ALUMINA: Orbite commissions HPA plant

QUEBEC – Orbite Aluminae of Montreal has begun commissioning its first high purity alumina (HPA) plant, located in Cap-Chat. Construction is mostly complete, plant pre-operating tests are progressing and many sections of the plant are being commissioned. Commercial production should be attained at the beginning of Q2 2013.

The HPA plant will begin production at a rate of less than 1 t/d, and the rate will increase to 3 t/d by mid-2013 and to 5 t/d by the end of next year. Orbite says the ramp-up schedule could be accelerated if customer demand exceeds expectations. High purity alumina is used primarily to manufacture industrial sapphires, which can be used as substrates in LED lights, LED screens and integrated circuits. HPA is also used in automotive sensors and other applications.

Orbite recently published a series of white papers on the potential markets for its technology for production of alumina, treatment of red mud, and extraction of rare metals. These are available at OrbiteAluminae.com/en/technology/white-paper.