Orbite Aluminae appoints Neron as engineering director

2014-06-05 09:34 ET - News Release

Mr. Denis Arguin reports

ORBITE APPOINTS DIRECTOR OF ENGINEERING; COMPANY PROVIDES UPDATE ON CALCINATION SYSTEM

Orbite Aluminae Inc. has appointed Diane Neron as its new director of engineering. The company has also provided a progress report on the status of delivery of its calcination system.

Ms. Neron, who will initially be supporting the company's efforts to complete its three-tonne-per-day high-purity alumina (HPA) facility at Cap-Chat, Que., was mandated to head the technical aspects of the company's waste monetization initiatives, including its engineering and process optimization. Orbite's proprietary process enables the extraction of valuable materials from a wide variety of industrial waste sources, including red mud, fly ash and mine tailings. A crucial step toward commercialization and one in which Ms. Neron will play a key role will be the conversion of the HPA facility to the company's proprietary chloride process, which is planned for 2015.

Ms. Neron, who will report to Denis Arguin, vice-president, engineering and operations, has over 25 years of engineering experience in the materials, mining and metallurgy industries. Prior to joining Orbite, she was a senior project manager with renowned engineering and construction groups such as Bechtel and SNC-Lavalin. A member of the Ordre des ingenieurs du Quebec, she holds a bachelor of science in metallurgy from Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.

Mr. Arguin, Orbite's vice-president of engineering and operations, stated: "In Diane, we have found someone who brings a great combination of engineering expertise, leadership qualities and commercial acumen. Her arrival is the first step in strengthening our engineering capacity to drive our waste commercialization efforts. We see a significant potential in producing valuable products such as rare earths, rare metals and alumina from industrial waste, and Diane will lead our technical efforts to capitalize on these opportunities."

HPA project update -- calcinator

Further to the company's press release of March 27, 2014, the company is pleased to report on progress with the construction and delivery of its new calcination system.

Outotec Germany has completed fabrication of the calciner discharge devices and is currently going through testing to confirm the required specifications have been met. The first shipment from Germany, containing the refractory for the decomposition and calciner vessels, the decomposer feeding system, as well as the instrumentation and control system, is to leave next week, with delivery on site in Cap-Chat anticipated for the last week of June. The decomposer and calciner furnaces are being built by Outotec Canada and are expected to arrive from Burlington, Canada, during the month of August.

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