Orbite Aluminae Inc. (TSX:ORT)(OTCQX:EORBF) ("Orbite" or the
"Company") is pleased to announce, that as part of its growth
strategy, it has entered into an agreement with a private company
pursuant to which Orbite has been granted an exclusive option for a
period of three years (the "Option Agreement") to acquire a 100%
undivided interest in the mineral claims and exploration rights of
the Chaswood kaolin clay and sand property located in Halifax
County, Nova Scotia, Canada (the "Property").
The Chaswood Property consists of 163 claims encompassing 2,608
hectares (approximately 26.1 km2) in central Nova Scotia and is
accessible by a network of paved highways and all-weather secondary
roads. The property is strategically located near a natural gas
pipeline and in proximity to the Port of Halifax, a major
commercial port, that could enable national and international
shipments from a nearby smelter-grade alumina (SGA) plant.
"Our vision is to build several SGA plants serving, the Northern
Atlantic including Quebec, the world's third largest aluminum
producing region. This option agreement, allows us to pursue our
objectives for growth while providing the potential to diversify
the SGA plant locations and feedstock material within the wider
region," stated Richard Boudreault, President and CEO of Orbite.
"Orbite already holds significant aluminous clay properties in
Quebec, extending from the Quebec City region to our Grande-Vallee
property in the Gaspe. As Orbite establishes itself as a
significant player in the alumina industry, we would like to
reiterate our commitment to developing SGA plants in the Gaspe and
elsewhere, while also expressing our excitement to collaborate with
the government of Nova Scotia and its communities. In this spirit
of cooperation, we fully intend to provide local communities with
information about our projects and the environmental, social, and
economic impacts they will have, just like we're doing in the Gaspe
region."
"We are very pleased to welcome Orbite Aluminae to Nova Scotia.
Their innovative technology for producing alumina and industry
experience make them a welcome addition to our business community,"
said Charlie Parker, Nova Scotia's Minister of Natural Resources.
Nova Scotia's abundance of natural resources, including rich
deposits of kaolin clay, access to a competitive energy supply,
cost-effective transportation network and a streamlined permitting
process make our province a good choice. I look forward to learning
more about Orbite's plans as they work closely with government and
communities to develop their project."
Historic drilling and seismic data suggests the potential for a
deposit containing intercalated units of kaolin-rich clay and
silica sand, extending approximately 6 kilometers in length and to
a vertical depth that exceeds 100m in certain drill holes. The
deposit consists of Cretaceous sediments, collectively termed the
Chaswood Formation throughout the Maritime Provinces, which
typically contain 20-23% alumina in the kaolin-rich silty clays and
95-99% silica in the silica sand. Lab testwork has confirmed that
the kaolin rich clay fraction alone contains 30-38% alumina. The
grade provided is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient
exploration work to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain
if future exploration will result in the target being delineated as
a mineral resource.
In order to complete a mineral resource estimate that is
compliant with NI 43-101, Orbite intends to review and compile
historical data, complete a surface exploration and mapping
program, and complete additional drilling to improve drill spacing,
particularly in the southern end of the property.
Option Agreement Terms
In order to acquire a 100% undivided interest in the Property,
Orbite is required to: (1) make a payment of $150,000, (2) incur
aggregate exploration expenditures on the property of $1,000,000 by
December 31, 2013 including costs related to an NI 43-101 technical
report, (3) deliver an NI 43-101 technical report by December 31,
2014, and if Orbite decides to exercise the Option, (4) issue 2,4M
Orbite common shares by January 1, 2016, vesting in tranches of 10%
every six months following the date of issuance. The Option
Agreement remains subject to the approval of regulatory
authorities, including the Toronto Stock Exchange.
