Avalon Ventures Ltd. (the "Company") is pleased to announce analytical results from a recent sampling program undertaken on its 100% owned Thor Lake rare metals project, located near Yellowknife, NWT. The purpose of the work was to confirm the presence of significant levels of rare earth elements ("REE's") in several of the previously identified zones of rare metal enrichment on the property.

Thor Lake is well known for its very high grade beryllium and large tantalum deposits, but the contained yttrium and REE's in these mineralised zones were previously only considered as potential secondary by-products of primary beryllium and/or tantalum production. Soaring demand for REE's in relatively new technologies applied in popular consumer products such as hybrid cars and flat panel televisions has prompted Avalon to re-examine the potential for primary production of yttrium and REE's at Thor Lake.

Significant rare earth element and yttrium enrichment was confirmed in the three known mineralized zones sampled (the T, R and Lake zones). This mineralization is characterized by very strong enrichment in several of the more economically important REE's, notably yttrium (Y), neodymium (Nd), europium (Eu), samarium (Sm) and gadolinium (Gd). The highlights from this work included some spectacular values from the R-zone, a known yttrium occurrence that has not been previously evaluated as a pure REE prospect.

Results from the R-Zone (reported in oxide form) include values of 8.51% Y₂O₃ and 8.62% Total Rare Earth Oxides ("TREO") which is the sum of all 15 REE's in the lanthanide series. Concentrations of Neodymium and Europium in these two samples were as high as 1.13% Nd₂O₃ and 0.12% EuO.

Archived drill core from four historical drill holes that tested the Lake Zone deposit were also sampled by collecting complete intervals of previously split core. The intervals sampled were selected on the basis of high reported yttrium, niobium and tantalum values from the original assays, indicative of the presence of fergusonite as an important REE-bearing mineral phase. The presence of fergusonite in these zones with attendant high levels of REE enrichment was confirmed. The highlight from these results was a 17 foot interval in hole 81-1 which averaged 0.70% Y₂O₃ and 4.11% TREO containing 0.80% Nd₂O₃ and 0.02% EuO. This interval also displayed very strong tantalum enrichment averaging 0.11% Ta₂O₅ (tantalum oxide) but contained only trace levels of uranium and thorium.

Three grab samples from stockpiled mineralized material at the North T deposit (Lower Intermediate zone or "LIZ") also produced significant yttrium and TREO values as documented in the table below. A second REE-enriched sub- zone in the North T deposit called the F-zone and another nearby occurrence called the S-zone were not sampled.

Management is very pleased with the results received to date which confirm significant enrichment at Thor Lake in some of the specific rare earth elements such as Europium and Neodymium that are currently in the highest demand. Europium oxide, a critical element in flat panel television technology, has been quoted at over US$300/kg while neodymium oxide, which is used to make high-strength super magnets for motors in hybrid cars and other electronics products such as disk drives and MP3 players, has sold for over US$25/kg. – Press Release