Photo by: Orbite Aluminae
TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – Canadian technology development company Orbite Aluminae on Wednesday reported that the first phase of building its 3 t/d high-purity alumina (HPA) facility at Cap-Chat, in Quebec, had been completed, placing the $105-million project on schedule to start commercial production in the first quarter of 2015.
The TSX-listed firm said the completed phase comprised work to structurally reinforce the HPA building for the subsequent installation of the Outotec calcination equipment.
Orbite explained that Outotec’s Burlington, Ontario, factory had finished making the calcination equipment and that the installation on site was slated to start on Monday, after the new foundation to support the equipment had cured.
The company had awarded the mechanical contract for this installation to CNC Mechanical of Boucherville, Quebec.
Management expected the decomposition and calcination reactors to be installed over a six-week period, in line with Orbite’s construction schedule, and the refractory installation and curing to follow. The refractory installation contract was currently being negotiated.
“We are excited to be entering the next stage in our project. With each reactor weighing some 30 t and both measuring about 3.5 m X 4.5 m X 9 m, the calcination unit is a sizeable and complex system that requires an experienced and reputable party to complete installation. We are, therefore, pleased to have CNC Mechanical committed to this phase of the project,” Orbite VP of engineering and operations Denis Arguin said.