VANCOUVER, B.C.– BioteQ Environmental Technologies, Inc. (TSX: BQE), a leader in the treatment of industrial wastewater, has confirmed that it will restart water treatment operations at the Mt. Gordon mine site in Australia. The restart of operations will take approximately 6 to 8 weeks. BioteQ recently met with senior management of Birla Mt. Gordon Pty. Ltd. (“Birla”), a subsidiary of Aditya Birla Minerals, to review detailed plans to restart water treatment operations.
Brad Marchant, BioteQ’s Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased to be restarting operations at the Mt. Gordon site. This puts an important asset back into production that will reduce environmental liabilities for the mine owner, at a lower life cycle cost for water treatment compared to alternative processes.”
The Mt. Gordon water treatment operations were suspended in January as a result of an unprecedented storm event that forced the evacuation of the site, and caused damage to portions of BioteQ’s plant equipment and inventories as well as site infrastructure. BioteQ has been working with the Company’s insurers to settle damage claims, and with Birla management to determine the revised water treatment needs at the site.
BioteQ will replace damaged equipment and make modifications to the plant to meet current water treatment requirements. Initially the plant will be restarted using the original process plan to recover copper from acidic mine drainage, at the design capacity treatment rate of 230 cubic meters per hour. BioteQ and Birla are currently working together to make the necessary repairs at the site to restart water treatment operations as soon as possible. Birla has agreed to purchase the copper inventory and production based on prevailing market pricing.
Subject to successful restart of operations, BioteQ has proposed to make further modifications to its plant to provide additional water treatment services on a fee basis, to allow discharge of the treated water to reduce the water inventory at the site. Additional details will be provided following restart of the plant operations.
BioteQ Corporate Profile
BioteQ is a water treatment company that applies innovative technologies and operating expertise to solve challenging water treatment problems, reducing environmental liabilities while delivering lower life cycle costs for water treatment. The Company’s commercially proven technologies treat industrial wastewater contaminated with dissolved heavy metals and sulphate, producing saleable by-products and clean water that can be discharged safely to the environment. BioteQ has built 8 plants at sites in Canada, the US, China, Australia and Mexico, with additional projects in design and construction.
BioteQ has been named one of Canada’s Top 50 Most Socially Responsible Corporations by Jantzi Research and Maclean’s, and the company’s sustainable water treatment solutions have been recognized with the Globe Award for Environmental Excellence, the PDAC Award for Environmental and Social Responsibility, the China Mining Environmental Protection Award, and the Mines & Money Sustainable Development Award. BioteQ is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and trades on the TSX under the symbol BQE. For additional information, please 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.