MONTREAL, QUEBEC -- (Marketwired) -- 02/11/16 -- Orbite Technologies Inc. (TSX: ORT)(OTCQX: EORBF) ("Orbite" or the "Company") today provides an update on construction of its HPA plant.
As the Company reported on December 15, 2015, a dispute with one of its suppliers resulted in a delay in equipment delivery and installation. Following settlement of the dispute and subsequent delivery of the withheld parts, work on the calcination system installation recommenced the week of January 4th. The project is now back on the correct construction sequence and is progressing according to plan, with installation of all major mechanical equipment, including the calciner and decomposer, now completed.
Construction highlights
-- As a consequence of the dispute with its supplier, who in breach of
contract withheld certain critical system components, installation of
piping and utilities systems around the calcination equipment could not
be completed until installation of the withheld equipment was finished.
-- The installation of withheld equipment commenced on the week of January
4th and is now complete, which completes the installation of all major
mechanical equipment.
-- Contractors are currently completing installation of air, steam, and
process piping and utilities, delayed by the late installation of the
withheld equipment. To this end, CNC Mechanical (2002) Inc. has a crew
of 80 persons on two shifts working towards completion.
-- With installation of all calcination equipment complete, installation of
insulation has commenced in preparation of hot commissioning.
-- Installation of the specialized power cables to the decomposer and
calciner, delayed by the late installation of the withheld equipment, is
now also complete. Connections to the decomposer, calciner and
transformer banks are materially complete. This critical step, non-
typical in the industry, was carried out to completion flawlessly by the
team at Les entreprises d'electricite JMN Inc.
Commissioning
Commissioning and start-up of various parts of the plant continued during installation of the withheld equipment. Of note:
-- The cold start-up of the calciner and the related acid capture system
with associated air/steam supply system were successfully completed. The
system's response was fully in line with expectations and design
parameters.
-- Equipment specialists from Germany completed the final adjustment to the
decomposer and calciner HPA discharge devices as well as provided
training to Orbite maintenance team.
-- Orbite's operating team also performed commissioning and testing under
"light" load of the electrical distribution system, the control system
and the power controllers for the calcination system.
-- Communication system testing from the central control system to the
control cabinets throughout the plant was completed. Orbite engineers
and operators, with assistance from the Company's instrumentation &
control engineering partner and supplier (Laurentide Controls Ltd.),
continued the final customer acceptance tests of the control system
programming for the different sectors of the plant.
The next major commissioning and start-up activities to be carried out over the coming weeks are:
-- The cold start-up of the decomposer and related acid capture system with
associated air/steam supply system.
-- Commissioning and start-up of the steam super-heater with assistance
from the system supplier's specialist.
-- Cold operation of both fluidized beds (decomposer and calciner) with
smelter grade alumina (SGA) to confirm and characterize the material
handling parameters of the calcination system.
-- First heat-up and hot operation of the calcination system with SGA.
Of note, the construction site achieved one year without any lost time accident. The Company would like to recognize the construction workers, staff and its partners for their good work and excellent safety practices.
Operational readiness
All operations staff have successfully completed the theoretical segment of the 40-module operations training program. Practical training is progressing well and is conducted in concert with commissioning and start-up activities.
"The list of items to be done prior to full commissioning of our HPA plant has become short and straightforward," stated Glenn Kelly, CEO of Orbite. "Although the supplier dispute meant we were not able to commence operations prior to year-end, we are back on track towards completion as per schedule. We are very pleased with how commissioning of the various plant systems is progressing to date, and are confident of successfully completing the final steps prior to commencing commercial production this quarter."
New pictures providing an overview of construction progress will be available in the investors section of the Orbite website: http://www.orbitetech.com
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 commercializing its first HPA Plant in Cap-Chat. The Company's portfolio contains 16 intellectual property families, including 27 patents and 103 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 31, 2015 on SEDAR.
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
For Media Inquiries:
NATIONAL Equicom
Scott Anderson
External Media Relations Consultant
416 586 1954
sanderson@national.ca
