ORBITEIDENTIFIES RARE EARTH ELEMENTS IN ITSGRANDE-VALLÉE DEPOSIT, FURTHERENHANCING ITS OFFERING TO THE ALUMINUMAND HIGH-TECHNOLOGY INDUSTRIES
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EXPLORATION ORBITE V.S.P.A. INC.
TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE: ORT.A
MONTREAL,April 12 /CNW Telbec/ - Exploration Orbite (ORT.A) is pleasedtoannounce the presence of high-value by-products such as scandium,galliumand other important rare earth elements in its Grande-Vall?edeposit,all of which offer strong economic potential for the companyand forCanada. The Company is also pleased to announce its filing ofaprovisional U.S. patent application that extends protection foritsexisting patented technology to the extraction of scandium, galliumandother rare earth elements from aluminous clay.
Strategic materials in Grande-Vall?e
Recentfindings showing the presence of elements such as scandium,gallium andother rare earth elements in Orbite's Grande-Vall?ealuminous claydeposit emerged from a geochemical survey on theproperty performed bythe Institut National de Recherche et de S?curit?(INRS) and, morespecifically, analyses by Chemex and SGS of 10characteristic samplesextracted from the pilot plant bulk sampleoriginating from theproperty's Marin sector. These elements have ahigh degree of affinity toalumina, the main constituent of interest toOrbite in the Grande-Vall?edeposit.
The above analysis, performed by geologist Jean-Guy Levaque B.A.,B.Sc.A., P.Eng, and a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for MineralProjects,confirmed an average grade of 18-19 g/ton of scandium in the bulksampleas well as the existence of a high degree of correlation betweenthescandium element with the aluminum in the deposit exceeding 78%.Theassay results also confirmed the presence of 32-44 g/tonne ofgallium inthe same bulk sample. In addition to these two elements,other rare earthelements were also detected such as (but not limitedto) yttrium 43-53g/tonne, dysprosium at around 10 g/tonne, neodymiumat 65-70 g/tonne,praseodymium at 18-19 g/tonne and lanthanum at about75-77 g/tonne. Rareearths including scandium totalled 400 to 500g/tonne.
Sizeable value for the aluminum industry
Asa high value add-on, scandium transforms aluminum into adifferentiatedproduct that commands a significantly higher price onthe market and isof decisive significance to the aerospace industry."The presence ofthese rare earth element by-products in ourGrande-Vall?e deposit, alongwith the filing of an application forpatent protection of an effectivemethod of extracting these elementsare extremely exciting strategicdevelopments for our company," saidRichard Boudreault, Orbite Presidentand CEO. "They add tremendousvalue to our alumina offering and have thepotential to add momentouseconomic value to our expected productionnumbers. We have initiateddiscussions with key market players in theindustry and look forward toeventually establishing valuablerelationships based on this excitingfind."
A new patent application
OnMarch 18, 2011, Orbite filed a new provisional US patent(applicationU.S. 61/454, 211) for a method for extracting rare earthssuch asscandium and gallium. It is hoped that this new process andpatent willbecome an additional source of licensing income for theCompany basedon the growing demand for rare earths from energy andhigh-technologysectors, which are expected to experience significantgrowth in thecoming years.
The new extractionmethod adds to Orbite's existing patent familiesrelated to theproduction of alumina and will enrich the Company'sintellectual propertyassets. Orbite is constantly innovating toincrease its leadership inthe industry through the development of itsintellectual property claims.
Scandium, Gallium and Dysprosium
Scandium(Sc) is primarily used in aluminum-scandium alloys (between0.1% and2.0% of scandium) to make critical aerospace componentsandhigh-performance sportsequipment. Scandium is also used in variouslighting applications suchas high-density discharge lamps and metalhalide lamps/light bulbs. Theprices for aluminum-scandium range fromUS$74-US$212 per kg.? Scandiumcould thus deliver high strategicadded-value to the Canadian Aerospacesector.? According to the USGeological Survey (USGS), prices of scandiumoxides range from US$900to US$3260 per kg depending on purity. Mostly aby-product of uraniumand platinum mining, world production of scandiumis in the order of2000 kg per year. World consumption presently exceeds5000 kg per yearand is constrained mostly by availability.
Gallium(Ga) is used principally in semiconductors for electroniccomponentssuch as integrated circuits, ultra-high speed logic chipsfor cell phonesas well as a variety of infrared electro-optical, LEDand highefficiency solar-cell production applications. In theselastapplications, gallium has the potential to further acceleratethegrowth of the local advanced optoelectronic and solar cellmaterialindustry. It is usually extracted from bauxite deposits asaby-product.? In 2010, world primary production was estimated at106metric tonnes per year.? The US Geological Survey pegs the value of4N(99.99% pure) gallium metal at approximately $US600/kg.
Dysprosium(Dy) and other rare earth elements find growing applicationin cleantech and energy technologies. The US Department of Energy haslisteddysprosium among the most important elements to the clean techeconomy(principally used to make magnets for electric and hybridvehicles andwind turbines), as well as the one most at-risk for supplyshortagesduring the next 15 years.? Dysprosium could be enabling toQuebec'srecently released plan for the development of electriccartechnologies.?The world production of dysprosium ispresentlyconcentrated in China.? Existing production is not sufficientto meetdemand, and shortage exists for dysprosium in the manufacture ofmagnetalloys for example. Its market prices presently exceeds 600$/kgFOBChina.
Mr. Levaque is the independent geologist (as per NI 43-101)who carriedout the geological work described in the aforementionedanalyses andwho reviewed and authorized this press release. He alsoreviewed thefindings of the geochemical study carried out by INRS andproduced inJuly 2006, and has recently performed additional? testing atboth theSGS and Chemex independent laboratories on samples from theMarinsector.