MONTREAL, Oct. 22, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Orbite
Aluminae Inc. (TSX:ORT / OTCQX:EORBF) ("Orbite" or the
"Company") today announced it has reached an agreement
with the firm M&K of St. Louis,
Missouri (USA) for the engineering and construction of a
separation plant capable of producing gallium oxide at a purity of
4N (99.99%) and scandium oxide at a purity of 2N or greater (99%+)
from the acid recovery circuit of its HPA plant in Cap-Chat, Quebec. This addition represents a
major advancement for Orbite's business plan, which had previously
anticipated that the separation and production of these two oxides
would begin with the Company's smelter-grade alumina (SGA) plant.
The separation facility, which had already been designed as
part of the SGA plant, will now be integrated into the HPA design,
thus advancing the production of gallium and scandium into
2013.
Yves Noel, Orbite's Chief
Marketing Officer, commented, "We are receiving much more interest
for immediate delivery of scandium and gallium than we had
anticipated from the market. As a result, we intend to
capitalize on these opportunities to quickly establish ourselves as
a key supplier of high purity and high value products."
Stan Meyer, co-founder of
M&K, added, "The ability to separate and produce these two rare
metal oxides at a high-purity level represents a smart, strategic
move for Orbite. We are proud to assist in the integration of the
rare earth separation plant design, first conceived for the SGA
facility, into the HPA plant design. Combining Orbite's technology
with our own expertise, we continue to build on our solid
partnership, which is the best bet to ensure the project's
success."
Construction of the HPA plant is still ahead of schedule, with
commissioning expected to begin in the next few weeks and
completion by the end of 2012. The civil engineering and
infrastructure work is now more than 98% complete, while the
electrical work is also ahead of the original construction
timetable.
Changes in Orbite's R&D Team
Orbite also announces
the departure of Dr. Joel Fournier,
who until recently was involved with the research team at Orbite's
laboratory located in Laval. Dr. Hubert Dumont, the Technical Director of the
research team, is assuming those responsibilities in assisting
Richard Boudreault with Research
& Development and Operations. M.
Fournier will continue to advise Orbite on an ongoing basis
should such assistance be required.
"There is no doubt in my mind that Orbite's technology, which is
avant-garde and revolutionary on many levels, already ensures the
Company's imminent success. I have complete confidence in the
abilities of the management team to achieve this and, in
particular, would like to salute Richard
Boudreault for his leadership, boldness and vision," stated
Dr. Joel Fournier.
The research team at the laboratory in Laval, consisting of eight members, will
continue to work under the continued direction of Dr. Hubert Dumont, who joined Orbite as the
Technical Director in September 2011. Dr. Dumont holds a
Doctorate in Chemical Physics and has more than 15 years of
experience in the industrial development of high-purity products
and of separation and purification technologies related to the
metallurgical, chemical, and pharmaceutical industries.
Orbite Invited to Brazil and
Singapore
Important
industry participants in the alumina and aluminum industry are
recognizing more and more the impact that Orbite's clean technology
will have on their activities. In reflection of this, members
of Orbite's engineering team together with members from Rusal UC
have been invited to present at the 19th International
Symposium of ICSOBA (the International Committee for Study of
Bauxite, Alumina & Aluminium) October
30-31 in Brazil. This is a key gathering of academics
and market participants involved in the bauxite, alumina and
aluminum industries. In particular, Orbite will give two
presentations at the conference – the first will review Orbite's
technology and its applications ("The Orbite Process: an
Integrated Acid-Based Technology for Extracting Alumina from Clay
and Alternative Feedstock"), while the second discusses the
economics of red mud remediation and the extraction of value-added
materials contained therein ("Remediation of Red Mud Using an
Innovative Approach: A World-First Totally Integrated
Process"). ICSOBA is an independent non-profit organization
representing professionals from the bauxite, alumina, and aluminum
industries, as well as suppliers of technology, researchers, and
consultants from around the world.
