MONTREAL, Sept. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Orbite
Aluminae Inc. (TSX: ORT) (OTCQX: EORBF) ("Orbite" or the
"Company"), a leading provider of clean technology and developer of
breakthrough alternative solutions for the alumina production
industry, today announced it will begin producing high-purity
alumina (HPA) in the first quarter of 2013 at its plant in
Cap-Chat Quebec.
Orbite is expected to be the only North American company
producing a 5N (99.999%) purity level of alumina, which is a
rapidly growing market driven by increasing demand for LED lighting
and products – applications that already represent nearly half of
the overall market for HPA. By 2015, LED usage is expected to
account for about 60 percent of the total HPA market partially due
to legislation mandating a shift from incandescent and CFL (compact
florescent) to LED lighting.
"Global demand for high-purity alumina is quickly exceeding the
available supply," said Richard
Boudreault, President and CEO of Orbite Aluminae. "Orbite
should help address this deficit, which is critical to a range of
industries, and is well positioned to be a strategic alternative to
the Asian producers who've largely dominated and controlled the
market."
Boudreault noted that another key market factor is the quality
of the metal. "As technological applications continue to develop
and advance, they require alumina that has a higher rate of purity,
which is why our laboratory is also working hard to develop a 6N
(or 99.9999%) purity level before the Company's HPA commercial
plant is in service. The HPA plant, expected in operation early
next year, will also enable the production of Rare Earth Elements,"
he commented.
In addition to LED products, high-purity alumina is also used in
the production of semiconductors, phosphor products (e.g. plasma
screens), lithium-ion batteries, and automotive sensors.
According to Orbite, these are all business segments with
substantial growth opportunity lies as demand increases, especially
in emerging markets.
High-Purity Alumina (HPA) – Market Potential and Orbite's
Competitive Advantages
(http://www.orbitealuminae.com/media/upload/filings/HPA_VERSION_0.pdf),
which is a research-based analysis by the consulting firm SECOR,
details the current state of the HPA market and the opportunities
that Orbite offers to prospective customers through its new
production capacity.
Lower Costs, Environmentally-Neutral Extraction, and New
Applications
Orbite's technology will allow for the extraction of
alumina from a wide range of source materials such as argillite,
bauxite, and fly ash at significantly lower costs and without
generating a single ounce of the toxic red mud pollutant that the
traditional Bayer process produces. Additionally, the process can
extract alumina from red mud residue, and will also be applied for
the first time to aluminous clay. In fact, Orbite's clay deposits
in the Gaspe region of
Quebec will be the primary source
material for the production of 5N alumina.
Orbite refined its first commercial samples of 5N purity alumina
– produced in its HPA pilot plant – at its laboratory located in
Laval, Quebec, which were then
sent to potential customers selected according to their alumina
needs and their potential for strategic partnerships with the
Company as it moves toward commercializing its technologies and
activities.
The technical content of this press release has been reviewed
and approved by Marc Filion, a
qualified person under the terms of National Instrument 43-101
Respecting Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects
(Quebec). Mr. Filion is a
consultant of Orbite, and as such, is not independent pursuant to
NI 43-101.
About Orbite
Orbite Aluminae Inc. is a Canadian clean tech company
whose innovative technologies are setting the new standard for
alumina production. Orbite technologies enable
environmentally-neutral extraction of smelter-grade alumina (SGA),
high-purity alumina (HPA) and high-value elements, including rare
earths and rare metals, from a variety of sources such as aluminous
clay and bauxite, without generating the toxic red mud residue that
the traditional Bayer process produces. The Company owns ten
different families of intellectual property rights (and patents
pending) filed across the world for the extraction of alumina at
the highest standards of sustainability. Orbite also owns
exclusive mining rights over a total of 60,984 hectares, including
the 6,665-hectare Grande-Vallee
property, the site of an aluminous clay deposit in Quebec, Canada. An NI 43-101 compliant
report dated May 30, 2012 identified
over 1 billion tonnes of aluminous clay in part of this deposit.
Orbite is currently converting its 2,600 m2 pilot plant
in Cap-Chat, Quebec, Canada, into
a full-scale high-purity alumina production facility, and expects
this plant to be fully operational in early 2013. The Company
also anticipates the launch of construction of its first SGA plant
towards the end of 2013. Orbite plans to offer SGA and HPA
products and to license its low processing cost technologies to
well-qualified producers who want to reduce their environmental
footprint. Orbite has recently entered into partnerships with the
world's largest aluminum producer, UC Rusal.
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 22, 2012 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 information or statements contained in this
document to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances
or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.
SOURCE Orbite Aluminae Inc.
