TMX group

American Vanadium Appoints Ron Espell as Vice President, Environmental

Vancouver, British Columbia CANADA, April 03, 2012 /FSC/ - American Vanadium Corp. (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
For further information, please contact:
Bill Radvak, President & CEO
Phone: (604) 488-5417
Email: bradvak@americanvanadium.com

or

Mike Hyslop, Director, Corporate Development
Phone: (604) 488-8795
Email: mhyslop@americanvanadium.com

Web site: www.americanvanadium.com


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.


Suite 1028, 550 Burrard Street, Box 61,
Vancouver, B.C., Canada V6C 2B5 .
Tel: (604) 681-8588 .  
Fax: (604) 681-4692
www.americanvanadium.com


To view this press release as a web page, click onto the link below:
http://www.usetdas.com/pr/americanvanadium04032012.htm



Source: American Vanadium Corp.(TSXV: AVC)  http://www.americanvanadium.com
Maximum News Dissemination by FSCwire. http://www.fscwire.com