Mikko Rantaharju, Vice President, Hydrometallurgy at Metso noted: "Metso is proud to partner with Avalon on their bold vision for Thunder Bay, and help co-create novel processing, training, recycling and research capacity. Metso has successfully worked with Avalon in this remarkable project to develop a sustainable process to produce battery grade lithium using our proprietary alkaline pressure leach process. This agreement marks yet another key milestone between the parties as we advance forward to build a wide scope of economic benefits for the future."