Kenora lithium company transitioning from false starts to kick starts

Senior leadership team “overhauls” are in order at Avalon Advanced Materials, holder of a lithium deposit, north of Kenora.

Gone from the company is long-time president-CEO Don Bubar who has stepped down from the board of directors, according to a news release this week.

The new hires seem to put an emphasis on selling the Separation Rapids story to the market and on scoping out opportunities to raise some serious cash to put the company's mining and processing plans finally into motion.

Joining newly appointed Avalon President Zeeshan Syed is Scott Monteith who will serve as interim CEO. Jim Jaques becomes chief administrative officer and Jan Holland joins the board of director. 

Monteith’s entrepreneurial background is in clean-tech and technology transfer. He is currently the chair of Monteco Ltd., Cable House Capital Corp. and Imtex Membranes Corp.

Jaques is a former marketing and sales executive with Bell Canada and served in leadership positions with Merrill Lynch and Citibank (Australia). 

Holland brings 35 years of experience in aerospace and financial services with Tricycle Asset Management and BMO Nesbitt Burns.

The company said more moves are in the offing.

“These appointments, and others to come, underscore the arrival of Avalon 2.0,” said Syed in a statement. “The commitment of our new leadership team is clear: reorient the company towards full vertical integration of the lithium production cycle, and help establish Ontario, and Canada more broadly, as a strategic fulcrum in North America’s clean energy transition.”  

All appointments are effective immediately.

Avalon said it’s entering a “new growth phase" and will provide more clarity on its future production and financing plans "in the weeks and months ahead."

Years ago, Avalon emerged as front-runner among a handful of lithium players in northwestern Ontario. The Toronto company boldly announced it was morphing into a vertically integrated producer with huge plans to establish a lithium conversion chemical plant in Thunder Bay. 

But their plans stalled with a series of false starts on plant construction.

A “binding letter of intent” was signed in April 2022 with the Essar Group of India to be a development partner but that news petered out.

Last September, Avalon announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with South Korean battery manufacturer LG Energy Solution.

The new management team is now aiming for a plant startup in late 2027. Avalon hasn’t announced a plant site in Thunder Bay.

“We’re assembling a new execution-focused team of deeply experienced professionals aligned around transforming Avalon into a world-class lithium producer, and in turn, helping ensure the path to a clean energy future runs through Canada,” Monteith said.