Orbite alumina process has global appeal

Exploration Orbite VSPA Inc. says its patented process to convert the Grande Vallée aluminous clays in the Gaspé Peninsula into alumina may have a much wider potential than expected.

Orbite has already produced high-grade alumina - the intermediate material for smelting primary aluminum - in its new Cap Chat pilot plant. Testing continues to prove the process will be economic and consistent in quality in a full-scale commercial operation.

Most of the alumina used by the aluminum industry worldwide is processed from bauxite rock found in Africa, Australia and the Caribbean. The traditional Bayer conversion process is a heavy power user and produces large amounts of toxic "red mud" residue. Rio Tinto Alcan has a big plant in the Saguenay and the residue problem.

Now Orbite says its patented process has been successfully used to extract alumina from bauxite shipped from Guinea, West Africa. Lab tests and independent reviews have shown that this alumina can be adapted to the broader global bauxite market.

"It would give aluminum producers around the world access to a more affordable and more environmentally friendly alternative to the Bayer-processed material," Orbite CEO Richard Boudreault said.

"We can confirm the strong extraction potential," said Simon Simoneau, senior chemical engineer and vicepresident of the engineering development at Seneca, an independent engineering consultant.

"Our process can produce higher purity alumina without the harmful 'red mud' residue," Boudreault said. "This could lead to licensing our technology to bauxite refiners worldwide."