American Vanadium Appoints Ron Espell as Vice President, Environmental
AMERICAN VANADIUM CORP. ('American Vanadium? or the 'Company?) (TSX.V:
AVC) (OTC: AVCVF.PK) announces the appointment of Mr. Ron Espell to the
position of Vice President, Environmental of American Vanadium effective
immediately.
Mr. Espell has more than 25 years of domestic and international
experience in the mining industry, most recently with Barrick Gold as
Corporate Environmental Director with responsibilities for new project
development, permitting, and financing, environmental oversight of
operating mines, and the development and implementation of Environmental
Management Systems. Externally Mr. Espell defined permitting strategies
and helped negotiations with regulatory agencies for permitting while
developing companion internal compliance assurance programs to support
the permitting, approvals and financing process.
'Given Ron′s tremendous depth of experience, we are excited to have
him lead the permitting of our Gibellini Mine in Nevada,? said Bill
Radvak, President and CEO of American Vanadium.'Together with
Mike Doyle, our Executive Vice President, Operations, we are building a
top class operating team.As our mine and corporate strategy is
built on green energy, sustainability, and environmental leadership, it
is critical that we continue to attract the key people to achieve our
goals.?
Previously Mr. Espell held roles within Barrick as Environmental Manager
at Barrick′s Goldstrike Mine and Environmental Director for the Barrick
Australia Pacific and African Regions. Throughout his career he has
worked on mining projects around the globe in all aspects including mine
design for closure, mine waste management, mine water management,
multidisciplinary risk assessments and environmental geology.
Before joining Barrick, Mr. Espell was with the Nevada Division of
Environmental Protection, where he helped develop and implement Nevada
mining environmental regulatory programs. He helped shape Nevada′s
programs for mining while permitting many of the largest mines in the
state. Mr. Espell worked very closely with the BLM and US Forest Service
in developing the MOU′s to integrate state and federal permitting for
mining projects.
Mr. Espell earned his B.S. degree in Environmental Geology from
California State University in 1984 and has been an active participant
in the development of natural resource education programs throughout his
career.
Mr. Espell has been granted an option to purchase up to a total of
100,000 common shares of the Company at the exercise price of $0.70
each. The stock option is granted pursuant to the Company′s Stock Option
Plan, as amended and are for a term of five years from the date of grant.
The Company will also issue up to a total of 400,000 performance shares
of the Company′s common shares in four equal tranches to Ron Espell. The
performance shares will be issued as a signing bonus and upon the
completion of certain milestones linked to the completion of permitting,
design and construction of pad and facilities, and upon achieving
economic production at the Company′s Gibellini Vanadium Project.
Issuance of these performance shares are subject to TSX Venture Exchange
approval.
About American Vanadium Corp.
American Vanadium is currently developing the only vanadium mine in the
United States. This strategic asset gives the Company the opportunity to
vertically integrate itself and its vanadium production into the highest
value market, grid energy storage. American Vanadium will be seeking
major joint venture partners in the solar, wind and grid-scale battery
manufacturing industries.
The Company′s Gibellini Project, located in Nevada, is unique in its
design to economically produce vanadium electrolyte for the energy
storage industry, as well as vanadium pentoxide for the steel and
alloying industries. A positive Feasibility Study and updated National
Instrument 43-101 Technical Report on the Gibellini project were
completed by AMEC E&C Services, Inc. in 2011.
ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD
Bill Radvak, President and CEO
NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS
THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS
RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.
Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains
'forward-looking information? within the meaning of applicable Canadian
securities laws, including statements regarding the expected use of
proceeds from the Private Placement, and future plans and objectives for
the Gibellini Project. Such forward-looking statements involve known and
unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, which may cause the
actual results, performance or achievements of American Vanadium to be
materially different from any future results, performance or
achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking information.
Forward-looking information includes estimates of mine production rates
and mine life, revenues from future mining operations, capital and
operating costs, and pay-back period.Factors that may cause
actual results to vary include, but are not limited to, actual results
of current exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations;
changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; future
prices of vanadium; possible variations in reserves, grade or recovery
rates; changes to capital and operating cost estimate, delays in
obtaining governmental approvals or financing or in the completion of
development or construction activities. Although American Vanadium has
attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results
to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements,
there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated,
estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements
will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could
differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.
Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking
statements. American Vanadium does not undertake to update any
forward-looking statements, except in accordance with applicable
securities laws.
American Vanadium
Bill Radvak, 604-488-5417
President & CEO
bradvak@americanvanadium.com
or
Mike
Hyslop, 604-488-8795
Director, Corporate Development
mhyslop@americanvanadium.com
Web
site: www.americanvanadium.com