Orbite Provides Update on HPA Plant Construction

MONTREAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - Oct. 29, 2014) - Orbite Aluminae Inc. (TSX:ORT)(OTCQX:EORBF) ("Orbite" or the "Company") today provides an update on the construction of its 3 tonnes per day high purity alumina ("HPA") plant in Cap-Chat, Québec.

Mechanical installation of the decomposer and calcinator has been completed per the Company's earlier communicated timeline (see press release dated September 6, 2014).

The next major step in the construction is the installation of the refractory package consisting of 180 tonnes of bricks, mortar and castable in the decomposer and calcinator. Quality Control testing by the Company's Technology Development Centre ("TDC"), which is part of Orbite's Quality Assurance program, reconfirmed the suitability of the refractory products for achieving the required high purity levels during decomposition and calcination. Further testing, however, did identify non-conformities with some of the refractory material supplied to the Company that could potentially lead to mechanical stability issues.

Although the refractory materials supplied would have allowed the Company to operate the plant in line with expectations on product quality and consistency in the short term, Orbite has decided to pre-empt potential future mechanical issues that would have required substantial and costly refractory maintenance in light of the above referenced quality assurance results. The Company has therefore deferred installation of the refractory system, allowing for further testing with its supplier to confirm that the replacement materials supplied will meet long-term operational requirements.

Additionally, alternative refractory materials have been identified and tested that meet both stability and purity criteria. If testing results on the vendor supplied materials justifies moving forward using these alternative refractory materials, additional engineering and changes in installation procedures would be required.

Orbite now expects to commence refractory installation, either with the currently supplied materials or the alternatives identified, in January 2015, and anticipates commercial production to commence slightly later than originally anticipated, in the second quarter of 2015.

Extensive testing at the TDC reconfirmed the suitability of both the current and alternative refractory products for achieving the high purity levels in decomposition and calcination. As a consequence of these positive results, combined with the two production runs of aluminum chloride hexahydrate carried out in July and August, management is confident its technology, upon successful commissioning of the plant, will deliver high purity alumina meeting required specifications on a consistent basis.

Other construction activities, not dependent upon refractory installation, will be carried out in the interim. The additional refractory testing work and the related impact on the startup timeline are not expected to have a material impact on project budget.

"This extra work on the refractory system is proactive, and precautionary, to prevent issues from occurring that could require substantial plant maintenance down the line," said Glenn Kelly, CEO of Orbite. "By engaging in this additional step, as well as having identified alternative suitable materials at an early stage, we have significantly de-risked completion of the refractory system. We are at the cusp of being commercial with a potentially ground breaking new technology, and would rather take the extra time to ensure the long-term operation of our plant than rush to market. Overall, we are progressing well towards completion of the plant and are confident of meeting our new schedule."

About Orbite

Orbite Aluminae Inc. is a Canadian cleantech company whose innovative and proprietary processes are expected to produce alumina and other high-value products, such as rare earth and rare metal oxides, at one of the lowest costs in the industry, and in a sustainable fashion, using feedstocks that include aluminous clay, kaolin, nepheline, bauxite, red mud and fly ash. Orbite is currently in the process of finalizing its first commercial high-purity alumina (HPA) production plant in Cap-Chat, Québec and has completed the basic engineering for a proposed smelter-grade alumina (SGA) production plant, which would use clay mined from its Grande-Vallée deposit. The Corporation's portfolio contains 16 intellectual property families, including 12 patents and 96 pending patent applications in 10 different countries and regions. The first intellectual property family is patented in Canada, USA, Australia, China, Japan and Russia. The Corporation also operates a state of the art technology development center in Laval, Québec, where its technologies are developed and validated.

Forward-looking statements

Certain information contained in this document may include "forward-looking information". Without limiting the foregoing, the information and any forward-looking information may include statements regarding projects, costs, objectives and future returns of the Company or hypotheses underlying these items. In this document, words such as "may", "would", "could", "will", "likely", "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "plan", "estimate" and similar words and the negative form thereof are used to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of whether, or the times at or by which, such future performance will be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are based on information available at the time and/or the Company management's good-faith beliefs with respect to future events and are subject to known or unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other unpredictable factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. These risks uncertainties and assumptions include, but are not limited to, those described in the section of the Management's Discussion and Analysis (MD&A) entitled "Risk and Uncertainties" as filed on July 30, 2014.

The Company does not intend, nor does it undertake, any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information or statements contained in this document to reflect subsequent information, events or circumstances or otherwise, except as required by applicable laws.