Separately, Orbite's Chief Marketing Officer, Yves Noel, will be in Singapore to attend the 2nd Asian
Bauxite & Alumina Conference, held on October 31, where he will be introducing Orbite's
technology to the participants as part of a forum entitled "The
Orbite Process: Low-Cost, Eco-Friendly Red Mud-Free Alumina
Production from a Variety of Ores." This conference
brings together key decision-makers from the bauxite and alumina
industry.
About M&K
M&K Chemical Engineering
Consultants, Inc. has over 75 plus highly trained engineers and
designers, performing work in North and South America. M&K is a leader in the
development of new technology in the chemical industry and offer
our clients a full service engineering company. M&K's
diversified business model is able to support all projects ranging
from the simple heat exchanger replacement to the 500 million dollar plus new plant design and
start-up.
About Orbite
Orbite Aluminae Inc. or "Orbite" (TSX:
ORT; OTCQX: EORBF) is a Canadian company whose innovative and
proprietary technology could have a significant impact on the
aluminum industry. Our process allows for the environmentally
sustainable production of smelter grade alumina (SGA) and
high‐purity alumina (HPA) as well as of high‐purity high‐value
by‐products —including rare earths — from locally sourced aluminous
clay and other feedstocks that include bauxite, kaolin, nepheline,
red mud and fly ash. Orbite plans to build and operate several SGA
and HPA plants as well as license its technologies to
well‐qualified producers aiming to reduce costs and their
environmental footprint. The Company owns the intellectual
property rights to the patented and proprietary process for
extracting alumina from aluminous ores in Canada, USA
and Australia, and has other
international patents pending. Orbite has exclusive mining rights
on a total of 60,984 hectares in the Gaspe region of Quebec, including the 6,665 hectare
Grande‐Vallee property, site of an aluminous clay deposit
containing an NI 43‐101 compliant 1 billion tonnes Indicated
Resource. Orbite's first HPA plant in Cap‐Chat, Quebec will be commissioned at year-end and is
expected to increase production to approximately 1,800 tonnes of
HPA per year by 2014. A series of white papers detailing the
technology and potential applications to different markets are
available on our website
(www.orbitealuminae.com/en/technology/white‐paper).
Forward-looking statements and disclaimer
Certain
information contained in this document may include "forward-looking
statements". Forward-looking statements may include statements
regarding Orbite Aluminae Inc. ("Orbite" or the "Company")
intentions, beliefs or current expectations about its projects,
costs, objectives and future returns of the Company, or hypotheses
underlying these items. In this document, words such as
"may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect",
"anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and
the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking
statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as
guarantees of future performance or results, and will not
necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or
by which, such future performance will be achieved. Forward-looking
statements are based on information available at the time and/or
management's good-faith beliefs with respect to future events, and
are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions
and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond the
Company's control. These risks uncertainties and assumptions
include, but are not limited to, those described in the section of
the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) entitled "Risk
and Uncertainties" as filed on March 22,
2012 on SEDAR ,and in the section ''Risk Factors'' of the
Annual Information Form of March 30th,
2012 also filed on SEDAR, and could cause actual events or
results to differ materially from those projected in any
forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, nor does
it undertake any obligation to update, or revise any
forward-looking statements or other information contained in this
document to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances
or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws. The
Revised Preliminary Economic Assessment (the "PEA") on the
Company's Metallurgical Grade Alumina project (the "SGA Project" or
"SGA Plant") with an effective date of November 24, 2011 and a revised report date of
May 30, 2012, is preliminary in
nature and it includes Indicated Mineral Resources of aluminous
clay that are considered too speculative geologically to have the
economic considerations applied to them that would enable them to
be categorized as Mineral Reserves. There is no certainty that the
conclusions reached in the PEA will be realized. Mineral Resources
that are not Mineral Reserves have not demonstrated economic
viability.
SOURCE Orbite Aluminae Inc.