Orbite Confirms the Association of Rare Earths and Rare Metals With Alumina at its Grande-Vallee Aluminous Clay Deposit (ccnm)

MONTREAL, QUEBEC--(Marketwire - April 18, 2012) - Orbite Aluminae Inc. ("Orbite" or the "Company") (TSX:ORT) is pleased to announce that recently completed assays of clay samples from the Grande-Vallée Marin Sector support the previously known correlation between and association of potentially high-value rare earth elements ("REE") and rare metal elements ("RM") with alumina. These samples were taken from drilling programs conducted by the Company between 2007 and 2011. The REE and RM are by-products derived from the Company's patented technology, which extracts alumina from the aluminous clay deposit. An additional systematic assay program is currently underway for pulps obtained from 2007 to 2011 clay sample drilling. The partial results for this drilling program are presented below.

In parallel, pilot plant tests performed in Europe confirmed that the Company's patented chemical process enables a high recovery rate and individual extraction of REE and RM from clay in the Grande-Vallée deposit.

Finally, as a result of this latest assay program, Orbite has begun to convert its Cap Chat pilot plant into a full-scale production facility for high-purity alumina (HPA). With 70% of detailed engineering work completed, the Company is now at the stage of ordering major equipment and Orbite is awaiting final environmental authorization to begin specific construction work. Furthermore, the Company is pursuing its core business of developing a facility to extract smelter-grade alumina (SGA), from aluminous clay at its Grande-Vallée deposit, for which 95% of the basic engineering work is presently completed.

Background on the assay and drilling program

In August 2011, an initial series of 181 samples was selected and assayed, notably for alumina (Al2O3), iron (Fe2O3), silica (SiO2), magnesium oxide (MgO), and REE and RM. A total of 166 of these samples (3m-long) came from 16 drill holes located at the future open pit site of the Company's aluminous clay deposit at Grande-Vallée, and 15 others from randomly selected samples in other drill holes within the Marin Sector. During the same period, a second series of 9 samples from 6 exploration drill holes in the Simoneau Sector in the most western area of the Orbite Grande-Vallée property was selected and assayed, notably for alumina (Al2O3), iron (Fe2O3), silica (SiO2), magnesium oxide (MgO), and REE and RM. The detailed assay results are available for consultation at www.orbitealuminae.com. The samples were assayed according to the ME-MS81 and ME-MS61 protocols of the ALS Minerals laboratory in Vancouver, British Columbia, the details of which are available at www.alsglobal.com/minerals.aspx. In terms of laboratory duplicates and standards pertaining to its sampling program, Orbite has adopted the quality assurance and quality control (QA/QC) protocols of ALS Minerals.

In February 2012, as part of the normal course of its business, the Company asked the independent ALS Minerals laboratory in Vancouver to assay for REE and RM a third series comprising 110 pulp samples from 3m-long core samples available from the 2011 drilling campaign, and 98 pulp samples from 15 cm long cores available from the 2007 drilling campaign. Details of these assay results are also available on the Orbite website. All of the above samples were taken from the proposed site of the Company's future mining operations, related to its vast aluminous clay deposit at Grande-Vallée, and had already been assayed for alumina, hematite, silica, and other oxides.

The following table provides an overview of the average grades for alumina (Al2O3), iron (Fe2O3), silica (SiO2), magnesium oxide (MgO), REE and certain RM from the three above-mentioned series of samples. The REE are subdivided into light rare earths (LREE) and heavy rare earths (HREE).

These results strongly support the consistency as well as the close association of REE and RM with the alumina in the aluminous clay over the general area of the proposed future operations site in the Marin Sector within the Company's deposit site at Grande-Vallée. The assay results for certain REE and RM in the drill holes in the Simoneau Sector, located more than 13 km West of the Marin Sector, in the same geological horizon of aluminous clay in the L'Orignal Formation, further point to a strong continuity and homogeneity between these two sectors. An assay of a fourth series of some 1,600 pulps samples is currently underway to cover samples from the 2008, 2009, and 2010 drilling campaigns.

Finally, the latest pilot plant tests performed in Europe confirmed the capacity to produce a chloride filtrate, after the iron removal within the final concentration steps of the Company's patented chemical process, which is highly concentrated in REE and RM. Such an approach allows a high recovery rate and individual extraction of REE and RM afterwards. These results demonstrate Orbite's process capability to recover the REE and RM from the clay of the Grande-Vallée deposit, which are initially present in low concentrations.

The technical content of this press release has been reviewed and approved by Alex Knox, P. Geol., independent consultant, and Mr. Denis Primeau, Eng., Chief Engineer at Orbite, both qualified persons under the terms of Regulation 43-101 Respecting Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects (Quebec).