Technical Report on the Thor Lake Project, Northwest Territories, Canada
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Scott Wilson Mining AVALON RARE METALS INC. TECHNICAL REPORT ON THE THOR LAKE PROJECT, NORTHWEST TERRITORIES, CANADA NI 43-101 Report Authors: Jason J. Cox, P.Eng. Christopher Moreton, Ph.D., P.Geo. John R. Goode, P.Eng. Donald H. Hains, P.Geo. July 29, 2010 SCOTT WILSON ROSCOE POSTLE ASSOCIATES INC. Report Control Form Document Title Technical Report On The Thor Lake Project, Northwest Territories, Canada Client Name & Address Avalon Rare Metals Inc. Suite 1901 - 130 Adelaide Street West Toronto, Ontario M5H 3P5 Document Reference Status & Draft Project # 1384 Issue No. Version Issue Date Lead Author Jason J. Cox (signature & date) Peer Reviewer Richard J. Lambert (name) (signature & date) Project Manager Approval Jason J. Cox (name) (signature & date) Project Director Approval (name) (signature & date)) Report Distribution Name No. of Copies Client Scott Wilson RPA Filing 1 (project box) 1 (project file) Scott Wilson Roscoe Postle Associates Inc. 55 University Avenue, Suite 501 Toronto, Ontario M5J 2H7 Canada Tel: +1 416 947 0907 Fax: +1 416 947 0395 [email protected] SCOTT WILSON RPA www.scottwilson.com TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE 1 SUMMARY .................................................................................................................. 1-1 Executive Summary ................................................................................................. 1-1 Technical Summary ............................................................................................... 1-15 2 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 2-1 3 RELIANCE ON OTHER EXPERTS ............................................................................ 3-1 4 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION AND LOCATION ........................................................... 4-1 5 ACCESSIBILITY, CLIMATE, LOCAL RESOURCES, INFRASTRUCTURE AND PHYSIOGRAPHY .......................................................................................................... 5-1 6 HISTORY .................................................................................................................... 6-1 7 GEOLOGICAL SETTING ............................................................................................ 7-1 Regional Geology ..................................................................................................... 7-1 8 DEPOSIT TYPES ........................................................................................................ 8-1 9 MINERALIZATION ...................................................................................................... 9-1 10 EXPLORATION ....................................................................................................... 10-1 11 DRILLING ................................................................................................................ 11-1 12 SAMPLING METHOD AND APPROACH ............................................................... 12-1 13 SAMPLE PREPARATION, ANALYSES AND SECURITY ...................................... 13-1 14 DATA VERIFICATION ............................................................................................ 14-1 15 ADJACENT PROPERTIES ..................................................................................... 15-1 16 MINERAL PROCESSING AND METALLURGICAL TESTING ............................... 16-1 Metallurgical Testing .............................................................................................. 16-1 17 MINERAL RESOURCE AND MINERAL RESERVE ESTIMATES .......................... 17-1 Mineral Resources ................................................................................................. 17-1 Mineral Reserves ................................................................................................. 17-17 18 OTHER RELEVANT DATA AND INFORMATION .................................................. 18-1 Mining Operations .................................................................................................. 18-1 Mineral and Hydrometallurgical Processing ......................................................... 18-42 Tailings Management Facilities ............................................................................ 18-51 Thor Lake Infrastructure ....................................................................................... 18-61 Pine Point Infrastructure ....................................................................................... 18-76 Markets ................................................................................................................ 18-82 Contracts ............................................................................................................ 18-105 Environmental Considerations ........................................................................... 18-106 Taxes ................................................................................................................. 18-121 Capital Cost Estimate ......................................................................................... 18-121 Avalon Rare Metals Inc. – Thor Lake Project Page i Technical Report NI 43-101 – July 29, 2010 SCOTT WILSON RPA www.scottwilson.com Operating Cost Estimate .................................................................................... 18-131 Economic Analysis ............................................................................................. 18-148 19 INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS ............................................................. 19-1 20 RECOMMENDATIONS ........................................................................................... 20-1 21 REFERENCES ........................................................................................................ 21-1 22 DATE AND SIGNATURE PAGE ............................................................................. 22-1 23 CERTIFICATE OF QUALIFIED PERSON .............................................................. 23-2 LIST OF TABLES PAGE Table 1-1 Project Advancement Budget ...................................................................... 1-9 Table 1-2 Cash Flow Summary .................................................................................. 1-11 Table 1-3 Sensitivity Analysis .................................................................................... 1-15 Table 1-4 Mineral Lease Summary ............................................................................ 1-16 Table 1-5 Mineral Claims Summary ........................................................................... 1-16 Table 1-6 Mineral Resources ..................................................................................... 1-23 Table 1-7 Mineral Reserves ....................................................................................... 1-24 Table 1-8 Mine Production Forecast .......................................................................... 1-29 Table 1-9 Flotation and Hydrometallurgical Recoveries ............................................ 1-32 Table 1-10 Capital Cost Estimate .............................................................................. 1-35 Table 1-11 Operating Cost Estimate .......................................................................... 1-36 Table 2-1 Rare Earth Element Data ............................................................................. 2-7 Table 2-2 Rare Earth Element Applications ................................................................. 2-8 Table 4-1 Mineral Lease Summary .............................................................................. 4-1 Table 4-2 Mineral Claims Summary ............................................................................. 4-2 Table 8-1 Table of Rock Types .................................................................................... 8-4 Table 8-2 Drilling Summary of Zones Outside the Nechalacho Deposit ...................... 8-7 Table 8-3 Minerals of Principal Economic Interest in the T-Zone .............................. 8-10 Table 8-4 Summary of Indicated Mineral Resources for the North T Zone ................ 8-11 Table 8-5 Historic Estimate of the South T Zone Potential Reserves ........................ 8-12 Table 9-1 Average Percent of Ore Minerals ................................................................. 9-1 Table 9-2 Percent of Rock or Concentrate ................................................................... 9-2 Table 9-3 Percent of Ore Minerals ............................................................................... 9-3 Table 11-1 Niton Test Analyses ................................................................................. 11-5 Table 12-1 Drill Core Summary .................................................................................. 12-1 Table 12-2 List of Holes With Geotechnical Logs ...................................................... 12-4 Table 13-1 Laboratory Summary ............................................................................... 13-3 Table 16-1 Flotation and Hydrometallurgical Recoveries .......................................... 16-5 Table 17-1 Mineral Resources ................................................................................... 17-2 Table 17-2 Drill Hole Information for This Resource Estimate ................................... 17-3 Table 17-3 Assay Summary ....................................................................................... 17-3 Table 17-4 Sample Information .................................................................................