MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 10/25/16 -- Orbite Technologies Inc. (TSX: ORT)(OTCQX: EORBF) ("Orbite", or the "Company") today announced that, further to its press release of October 13, 2016, production activities continue as planned at its high purity alumina ("HPA") plant.
-- Feedstock digestion, which commenced on September 30, is now operating
automatically, smoothly and as anticipated, and production times have
come down, as planned.14 digestion batches have been completed, and
batch production times have decreased to four hours per batch, well
within design parameters.
-- The digestion liquors continue to be transferred to the crystallisation
circuit for the production of Aluminum Chloride Hexahydrate (ACH)
crystals, the precursor to High Purity Alumina (HPA). To date, 35 tonnes
of ACH crystals have been produced, corresponding to close to 10 tonnes
of HPA, once calcined.
-- Purity levels of the ACH crystals, produced in the first batches, were
in excess of 5N, ahead of expectations. This corresponds to HPA purity
levels in excess of 4N5. Recently produced ACH purity levels have
increased further and are very close to reaching the levels
corresponding to 5N HPA.
-- Based on this positive progress, the company will commence decomposer
and calciner heat up in the coming days to commence calcination of ACH
crystals into HPA.
"Purity of the initial batches of ACH crystals is excellent, and continues to surpass our expectations so soon after start of production," stated Glenn Kelly, CEO of Orbite. "Operations to date clearly validate our technology for the production of ACH and we look forward to commencing the conversion of the ACH crystals into HPA of 5N+ levels. As we intend to be a producer of ultra-high purity alumina, our production sequence is to only transfer ACH crystals to the calcination circuit once the required purity levels have been achieved. While we could have started HPA production with earlier batches, we aim to deliver higher purity and therefore higher value HPA to the market in response to demand from our potential customers."
About Orbite
Orbite Technologies Inc. is a Canadian cleantech company whose innovative and proprietary processes are expected to produce alumina and other high-value products, such as rare earth and rare metal oxides, at one of the lowest costs in the industry, and in a sustainable fashion, using feedstocks that include aluminous clay, kaolin, nepheline, bauxite, red mud, fly ash as well as serpentine residues from chrysotile processing sites. Orbite is currently in the process of finalizing its first commercial high-purity alumina (HPA) production plant in Cap-Chat, Quebec and has completed the basic engineering for a proposed smelter-grade alumina (SGA) production plant, which would use clay mined from its Grande-Vallee deposit. The Company's portfolio contains 16 intellectual property families, including 45 patents and 71 pending patent applications in 11 different countries and regions. The first intellectual property family is patented in Canada, USA, Australia, China, Japan and Russia. The Company also operates a state of the art technology development center in Laval, Quebec, where its technologies are developed and validated.
Forward-looking statements
Certain information contained in this document may include "forward-looking information". Without limiting the foregoing, the information and any forward-looking information may include statements regarding 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 and information are based on information available at the time and/or the Company 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 30, 2016 on SEDAR, including those under the headings "Recent increase in budgeted capital costs will require additional financing and may adversely impact our prospects", "We will need to raise capital to continue our growth" and "Development Goals and Time Frames".
The Company does not intend, nor does it undertake, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements contained in this document to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.
Contacts:
NATIONAL Equicom
Marc Lakmaaker, External Investor Relations Consultant
416-848-1397
mlakmaaker@national.ca
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NATIONAL Equicom
Scott Anderson, External Media Relations Consultant
416-586-1954
sanderson@national.ca
