VANCOUVER, BC, July 29, 2010 -- BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc., a leader in the treatment of industrial wastewater, has successfully completed the commissioning of a new SART facility located at a gold mine site. BioteQ provided the SART plant process design, including equipment sizing and specifications, construction review, operator training, and plant commissioning services, on a fee basis. BioteQ is in discussions with the mine owner to provide ongoing technical support for plant operations.
The SART plant is part of an integrated process facility which allows the mine to process significant gold reserves which previously could not be recovered because of the metallurgical interference of copper in the ore. The plant combines BioteQ's sulphide precipitation technology with the sulphidization-acidification-recycle-thickening (SART) process developed by SGS Lakefield and Teck Corporation to recover dissolved copper from gold processing solution, and regenerate cyanide for recycle back to the gold processing operation.
The plant is designed to treat up to 120 m³/h of process solution containing up to 1,500 parts per million of dissolved copper. The plant allows the site owner to maintain compliance with regulatory limits for residual cyanide levels in tailings ponds when processing ore with high cyanide soluble copper content, while recovering up to 99% of the copper from the wastewater stream. The process is expected to improve gold yields, enhance dore purity, reduce copper and cyanide laden waste, and reduce operating costs for gold recovery.
This is BioteQ's second SART project. The company's first SART plant is located at the Lluvia de Oro gold mine site in Mexico.
About BioteQ
BioteQ applies innovative technologies and operating expertise to solve challenging water treatment problems, reducing environmental liabilities while delivering lower life cycle costs for water treatment. The Company's commercially proven technologies treat industrial wastewater contaminated with dissolved heavy metals and sulphate, producing saleable by-products and clean water that can be discharged safely to the environment. BioteQ has built 10 plants at sites in Canada, the US, China, Australia and Mexico, with additional projects in design and construction.
BioteQ's sustainable water treatment solutions have been recognized with the CIM/Syncrude Award for Excellence in Sustainable Development, the Canada Export Achievement Award, the Jantzi/Maclean's Most Socially Responsible Corporations in Canada, the Globe Award for Environmental Excellence, the PDAC Award for Environmental and Social Responsibility, the China Mining Environmental Protection Award, and the Mines & Money Sustainable Development Award. BioteQ is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, and trades on the TSX under the symbol BQE. For additional information, please go to www.bioteq.ca.
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