Additional Disclosure Regarding Grade Estimates of alumina
The estimates should not be relied upon as a quantification of
mineral resources as a Qualified Person has not done sufficient
work to classify any estimates as current mineral resources or
mineral reserves and Orbite is not treating the estimate as current
mineral resources or mineral reserves. Historical data includes 34
drill holes obtained in several mineral assessment reports dated
1997-1998 by Kaoclay Resources Inc. (Gillis, 1997, 1998a, b) and
from government mapping and drilling results completed in 1996
(Stea et al., 1996; Stea and Pullan, 2001). The kaolin grade was
determined through lab testwork involving mechanical separation of
the kaolin-rich clay from the raw sediment and from published whole
rock analyses of clays in Cretaceous basins in Nova Scotia.
Historical seismic reflection transections, completed as part of
the mineral assessment work in the 1990's, support the extent of
the stratigraphic model used. The lack of drill holes in the
southern part of the property is a major limiting factor to
determining a preliminary resource calculation. Where drill hole
information was limited or absent, the clay/sand ratio was derived
from north Chaswood drill data.
In order to improve the resolution of the geologic model, the
first step will be to complete additional reconnaissance drilling
in areas without any information. Because of the inherent
variability of fluvial sedimentary architecture, drill spacing of
at least 50-100m will be required to confidently assign thickness
models to individual clay and sand strata. Whole rock chemical
analyses and geotechnical data are also required from the clay sand
strata on the property
Construction Update at Orbite's High Purity Alumina plant at
Cap-Chat, Quebec
Services, utilities, infrastructure and civil engineering work
have now been 100% completed and approximately 80% of the main
process equipment is on site, which is ahead of the original
schedule. Initial Commercial production of 4N to 6N high purity
alumina is expected to begin in Q1 2013 with the production
capacity gradually increasing to 3 tonnes per day by mid-2013. As
part of the HPA plant design, part of the equipment has already
been provisioned to a capacity of 5 tonnes per day. Orbite
anticipates the installation in H2 2013 of the additional equipment
necessary to achieve production of 5 tonnes per day by the end of
2013.
The technical content of this press release has been reviewed
and approved by Marc Filion, a Qualified Person under the terms of
Regulation 43-101 Respecting Standards of Disclosure for Mineral
Projects (Quebec). Mr. Filion is a Consultant to Orbite, and as
such, is not independent pursuant to NI 43-101.
About Orbite
Orbite Aluminae Inc. is a Canadian cleantech 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 caustic red mud residue that the
Bayer process, traditionally used by the great majority of the
industry, produces. The Company owns 100% of thirteen 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 585 km2 including the 33.4 km2 Grande-Vallee
property, the site of a homogeneous aluminous clay deposit in
Quebec, Canada containing an NI 43-101 compliant Indicated Mineral
Resource of 1.04 billion tonnes (see ORT May 31, 2012 press release
for a detailed breakdown of the resource). Orbite holds a mining
lease on a portion of the 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 by the first quarter of 2013.
The Company also anticipates the initiation 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 signed memorandums of
understanding with the world's largest aluminum producer, UC RUSAL,
and with NALCO, a major Asian aluminum company. Orbite recently
published a series of white papers on the potential markets for its
technology for production of alumina, treatment of red mud, and
extraction of rare metals. These are available on our website:
www.orbitealuminae.com/en/technology/white-paper.
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.
Contacts: Canada Media Frederic Berard Vice-President and
General Manager H+K Strategies Tel.: 514-395-0375, ext. 259
Investors Louis Morin Investor Relations Tel.: 514-591-3988
Investors Chris Witty Darrow Associatescwitty@darrowir.com Tel.:
646-438-9385 Nicole Blanchard Investor Relations Sun International
Communications Tel.: 450-973-6600 Jason Monaco First Canadian
Capital Corp. Tel.: 416-742-5600 US Media George Sopko Stanton
Public Relations & Marketing Tel.: 646 502-3507 ORBITE Marc
Johnson Vice-President, Corporate
Developmentinfo@orbitealuminae.com Tel.: 514-744-6264, ext. 131