VANCOUVER, BC – BQE Water Inc. (TSX-V: BQE), a leader in the management of mine wastewater and metallurgical bleed streams, has been awarded a contract for the construction and operation of a SART plant at a gold metallurgical facility in Shandong Province owned by Zhaojin Mining Industry Co., Ltd. (“Zhaojin”), a state-owned company that is one of the largest gold smelting and leading gold producer in China.
The contract structure for Zhaojin is similar to the SART contract signed earlier this year with Shandong Zhongkuang Group Co., Ltd. and consists of two project phases. The first phase will include initial engineering design, procurement, construction and plant commissioning. This will be followed by a second phase for onsite operations support services for an initial period of five years with BQE Water being paid a quarterly service fee based on plant performance.
“The two back-to-back multimillion dollar SART contracts with recurring revenues from ongoing plant operations will allow us to expand our China office and develop a comprehensive platform for delivering our expertise in one of the most active metals extraction, smelting and refining markets globally,” said David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water. “We are also appreciative of research and development funding and advisory services from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP).”
Songlin Ye, Vice President for Asia at BQE Water adds, “Our partnership with MWT Water Treatment Project Limited Company has allowed us to establish a commercial framework built on our combined core-competencies. Together these capabilities are highly suitable to the mining market conditions and requirements in China and will support BQE Water in the acquisition of additional contracts from the deployment of our know-how.”
About the Significance of Cyanide Management for the Gold Mining Industry
Regulations around the world are advancing and target not only residual cyanide contained in wastewater and tailings produced by mining and metallurgical operations but also place strict limits for cyanidation and cyanide destruction by-products such as ammonia, cyanate, thiocyanate and nitrite. A key aspect of cyanide management is cyanide recovery and recycle. The more cyanide that can be reused, the less fresh new cyanide that needs to be consumed and the less cyanide that must be destroyed by using additional chemicals which produce by-products requiring additional management. The goal is to ensure all discharges are non-toxic and do not cause impacts to the receiving environment. As such, proper cyanide management is key to the permitting of new projects and securing a social license for gold producers.
About the Significance of Shandong Province for China’s Gold Production
Gold output for Shandong Province reached 120 tonnes (3.8 M troy ounces) in 2018, accounting for 30% of China’s total gold production. The province is home to the country’s top gold producers who are expanding their influence globally.
About BQE Water’s Expertise in Cyanide Management
BQE Water is a global leader in the SART process which enables cyanide consumed by base metals to be recovered and recycled, lowering the cost of gold extraction and reducing the environmental footprint of gold mining projects. BQE Water also provides solutions to manage the by-products of cyanidation and cyanide destruction such as ammonia, nitrite and thiocyanate removal.
About BQE Water
BQE Water is a service provider specializing in water treatment and management for metals mining, smelting and refining. We are helping to transform the way the industry thinks about water in the context of natural resource projects by offering services and expertise which enables more sustainable water management practices and improved overall project performance at reduced risks. BQE Water invests in innovation and has developed unique intellectual property through the commercialization of several new technologies at mine sites around the world for organizations including Glencore, Jiangxi Copper, Freeport-McMoRan and the US EPA. BQE Water is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BQE. Visit www.bqewater.com for more information.