Montreal-based junior Exploration Orbite (ORT.A-V) has been given the go-ahead to extract a large bulk sample of up to 3,000 tonnes of aluminous clay over the next year from its Grande-Vallee claystone deposit in Quebec.
The authorization from Quebec’s Ministere des Ressources naturelles et de la Faune allows Exploration Orbite to extract sufficient quantities of mineral substances from its Grande-Vallee claystone deposit for expanded testing and enables the junior to build sample product inventory.
“This gives us a large amount of material that we can work with to experiment and establish the high-purity alumina facility, which we plan to have in the next few months in Cap-Chat,” Richard Boudreault, the company’s president and chief executive, explained in a telephone interview. “It is extremely good news.”
Boudreault added that the authorization is also “probably a good sign that we’re on our way to getting the full mining lease,” which he says normally takes about a year from the time all the documents have been filed with the government. (The company has already submitted all its documents to the relevant authorities and is waiting to hear whether any other documents are required.)
Orbite has patented a process to extract metallurgical alumina and high-purity alumina from its Grande-Vallee claystone deposit in in the Gaspe region of Quebec, about 32 km northeast of Murdochville. In May the company produced its first samples of aluminum from alumina at its 28,000-sq-ft production facility in Cap-Chat, also in the Gaspe.
Orbite holds 100% of the mining rights on its Grande-Vallee property, which has an indicated resource of more than 1 billion tonnes of aluminous clay in part of the deposit. The company says it believes its deposit represents about a half-century of the total current Canadian alumina imported.
“We’re on time, on schedule, and on budget for developing our high-purity facility by 2012 and our smelter-grade facility by 2013, barring any unforseen economic issues or if the market collapses,” Boudreault says.
He believes production of high-purity alumina could start by the end of 2012 and production of smelter-grade alumina “hopefully” by the end of 2013.
The junior is currently trading at $2.00 per share within a 52-week trading range of 28.5¢ (Sept. 24 2010) and $5.69 per share (April 12 2011).
Be the first to comment on "Exploration Orbite hits another milestone"