Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (TSE:AVL) Appoints Vice-President, Sustainability

Toronto, Canada (ABN Newswire) - Avalon Rare Metals Inc. (TSE:AVL) (NYSE Amex:AVL) ('Avalon' or the 'Company') is pleased to announce that the Company has hired Mr. Mark Wiseman to fill the position of Vice President, Sustainability. In this position, Mr. Wiseman will be responsible for ensuring that Avalon delivers on all of its Corporate Social Responsibility obligations. Most importantly, Mr. Wiseman will champion the Company's health and safety programs to achieve the goal of zero harm in the workplace.

Mr. Wiseman is a graduate of the University of Guelph with a B.Sc. in Zoology and later obtained his MBA at Laurentian University in Sudbury. Mark has over 30 years of experience in the mining industry specifically in the area of community, environment, health and safety ('CEHS'). Most recently, he served as Director of Health, Safety, Environment and Permitting for Xstrata Nickel on the Koniambo project in New Caledonia. Previously, he held several similar positions with Falconbridge Limited, in Canada and internationally, including three years at the Collahuasi Project in Chile, where he participated in achieving an outstanding safety record, reaching over two million hours without Lost Time Injuries.

Commenting on today's announcement, Don Bubar, President of Avalon, said, 'The addition of Mark to our management team is a testament to Avalon's commitment to bringing the Nechalacho project into production in the most environmentally responsible and safest way possible. Mark is a firm believer that zero harm is an achievable goal on any mining project. He actively promotes the principles of sustainability, and knows they can be successfully achieved in a mining environment. We look forward to having Mark build on the solid CEHS foundation established to date in the Company under the leadership of Vice-President, Exploration, Bill Mercer.'

Shares Outstanding: 102,886,986. Cash Resources: $64 million.

To find out more about Avalon Rare Metals Inc., please visit our website at www.avalonraremetals.com. For questions and feedback, please e-mail the Company at ir@avalonraremetals.com.

About Avalon Rare Metals Inc.:

Avalon Rare Metals Inc. is a mineral development company focused on rare metals deposits in Canada. Its flagship project, the 100%-owned Nechalacho Deposit, Thor Lake, NWT, is emerging as one of the largest undeveloped rare earth elements resources in the world. Its exceptional enrichment in the more valuable 'heavy' rare earth elements, which are key to enabling advances in green energy technology and other growing high-tech applications, is one of the few potential sources of these critical elements outside of China, currently the source of 95% of world supply. Avalon is well funded, has no debt and its work programs are progressing steadily. Social responsibility and environmental stewardship are corporate cornerstones. Avalon's performance on community engagement in the north earned it the 2010 PDAC Environmental and Social Responsibility Award.

Source:

Avalon Rare Metals Inc.

Contact:

Avalon Rare Metals
Email: ir@avalonraremetals.com