Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - May 13, 2026) - Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. (TSX: AVL) (OTCQB: AVLNF) ("Avalon" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Christopher Senyk as Vice President, Corporate Development.

In this role, Mr. Senyk will support Avalon's corporate strategy, strategic partnership development, commercial engagement, and business development initiatives as the Company advances its critical minerals portfolio. His responsibilities will include supporting financing opportunities, promoting the vertical integration of Ontario's Lithium Supply Chain, offtake and supply discussions, customer relationships, government engagement, and broader strategic growth initiatives across Avalon's lithium, rare earth elements, and critical minerals platform.

Mr. Senyk brings a strong track record of strategic development and commercial execution across global industrial and specialty materials businesses, including leadership contributions to Rio Tinto's battery materials and borates strategy. His experience spans specialty chemicals, energy storage, lithium, and mineral products, with prior roles at Celanese Corporation, FMC Corporation's lithium business, Livent Corporation, and within the specialty chemicals consulting sector.

Based in Chicago, Mr. Senyk will also support Avalon's expanded U.S. market engagement, including direct interaction with prospective customers, strategic partners, government stakeholders, and industry participants across battery materials, defence, clean technology, and broader critical minerals supply chains.

Mr. Senyk brings a proven ability to execute customer-focused marketing strategies and advance product innovation, supported by a diverse career spanning finance, sales, supply chain, strategic marketing, and commercial development.

"Chris joins Avalon at an important stage in the Company's evolution as we advance our critical minerals platform from technical development toward commercial partnerships, customer engagement, and strategic financing," said Scott Monteith, President and CEO of Avalon. "His experience across battery materials, specialty chemicals, lithium, borates, and global industrial markets is highly relevant to Avalon's portfolio and the customers we are seeking to serve. With Chris based in Chicago, we will also be better positioned to engage directly with U.S. customers, strategic partners, government stakeholders, and capital providers as we work to build secure North American supply chains for lithium, rare earth elements, and other critical materials."

Mr. Senyk's appointment further strengthens Avalon's leadership team as the Company continues to advance its feasibility-stage projects, deepen strategic partnerships, and position its asset portfolio to support secure and sustainable North American critical minerals supply chains.

About Avalon Advanced Materials Inc.
Avalon Advanced Materials Inc. is a Canadian critical minerals company focused on advancing lithium and rare earth elements—two of the fastest-growing segments of the global energy transition. The Company is developing strategic assets to participate in high-growth markets and support the build-out of secure North American supply chains. Avalon is advancing the Nechalacho Rare Earth Elements and Zirconium Project in the Northwest Territories, which contains all light and heavy rare earth elements, as well as yttrium, zirconium, tantalum, and niobium—critical minerals used in advanced technologies across the communications, defense, advanced technologies, and energy sectors. The Company is also focused on vertically integrating the Ontario lithium supply chain through the development of Lake Superior Lithium Inc., Ontario's first midstream lithium hydroxide processing facility, located in Thunder Bay. This facility is expected to serve as a cornerstone of North America's integrated battery materials supply chain, transforming northern Ontario lithium into essential inputs for transportation, grid storage, and advanced manufacturing.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "add" or "additional", "advancing", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "appears", "believes", "can be", "conceptual", "confidence", "continue", "convert" or "conversion", "deliver", "demonstrating", "estimates", "encouraging", "expand" or "expanding" or "expansion", "expect" or "expectations", "forecasts", "forward", "goal", "improves", "increase", "intends", "justification", "plans", "potential" or "potentially", "promise", "prospective", "prioritize", "reflects", "robust", "scheduled", "suggesting", "support", "top-tier", "updating", "upside", "will be" or "will consider", "work towards", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might", or "will be taken", "occur", or "be achieved".

Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including those risk factors discussed or referred to in the annual information form of the Company dated November 26, 2025 (the "AIF") under the heading "Description of the Business - Risk Factors". Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in such forward-looking information are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking information because the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/297028