VANCOUVER, BC – BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BQE) is pleased to report that it has reached agreement on a second development project with Columbia Metals Corporation Limited (TSX VENTURE:COL). The new project for development of a water treatment plant is at Columbia’s Lluvia de Oro Gold Property located in the State of Sonora, Mexico, near the La Jojoba Project which was previously announced. The companies have agreed that BioteQ will supervise the process development testwork for both projects, on a cost-recovery basis, and should the test results warrant a second copper recovery plant dedicated to Lluvia de Oro then BioteQ will supply the technology on the same terms as agreed for La Jojoba.
The water treatment technology is a new application of BioteQ’s sulphide technologies where BioteQ will provide a plant to Columbia for the regeneration of free and copper-complexed cyanide from barren solutions, which can then be recycled for gold extraction. In addition, the technology converts copper cyanide complexes to copper sulphide which is then recovered as an incremental revenue source.
The previous commercial agreement for La Jojoba provides for the joint development of the process during the engineering stages, followed by a build-own-operate commercial structure whereby BioteQ will own the treatment plant in return for metals recovered and fees charged for cyanide regeneration.
Project Description – Lluvia de Oro Gold Property
Columbia’s Lluvia de Oro Gold Property is located in northern Mexico, approximately 2.5 hours drive from Tucson, Arizona. The property previously operated as a gold heap leach. The existing infrastructure consists of a heap leach pad, which currently contains unleached gold from previous operations, a well developed resource, a complete solution refining plant and ancillary storage ponds, power, maintenance facilities, warehousing, and offices at the site.
The gold deposit contains cyanide-soluble copper minerals, which consume cyanide during the gold extraction process, and can build up in the metallurgical process solutions and hinder maximum gold extraction. BioteQ’s biological sulphide technology can be used for cyanide regeneration for recovery of free cyanide and copper-complexed cyanide from the barren solution, following gold recovery from solution. Regeneration of the cyanide also allows the recovery of copper as a sulphide product that can be shipped to a refinery for final processing to copper products.
Laboratory testing on bulk samples and drill core samples is in progress to determine the extent of cyanide soluble copper minerals at Lluvia de Oro and to determine the design criteria for a BioteQ plant.
New Technology
The new technology offered by BioteQ is an important development for future gold mining operations. The technology is an improvement on the SART process developed by SGS Lakefield Research, and is used by permission. Many of the known large gold deposits in the world are complexed with copper, and some occur as copper-gold porphyry deposits. The new technology offers a cost effective route to recover the gold using a conventional cyanide system and at the same time recover cyanide-soluble copper that ordinarily would pose a technical, environmental and economic impediment to the development of some of these large copper-gold systems.
Columbia Metals Corporation Limited
Columbia Metals Corporation Limited is based in Toronto and has several developing projects located in Mexico including: La Jojoba Gold Property, Lluvia de Oro Gold Mine, North Sonora Gold Mine, El Carmen Gold Property and the PII Colorado poly-metallic prospect, in the State of Sonora.
Corporate Profile
BioteQ is establishing itself as a leader in the treatment of contaminated water through the use of its patented BioSulphide® Process and related sulphide based technologies. Focused on the mining industry, BioteQ has partnered with leading metal producers including Phelps Dodge, Breakwater, INCO and Falconbridge as well as utilities operator EPCOR Water Services, to finance, design, build and operate mine site water treatment plants which recover saleable metals in addition to meeting ever stricter environmental regulations.
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On behalf of the Board of Directors
Brad Marchant