VANCOUVER, BC – BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc. (TSX:BQE), a leader in the treatment of metal and sulphate contaminated water, announces that construction of its new treatment plant at the Lluvia de Oro gold mine site in Mexico is substantially complete, at an estimated capital cost of $5.2 million. Based on the existing schedule, BioteQ will be gradually ramping up production at the plant over the remainder of the third quarter, to coincide with gold production by site owner NWM Mining Corporation, formerly known as Columbia Metals (TSX VENTURE:COL), with full production scheduled for the fourth quarter this year. In addition to the water treatment plant, BioteQ has an operating contract with NWM Mining for the gold recovery (ADR) plant. This ensures that the gold plant and water treatment plant operations can be fully integrated and optimized. NWM Mining has announced their initial gold pour at the site.
The plant is a new application of BioteQ’s technology, designed to recover copper from cyanide solution as well as regenerate and recycle cyanide for use in gold extraction, using BioteQ’s ChemSulphide® process in combination with the SART process which was developed by SGS Lakefield and Teck Cominco. BioteQ has provided the capital cost for the plant in exchange for a one-third share of the gold, silver, and copper produced at the site, until the capital cost of the plant plus 30% is repaid; thereafter, BioteQ is entitled to a share of the copper recovered and a processing fee for cyanide regeneration. Following capital cost repayment, BioteQ will receive 100% of the saleable copper up to 1 million pounds on a cumulative basis, 90% up to 2 million pounds, 80% up to 3 million pounds, 70% up to 4 million pounds, and 50% of copper recovered over 4 million cumulative pounds. In addition, BioteQ will charge a fee of US$0.85 per pound of cyanide regenerated.
Brad Marchant, BioteQ’s CEO, stated, “BioteQ is pleased to initiate operations at the Lluvia de Oro mine site. Based on current metal prices and anticipated metal recovery rates, we expect that the capital cost of the plant will be paid back within 3 years. As the commercial scale of the technology is proven at this location, we have the opportunity to build a new market niche in the gold mining industry for sites that contain cyanide-soluble base metals.”
Many of the known gold deposits in the world are in areas rich with copper and other base metals. This can create a metallurgical challenge for gold extraction when cyanide-leachable base metals are present, resulting in reduced gold yields, increased processing costs for gold extraction and waste treatment, and potential long term environmental impact of residual cyanide species. By applying BioteQ’s metal recovery technology to recover the base metal, the project economics of these gold mine sites can be enhanced and the environmental impact minimized.
BioteQ Corporate Profile
BioteQ builds, owns and operates water treatment plants for the world’s mining companies and utility operators, reducing environmental liabilities while generating revenue from waste. The Company’s commercially proven technology treats acid mine drainage and other metal-laden waste water by sequentially removing metals and sulphate, producing saleable metal products and clean water that can be discharged safely to the environment. BioteQ is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and trades on the TSX under the symbol BQE. For additional information, go to www.bqewater.com.
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On behalf of the Board of Directors
Brad Marchant
The Toronto Stock Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this release.