (1993) and thus confirm the estimate of Sn, Zn and Cu grade of the Low Grade Stockpile. For example, the RAL Closure Plan quotes Sn grades of 0.091% Sn estimated from the block model during mining and 0.106% Sn from surface sampling by RAL. The comparison shows that Sn is within 11% of the surface samples quoted by RAL and higher than the block model estimate. Zinc as measured by Avalon is also within 11% of the RAL value. Copper is close to the block model estimate and slightly below the RAL surface sample estimates.

             Given the likely heterogeneity of the material in the stockpiles, largely due to the variable grades of the mineralization, the agreement is considered acceptable to verify the estimates in the Closure Plan and to class the Low Grade Stockpile as an Inferred Mineral Resource. Additional measurement and sampling of the stockpile is required to confirm the historic tonnage and grade data.

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              On the basis of its investigation, Avalon considers that the Low Grade Stockpile may be reported as an inferred mineral resource as summarized in Table EK 2. Metal grades are the average of the RAL and Avalon surface sampling, as shown previously in Table EK 1.

Table EK 2
Low Grade Stockpile Estimated Mineral Resource

Notes:

             It is recommended by Hains that a drill program be completed on the stockpile to verify the grade with depth within the pile with drill holes on a grid at 50-m intervals. This would require 2,000 to 4,000 m in about 75 – 120 drill holes at an estimated cost of about $300,000 to $600,000, or $0.05 -0.10/t. The drilling could be with a reverse circulation drill or similar, depending on the size distribution of the rock in the pile. In addition, mineralogical and metallurgical work is required to assess the degree of oxidation of the sulphide minerals present in the stockpile.

              Bench scale metallurgical testing, using sample material collected during the 2014 drill program, was carried out a commercial laboratory located in Cornwall, England with expertise in tin metallurgy, and was completed late in December, 2015. This work program investigated all aspects of the flowsheet including milling, copper and zinc sulphide flotation as well as tin recovery by both gravity and flotation processes. The recovery of indium to the zinc concentrate was also monitored. This test program will eventually lead to larger scale pilot plant testing (if metal prices increase sufficiently) using representative bulk samples collected from future drilling and existing ore stockpiles at the site. The results from this test program confirmed the ability to produce a tin concentrate with >50% tin, a zinc concentrate of >50% zinc (also containing 0.175% Indium) and a copper concentrate at >20% copper with scope for further grade improvements.

             During fiscal 2017, project work was focused on preparing an internal study on the economic viability of redeveloping the site at this small-scale by initially focusing on the readily accessible low-grade stockpile material. The Company’s detailed sampling of the surface of the stockpile has provided more confidence in the average grade estimate reported in the historical records. A drilling program will be carried out on the stockpile before production is initiated to map the internal grade distribution in more detail for future process plant scheduling.

             This recent work has confirmed that the small scale development scenario has economic potential at current tin prices. The model contemplates processing of almost 6 million tonnes of surface ore stockpiles at the rate of 100 tonnes per hour (“tph”) for the recovery of a tin concentrate through a small, modular-designed gravity process plant. The model also included the eventual processing of higher grade, near surface ore from both the Main and Baby Zone pits which would extend the operating life in the model to 13 years. Testwork on a simple gravity only circuit has demonstrated that a tin recovery of +/-60% is achievable by such a flowsheet. The initial concentrate produced was 44.6% tin but this was increased to 68% by flotation to remove the contained sulphides; a target of 55% tin has been set for the operating plant. This scenario offers the potential for near term production at a relatively low capital expenditure with positive environmental impact by removing sources of on-site acid mine drainage and by taking advantage of existing tailings management facilities and the open pits. Processing of the stockpiles would contribute to the long term environmental remediation of the site.

             Avalon has begun commercial discussions with several parties interested in new sources of supply of tin concentrate or interested in tin development opportunities. Samples of the tin mineralization from the stockpiles have been sent to one interested party and others are waiting for tin concentrate samples. Given the expected quality of the tin concentrate to be produced, off-take contracts are expected to be achieved once financing for the project is in place, or as a part of a debt financing arrangement.

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             Environmental studies examined the nature of the waste material generated from renewed operations, as well as the conditions required for bringing the existing operation into readiness for future production. A closure strategy has now been identified for the small scale development scenario to significantly reduce the existing site environmental liability through innovative management of future waste rock and tailings and through the processing and elimination of sulphide-bearing material presently stored on surface that is contributing to the need for costly ongoing water treatment.

