HPA Capex Mackie estimates that Orbite will need to invest an additionnal $10 million to convert the pilot plant in order to produce 5 t / day of HPA.
I just found out that Sumomito will spend about $122 million to increase their production by 1,600 t / year, about the equivalent of 5 t / day.
"Sumitomo Chemical Co. will spend 10 billion yen to double its capacity to produce high-purity alumina, a material of light-emitting diodes, at its plant in Niihama, Ehime Prefecture, by next summer.
The company decided to invest in Japan because it controls 40 percent of the global market for high-purity alumina and exports from Japan can be competitive, a spokesperson said."
https://ajw.asahi.com/article/economy/business/AJ201112090029
The Capex required for the Orbite process makes it very competitive on that front if the $10 million are indeed all that is required to convert the pilot plant to a 5 t / day operation.
Ben