Avalon and Sibelco form JV to develop flagship lithium mine in Ontario
Avalon Advanced Materials has announced it established a joint venture with Antwerp-based Sibelco to advance mining activities at the flagship Separation Rapids petalite-lithium deposit and the Lilypad lithium-caesium project, both located in Ontario.
According to Avalon, the new joint venture company, Separation Rapids Ltd. (SRL), is jointly owned by Sibelco (60%) and Avalon (40%) and is “well positioned” with a “unique dual-market strategy” to supply petalite-lithium to both the global glass & ceramics industry, as well as to the North American EV battery manufacturing market.
Importantly, the company said that Sibelco has the sole funding responsibility for the first €34.8 million (approximately C$50 million) of joint venture operations expenditures.
The Separation Rapids deposit has a measured and indicated resource of 10.08 million tonnes of petalite, grading on average 1.35% Li2O. The resource is primarily from an open pit, while a smaller amount is from an underground resource.
The company said that a new $3.6 million drilling program commenced on September 26, 2023, which will seek to upgrade the amount of inferred ore to indicated, and add more resource to the deposit as well as perform geotechnical drilling within the pit area. The drill program is expected to be completed by February 2024.
“Establishing this exciting new joint venture achieves a significant objective in our evolution as a clean energy company and enables the unique petalite deposit at Separation Rapids to be commercialized at a pace that will help position Canada in important international markets,” said CEO Scott Monteith. “We are unlocking the potential of Separation Rapids and other projects, and in so doing, taking another key step in establishing the end-to-end lithium supply chain we envision for Ontario.”
Avalon Advanced Materials is a Canadian mineral development company focused on vertically integrating the Ontario lithium supply chain.
Antwerp-based Sibelco is an international leader in the glass & ceramics market, with deep expertise in the mining, processing and recycling of specialty industrial minerals.
