In another milestone for its Cap-Chat plant achieved again on schedule, Exploration Orbite CA:ORT.A +20.90% is pleased to announce that the production mode of alumina has shifted from a batch process a to semi-continuous process. This clear and significant acceleration in production will allow the Company to meet industry and partner demand as well as prepare for the transition of the plant towards a commercial High-Purity Alumina (HPA) production facility. This additional production capability will again make full use of Orbite's unique and recognized patented process and demonstrate the process's potential to operate within full-scale industrial conditions over three daily shifts (24h) allowing for operations to produce, 24/7 days a week. This boost should enable critical system optimization focussing on upcoming commercial operations.
Recent tests and analyses carried out by independent organizations such as SINTEF and INRS, have confirmed that the physicochemical properties of Orbite's alumina material meet or exceed the standard specifications of the aluminum smelter industry. These specifications, which include bulk density, particle size and specific surface, are specific to the aluminum smelter industry.
These results are further confirmed by the recent production of a high-quality aluminum ingot. SINTEF and INRS, both recognized centres of excellence and reference for the aluminum industry, have reported the excellent quality of aluminum produced by Orbite alumina as well as comparable behaviour under cell electrolysis conditions with competitor alumina resulting from the Bayer process.
Cap-Chat plant confirms reliability of the Orbite process
Production at Orbite's plant used the first 400 tonnes of the aluminous clay bulk sample collected from the deposit located 23 km south of Grande-Vallee in 2010. A new bulk sample of over 3,000 tonnes (see press release dated September 22, 2011) has recently been extracted and will be shipped to the Cap-Chat plant within next few weeks. This sample will enable the continued operations of the facility for approximately an additional 12 months.
"Some 250 to 300 tonnes of clay have already been processed at the Cap-Chat facility, demonstrating the reliability of the Orbite process to operate consistently and produce superior quality material over an extended period of time," said Joel Fournier, Vice president and Chief Scientific Officer of Orbite. "The company has produced about 70 tonnes of alumina and associated products and has begun making the necessary investments in order to convert its Cap-Chat facility for continuous production of high-purity alumina," explained Richard Boudreault, CEO of Orbite.
The alumina, alumina hydrates and aluminum leachate samples have been used in producing external tests and analyses with research centres of excellence in Canada and in Europe, in the production of aluminum products and samples, for third party validation and testing with engineering development partners in Canada and abroad, for the continuous testing as well as for economic optimization.
Cap-Chat primed to transform other mineral resources
Over the last few months, the equipment at the Cap-Chat plant has also been operated to successfully test the extraction potential of alumina from samples of bauxite, kaolin and other aluminous ores from regions around the world. These tests, performed for various aluminum firms and mining deposit owners have demonstrated the potential to adapt the Orbite patented extraction process to broader ore value-added chains. This, in turns, is leading to further discussions about the opportunity for licensing agreements with third party users.
About Orbite
Orbite (pronounced "Or-bit") owns 100% of the mining rights on approximately 6,400 hectares of a Grande-Vallee property, the site of an aluminous clay deposit located 23 km to the south of Grande-Vallee, and a 28,000 sq. ft. full scale redundant line pilot plant in Cap Chat, in the Gaspe region. The NI 43-101 report issued in August 2011 has identified an Indicated Resource of about 1 billion tonnes of aluminous clay in part of the deposit. The Company also owns the intellectual property rights to a unique Canada and U.S.-patented process for extracting alumina from aluminous ores and for which patents are also pending in other countries.
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