               All future potentially acid generating waste produced will be disposed of sub-aqueously to eliminate oxidation and the need for long term treatment requirements. These are anticipated to significantly reduce or eliminate the need for ongoing site care and maintenance. Additional drilling was completed by the surface rights owner to validate the stability of the coarse tailing pile and eliminate the potential need for future stabilization work during operations. Samples from the drilling will be analysed for tin to evaluate the potential for re-processing the tailings to recover additional tin concentrates. The detailed due diligence review of the historic environmental liability, led by Mark Wiseman, Vice-President, Sustainability, related to the acquisition of the surface rights was completed with no fatal flaws identified.

              Unless otherwise noted, the technical information on the East Kemptville Tin-Indium Project has been reviewed and approved either by the Company’s Senior Vice President Metallurgy and Technology Development, Mr. David Marsh, FAusIMM (CP), or Dr. William Mercer, PhD, P.Geo. (Ontario), P. Geo. (NS), Vice President, Exploration, who are both Qualified Person under NI 43-101.

New Brunswick Tin Exploration Project

Mount Douglas Tin-Tungsten Property

     During the year ended August 31, 2016, the Company entered into an option agreement to earn a 100% interest (subject to a 2.0% NSR, which can be bought back for $1.0 million) in certain mineral claims located in Charlotte County, New Brunswick. The Company wrote off its investment in the project in fiscal 2017 and returned the claims to the original owner in September 2017.

Mascarene Copper-Nickel-Cobalt Property

             During the year ended August 31, 2016, the Company entered into an option agreement to earn a 100% interest (subject to a 2.0% NSR, of which half (1%) can be bought back for $1.0 million) in certain mineral claims located in the Mascarene Peninsula, Charlotte County, southern New Brunswick. The property is located near Highway 772 south of Saint George. Access is possible on the property on old logging roads and trails, plus a powerline that intersects the property can be used for access on foot or ATV. During fiscal 2017 the Company terminated the option agreement and returned these claims to the original owners.

Warren Township Calcium Feldspar Project

             The Warren Township Calcium Feldspar Project is a mineral development opportunity located near the Village of Foleyet, 100 kilometres west of Timmins, Ontario. The project consists of a mining lease totalling 687.736 hectares which is 100% owned by the Company. The lease covers a portion of the Shawmere Anorthosite Complex hosting a large historic resource (not prepared in accordance with NI 43-101) of a high purity anorthosite.

              Anorthosite is an unusual mafic igneous intrusive rock consisting of greater than 90% plagioclase feldspar. Previous work has demonstrated that this material can be processed to produce a high quality calcium feldspar raw material for the manufacture of reinforcing glass fibre and other industrial products such as mineral fillers. The location of the property near both road and rail transportation infrastructure and its proximity to markets in southern Ontario and the northeastern United States offers the potential for development of a low-cost, highly profitable industrial minerals operation.

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              In June 2012, Avalon received a permit under the Aggregate Resources Act (Ontario) to operate a quarry at Warren Township on 240 hectares of land.

              The Company does not plan any further work on the project until it identifies renewed market interest in the calcium feldspar product.

Lilypad Lakes Tantalum-Cesium Project

              The Lilypad Lakes Tantalum-Cesium Project consists of 14 claims, totalling 3,107.99 hectares, covering a field of tantalum and cesium mineralized pegmatites, and located 150 kilometres northeast of Pickle Lake, Ontario. The claims were staked by the Company between January 1999 and October 2000 and are 100% owned by the Company with no underlying royalties.

              The project has been inactive since 2001 awaiting a recovery in tantalum prices or new demand for cesium minerals before considering further expenditures. The Company has no plans for the work on the project for the foreseeable future.

Wolf Mountain Platinum-Palladium Property Royalty

              The Wolf Mountain Platinum-Palladium Project is located approximately 90 kilometres northeast of Thunder Bay, Ontario. In November 2003, Avalon sold its 40% working interest in the project to its joint venture partners for $20,000 and a 0.4% NSR interest in the two properties. The joint venture can purchase this NSR interest from the Company at any time for $1,000,000. In August, 2014, Avalon purchased an additional 2% NSR, which was held by the original vendor of the property, for $15,000, of which up to 1.0% can be purchased by the joint venture partners for $1,000,000.

East Cedartree Gold Property Royalty

              The Company holds a 2% NSR interest in five claims, which it retained after selling these claims to a third party, comprising part of the East Cedartree Gold Property located 70 kilometres southeast of Kenora, Ontario. The title holder to the claims can re-purchase a 1% NSR from the Company at any time for $1,000,000.