The Sinom Group of China has taken a 3.75% stake in Avalon Minerals following a successful $3.5 millio IPO listing on the Australian Stock Exchange last month.

Avalon Minerals last week mobilized its exploration team to its Lennard Shelf Zinc Project.

The Lennard Shelf Zinc Project, located in the highly acclaimed zinc province in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia, forms the focus of the company's initial exploration program.

The objective of this program is to identify new Mississippi Valley Type (MVT) zinc/lead deposits with the potential to support a standalone processing facility. The nearby Pillara zinc facility has recently been re-commissioned by Lennard Shelf Ltd, a joint venture company owned 50:50 by Teck Cominco Ltd and Xstrata.

The Lennard Shelf area has a long history of zinc exploration and is regarded as a world-class zinc province. In 2003, when Teck Cominco Ltd acquired the Lennard Shelf assets of Western Metals Ltd, reported resources in the region totaled 22.18 million tonnes, grading 6.9% zinc and 2.8% lead.

Avalon has appointed geological and management consultants, CSA Australia Ltd, to manage the exploration of the six granted Lennard Shelf Project tenements.

Avalon has appointed Digirock Pty Ltd as its consultant exploration manager for the Lennard Shelf Projects.

On-ground exploration Activities will be conducted  at Avalon's three Lennard Shelf Projects - Oscar Range, Barramundi and Lawford.

The Paterson Projects, located in the Paterson Range area of WA's East Pilbara region, represent Avalon's second exploration focus. Avalon has 1,409km2 of tenements under application in the Paterson Range region, all prospective for a range of mineral types and exploration models.

The company has has identified the Epicurus Uranium Prospect within the Marloo tenements, 50km north-west of the Kintyre Uranium Deposit as a priority target within the Paterson Range Project group.

Located 85km southwest of the Telfer Gold Mine, 50km south of the Nifty Copper Mine and 40km north-west of the Kintyre Uranium Deposit, the Marloo project comprises four contiguous exploration licences.