Orbite Receives Notice of Allowance for Red Mud Monetization Patent in the USA


MONTREAL, QUÉBEC--(Marketwired - March 13, 2015) - Orbite Aluminae Inc. (TSX:ORT)(OTCQX:EORBF) ("Orbite" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") has issued a notice of allowance for patent application No. 14/371,364, pertaining to Processes for Treating Red Mud. Orbite had previously received a notice of allowance by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO"), as announced on January 8, 2015.

Following the favorable opinion in terms of novelty, inventive steps, and industrial applicability received for its International Application, Orbite filed national phase entries in various countries and used the Patent Prosecution Highway, where allowed, to accelerate patent application examination and patent issuance. The US and Canadian Red Mud patent applications were treated under this accelerated process.

Red mud is the waste product generated by the Bayer process, the industrial process used for refining bauxite to obtain alumina, the raw material for the electrolytic production of aluminum. Red mud represents a long-term environmental liability for the entire alumina industry. The Orbite process is able to utilize red mud as a feedstock, extracting the valuable constituents, including rare earths and rare metals, alumina, magnesium oxide and titanium dioxide, while only returning a small fraction of material. In this way, the Orbite process contributes to converting an environmental and financial liability into an asset.

"With more than 3 billion tonnes of red mud stored globally, two patents confirmed and more on the way, as well as the recently announced $4.5M conditional grant from Sustainable Development Technologies Canada, Orbite is well positioned to pursue the commercial opportunity its groundbreaking waste monetization technology represents," stated Glenn Kelly, CEO of Orbite. "In addition to red mud, we see a considerable opportunity in using this technology for fly ash monetization. Fly ash, of which some 71 million tonnes is produced in the U.S. annually, like red mud, represents a significant financial and environmental liability for communities and companies. As fly ash has a similar composition to red mud, much value is currently wasted. With our technology, we believe it is possible to generate significant value from these waste ponds, simultaneously addressing economic and environmental issues."

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, fly ash as well as serpentine residues from chrysotile processing sites. 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 Company's portfolio contains 15 intellectual property families, including 15 patents and 98 pending patent applications in 11 different countries and regions. The first intellectual property family is patented in Canada, USA, Australia, China, Japan and Russia. The Company 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 November 5, 2014 on SEDAR.

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.

Contact Information:

TMX EQUICOM
Mark Lakmaaker, External Investor Relations Consultant
1-800-385-5451 ext. 248
mlakmaaker@tmxequicom.com

For Media Inquiries:
TMX EQUICOM
Scott Anderson, External Media Relations Consultant
1-800-385-5451, ext. 252
sanderson@tmxequicom.com