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Exploration Orbite (TSX VENTURE:ORT.A - News) has begun operations
at its pilot production facility in Cap-Chat, Quebec. This event is both a
critical turning point in Orbite's history and a major step towards the
production of the company's first ton of alumina. In addition, this stage of
the project was completed on budget and ahead of schedule.
The team's next priority is to complete
the production of the first ton of alumina.
"I'm very impressed by everything
our team has accomplished to date and I'm completely confident that our
efforts will soon be rewarded with the first ton of alumina produced at the
pilot production facility," stated company president Richard Boudreault.
Mr. Boudreault was delighted to hear the
comments of the engineers working on the pilot production facility and the
production process launch. According to professional engineer Dominique
Morin, VP of engineering at SENECA Experts Conseil, the engineering
consultation firm hired by Orbite to handle the pilot project: "We
started up the facility and launched operations in record time, thanks in large
part to the outstanding teamwork and dedication of the team put together by
Orbite's management. This facility is now ready to carry out its primary
mission of demonstrating of an innovative process to extract alumina from
aluminous clays."
The pilot production facility will make
it possible to optimize process parameters and production costs and develop
the design for a proposed full-scale production facility. It will also serve
to evaluate and improve economic parameters and minimize technological risks.
Operating this facility will play a key
role in demonstrating the economic realm of the Grande-Vallee project and
Orbite's patented process.
Next steps
The next step is to continue the
successful operation of the pilot production facility and the completion of
feasibility studies as required by Regulation 43-101, leading to the design
of a facility capable of producing at least 500 tons/day of metallurgical
alumina as well as the supporting mine operations. Once the pilot production
facility has completed its mandate, it will be adapted to produce ultra-pure
alumina.
About Orbite
Exploration Orbite V.S.P.A. Inc. owns
100% of the mining rights on the Grande-Vallee property, the site of an
aluminous clay deposit located 32 km northeast of Murdochville in the Gaspe
region. The company also owns the rights to a process for extracting alumina
from aluminous clays, a process that is the subject of a pending
international patent and already under patent in Canada and the United
States. www.explorationorbite.com
Technical Sheet
Orbite Exploration V.S.P.A. Inc.
Why is Alumina Important?
The world needs aluminum, the second
most used metal after steel. Aluminum is made from aluminum oxide, commonly
called alumina. World production of aluminum was 37 million metric tons in
2009, and Alcoa, which had projected a growth rate of 6% per year through the
decade, reported 13% growth in demand for 2010 and now forecasts 12% growth
for 2011.
Each ton of aluminum requires
approximately two tons of alumina. So millions of tons of metallurgical
alumina must be imported each year over thousands of kilometers to supply
Quebec's aluminum smelters.
The Global Ultra Pure Alumina Market
Eight percent of the alumina produced is
sold on markets other than aluminum metal markets. This represented 6.2
million tons in 2008. Orbite intends to focus on the highest value added
segment of this non- metallurgical alumina market, approximately one thousand
tons of ultra-pure-99.99% pure and over-alumina a year.
Ultra-pure alumina is used to make
artificial sapphires and rubies for fiber optic communications systems,
substrates for integrated circuits and light emitting diodes (LEDs), the
coating of missile nose cones, ultra- pure nanomaterials, and bioceramics for
prostheses and implants. Prices for ultra-pure alumina are much higher than
for metallurgical grade, but order sizes are smaller.
The Orbite Solution: Produce Alumina in
Quebec from Aluminous Clay Using a Unique Process
It has long been known that alumina can
be refined from aluminous clay deposits, but this possibility is rarely
exploited because the quality and cost of the resulting alumina has not been
competitive with that of alumina produced from bauxite using the Bayer
process.
Orbite has a large homogenous and
strategically located clay deposit in Quebec with an average grade of 23% to
26% alumina, as well as a unique patented process to produce metallurgical
alumina from aluminous clay. This can potentially replace two to three
billion dollars of imported alumina and supply high value added, ultra-pure
alumina to the world market as well as other high value substances in the
clay, including certain rare earths and semiconductor materials.
The development of a competitive
domestic alumina supply is of great strategic importance for the Quebec
aluminum industry, which is dependent on the security of offshore resources.
Replacing imported alumina would increase Quebec's GDP by up to 3%.
The Grande Vallee Property
Orbite owns the mineral rights to the
3,500 hectare Grande Vallee property, which is strategically located 32 km
north of Murdochville in the Gaspe region of Quebec. The property is close to
both a major road and a year-round deep water port on the St. Lawrence River.
Exploration campaigns indicate that a large part of the property is covered
in homogeneous aluminous clay and shale.
A Pilot Production Facility is Being
Commissioned
Having obtained approval of the
environmental assessment submitted for the pilot project by the Canada
Economic Development Agency for Quebec Regions, Orbite purchased an existing
modern building in the village of Cap-Chat in the Gaspe region to house its
pilot plant.
The $7.4 million plant was financed
through $1.7 million in private investment, $1 million from Aluminerie
Alouette Inc., and Quebec and Canadian federal government programs.
Orbite has already shipped 400 tons of
ore from its Grande Vallee mine to the Cap-Chat site and processed it to
supply the pilot production facility.
The pilot production facility will be
operated to prove large-scale feasibility, optimize process parameters and
production costs, and determine the design of a projected full-scale
production plant. The pilot production facility will also serve to evaluate
the economic parameters and minimize technological risks.
And Then-A Full-Scale Alumina Plant
The next steps are the successful
operation of the pilot production facility and the completion of feasibility
studies required under Regulation 43-101, leading to the design of a plant
capable of producing over 500 tons of metallurgical alumina per day together
with the mining operations required to meet Orbite's needs. When the pilot
production facility has completed its mission, it will be adapted to produce
ultra-pure alumina.
Contact:
Frederic Berard, Attorney
MEDIAS:
Special Advisor
Legal and Financial Affairs
HKDP communications and public affairs
514-395-0375, ext. 259
Louis Morin
INVESTORS:
Investor Relations
514-591-3988
Managing Partner
Jason Monaco
First Canadian Capital Corp.
416-742-5600 |