Establishing Ontario's First Regional Lithium Battery Materials Refinery In Thunder Bay

Creating A Supply Chain to Serve the Needs of Battery & Ceramic Manufacturers

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Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. Management

Donald S. Bubar, M.Sc., P.Geo.

BOD

Don Bubar is a geologist with over 40 years of experience in mineral exploration and development in Canada. Mr. Bubar is a graduate of McGill University (B.Sc., 1977) and Queen’s University (M.Sc., 1981). From 1984 to 1994, he worked for Aur Resources Inc. as Exploration Manager and later VP, Exploration. Mr. Bubar has been President and CEO of Avalon since 1995.

Mr. Bubar served as a Director of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) for nine years and Chair of its Aboriginal Affairs Committee from its creation in December, 2004 until retiring from the PDAC Board in March, 2013. Throughout his career, Mr. Bubar has been an advocate for increased Indigenous participation in the mineral industry, first through the PDAC and later through the NWT and Nunavut Chamber of Mines. Mr. Bubar serves on the Advisory Board to the Faculty of Science of McGill University and on the Board of Directors of PDAC's Mining Matters earth science education program.

Zeeshan Syed

President

He earned a Masters degree in Comparative Politics and Economics from the London School of Economics in 2004 after graduating from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor's degree in 2000. His versatility and cross-sectoral executive experience continue to position him well to serve Avalon in multiple areas including; political risk, regulatory affairs, clean energy, corporate strategy, government relations strategy and investor relations. Mr. Syed's academic and professional background provide him with a unique perspective of a world increasingly subject to change particularly in the energy sector.

R.J. (Jim) Andersen, C.A., C.P.A.

Vice President, Finance, Corporate Secretary and CFO

Mr. Andersen is a Chartered Professional Accountant with 30 years of experience in the mining industry. He graduated with high distinction from the University of Toronto (B.Comm., 1991) and started his career with the mining services team at Coopers & Lybrand in Toronto, Ontario. He received his C.A. designation in 1993, after having placed 20th in Ontario on the 1992 Uniform Final Exam.

Mr. Andersen began his own accounting practice in 1994 and was in charge of Avalon's audit from 1996 to 2000, prior to joining the company as its CFO in 2001.

Zeeshan Syed, M.Sc.

Vice President, External Affairs

Mr. Syed is a graduate of the London School of Economics with a Masters degree in Comparative Politics and Economics, and has over fifteen years of multi-sector executive leadership. He has deep expertise as an international business development expert, climate change negotiator, nonprofit founder, and natural resources regulator, providing him a unique perspective of an energy system increasingly marked by change and disruption. Prior to joining Avalon in 2019, Mr. Syed was focused on public-private partnerships and management in public service, the nonprofit sector, and politics. He has served in the Office of the Prime Minister, with the Government of Alberta and with the United Nations Secretariat.

Cindy Hu, CA, CPA, CGA

Controller

Chartered Accountant with 10 years experience in public accounting practice and financial reporting for Junior public companies

Mark Wiseman, BSc (Hon), MBA

Vice President, Sustainability

Mr. Wiseman is a biologist with over 40 years of health, safety, environment and social responsibility (HSEC) experience. He is a graduate of Guelph University (BSc, 1979) and Laurentian University (MBA, 1989). Following a period of acid rain research with the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Mr. Wiseman joined Falconbridge Limited in 1980 and worked in progressively responsible HSEC positions in the mining industry, both in operations and large scale projects nationally and internationally. Prior to joining Avalon, Mr. Wiseman was Director of Health, Safety and Environment for Xstrata Nickel's Koniambo Project.

Mr. Wiseman has extensive experience in Social and Environmental Impact Assessment, permitting, HSEC management systems development and implementation, training, risk management, closure planning, auditing and due diligence assessment with the goal of continuous performance improvement. He has R&D experience as well as having developed and implemented innovative and leading edge environmental protection measures. He has participated and chaired numerous multi-stakeholder committees in the development of standards and regulations as well as managing relationships and requirements of local, national and international stakeholders.

Harvey Yesno

Director

Mr. Yesno is a member and former Chief of the Eabametoong First Nation located at Fort Hope approximately 350 kilometres north-northeast of Thunder Bay, Ont., where he now resides. He served as Chief for six terms from 1977 to 1991 and one further term from 2019 to 2021. He also served as Grand Chief of Nishnawbe Aski Nation (Treaty No. 9 and No. 5) from 2012 to 2015. From 1993 to 2010 he served as president and chief executive officer of Nishnawbe Aski Development Fund (NADF), based in Thunder Bay. NADF is a non-profit indigenous financial institution that supports indigenous business and economic development in Northern Ontario by providing indigenous entrepreneurs with access to capital for start-ups and growth of businesses. From 2011 to 2012, Mr. Yesno served as director of community relations for Ontario's Ring of Fire Secretariat.

Scott Monteith

Interim CEO

Mr. Monteith is an experienced clean tech executive, entrepreneur and business owner with a successful track record of moving inventions from concept to commercial success. Currently, he holds the position of Chair of Monteco Ltd., Cable House Capital Ltd. and Imtex Membranes Corporation. Mr. Monteith has extensive experience in the areas of chemical manufacturing, international businesses, M&A, government affairs and strategic planning.

Mr. Rickardo Welyhorsk

Vice President, Operations

Mr. Welyhorsky is a registered Professional Metallurgical Engineer with over 29 years of experience spanning all levels of project development and operations in the mining and metals industry. He brings to Avalon a wealth of industry experience within various roles including metallurgical test work, feasibility study work, engineering, construction, commissioning, start-up as well as operations and maintenance. While most of his recent experience has been in the gold sector, his vast experience will mesh well with the development needs to advance the Separation Rapids Lithium Project as well as the proposed lithium refinery. Mr. Welyhorsky has a background in Chemical Engineering Technology and Environmental Management from Cambrian College in Sudbury, Ontario as well as a Bachelor's degree in Metallurgical Engineering from Laurentian University.

Last changed at 19-May-2023 10:46AM