VANCOUVER, BC – BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc. (TSX VENTURE:BQE), is pleased to report that the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) has approved BioteQ’s sulphide technology for construction at the Wellington Oro mine site, which is located near the Town of Breckenridge, Colorado. The approval to proceed to construction was received after BioteQ completed a site demonstration of the technology, using one of BioteQ’s mobile plants to confirm plant design criteria and zinc product quality. The treated water from BioteQ’s demonstration plant met all of the discharge criteria established by the US EPA for the site and the zinc product met long term stability requirements established by the US EPA.
The Wellington Oro Mine, which is located 2 miles east of Breckenridge, operated as a zinc-silver mine and has been closed since the 1970’s. Surface drainage from the mining area produces an acidic wastewater that requires treatment before discharge to the French Gulch tributary of the Blue River. The proposed BioteQ plant, with a design capacity of 150 US gallons per minute, or approximately 300 million litres per year, will be designed to recover zinc, lead and cadmium into a zinc-rich concentrate product for shipment off site for final refining. The BioteQ process offers significant benefits for this site as it does not produce any waste metal-laden sludge for long term storage at the site and produces high quality water for discharge directly to the environment.
The current project schedule shows plant commissioning in the fourth quarter 2006. The final construction and operating contract is currently under review.
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BioteQ is establishing itself as a leader in the treatment of acid contaminated water through the use of its patented BioSulphide® Process. Focused on the mining industry, BioteQ has partnered with leading metal producers including Phelps Dodge, Breakwater 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. The Wellington Oro project is the first BioteQ project involving the EPA.
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On behalf of the Board of Directors
Brad Marchant, President & CEO