Second phase study
RESSOURCES MINIÈRES PRO-OR INC.
«TSXV: POI »
MONTREAL, Feb. 22, 2012 /CNW Telbec/ - Montreal, QC - PRO-OR (TSXV: POI). Pro-Or (the "Company") is pleased to announce assay results from the second Phase of the mass balance obtained recently by CIR Laboratory are very positive. The recovery rates achieved with the 50 T/Y reactor at the Pro-Or plant are as follows:
Platinum: | greater than 95% |
Palladium: | greater than 95% |
Rhodium: |
greater than 80%, a significant improvement from the ">70%" of Phase 1 Results are based on the residues method. |
The current weighted efficiency can recover more than 93.2% of the value of PGE (platinum group elements) content in the ceramic.
Improvements:
To improve the recovery of rhodium, seven weeks have been necessary to develop equipment and procedures before carrying out the mass balance Phase 2. This challenge has allowed us to discover new possibilities of the process.
By changing the control parameters, the PGE concentration of the material rose from 8% to 35%. Through observations combined with measurements, scientists were able to exploit in exceptional conditions, the characteristics and physicochemical properties of various chemical reactions.
These changes resulted in an unprecedented level of purity of the final product which we were able to reach after the final stage of coking. The carbon content decreased from 85% to less than 5% without producing glass, which will result in an unexpected improvement for refining at the refiner facility. The refining is the final process step which is performed by a third party who sells the pure metal (platinum, palladium and rhodium) directly on the precious metals markets at market value.
Next Steps:
All these results from Phase 2 allow Pro-Or to move to the next stage of development while continuing to refine the operations. Pro-Or develops a plan to operate the reactor 24 hours a day for a few weeks to collate data on the reliability of the model.
The objective of the Pro-Or strategy is moving towards building a commercial plant equipped with three reactors and a capacity of at least 150T/Y and installation for industrial (CC) (catalytic converters) decanning operation. According to our current data it appears that a processing facility of 150 T/Y will generate revenue of about $ 22M per year. This requires a capital investment of approximately $ 7.5M for equipment. Pro-Or will conduct a feasibility study to determine the parameters and installation costs of such construction.
We are enthusiastic about the ability to project these costs and revenues.
It is anticipated that the relatively low capital expenditure compares favorably with the construction cost of a smelter facility.
We intend to enter into commercial agreements securing long term supply (DC) with well-structured organizations in the recovery of automobile bodies. We seek to enter into partnership agreements with these recycling leaders as they will provide (CC) and labor for the decanning. Pro-Or will provide the technology, know-how, scientific expertise and access to the refiners' network for sale and distribution of the final PGE metals. Pro-Or in possession of 2 patents and proprietary technologies will continue to develop and improve current technologies and explore new R&D.
Data:
At the Pro-Or plant in St-Augustin-de-Desmaures, we have a commercial version of a plant with a 50T/Y reactor.
The current value for platinum is $ 1637/on-troy, for palladium $ 692/on-troy and for rhodium $ 1525/on-troy. This represents a weighted average value of $ 40.94/gr. In our calculations, we consider 3.5 grams of PGE are contained in a 1 Kg ceramic (1 (CC) = 1 Kg of ceramic). The value of 3.5 grams of PGE in a (CC) would be typical of $147.
The potential (CC) recovery on Canadian soil is estimated by the number of cars sold annually. According to Statistics Canada, 1.6M vehicles were sold per year over the last 4 years. Considering each vehicle will be recycled one day, and that the content is 3.5 grams or more per (CC), at a present value of $ 40.94/gr., this represents at least 235.2M/year. The U.S. market is 10 times the Canadian market, it represents $ 2.35B. For Pro-Or, the potential can result in eight plants of 200 T/Y in Canada and 80 plants of 200 T/Y in the United States. These figures are only that of North America and do not include other continents and overseas markets where emerging economies are demanding a more regulated use of emission control. In addition these figures are based solely on automobiles and not the CC's used in Industrial grade smoke stacks, farm equipment or other combustion engine equipment. All of the potential CC's to be recycled on a world wide scale represent a multi-billion dollar per year industry and Pro-Or is excited to bring to the industry a revolutionary technology which creates significant potential for ongoing and future revenue.
The low cost installation could enable the construction of multiple facilities at the heart of markets which will eliminate the transportation costs of (CC) over long distances. |
Until the feasibility study is complétée! there is no certainty that the proposed projects will be economically viable and it is also uncertain how much of the market for recycling catalytic converters Pro-Or will be able to capture.
For your information:
The mass balance of a chemical conversion process is used to détermine the nature and quantity of incoming items and the résultants of the reaction. As nothing is lost and nothing is created in science, ail the components forming the initial product (hère, a ceramic (CC)) must be found after processing in one form or another in a certain amount. Thèse calculions are used to assess the amount of precious metals contained in the (CC), the amount extracted and the mass loss due to fire. In our case, we obtain the recovery rate for each of the platinum group éléments, as set out earlier in the press release.
List of abbreviations:
• (CC) | = catalytic converters. |
• T/Y | = tons per year (1000 Kg.) |
• PGE | = Platinum Group Eléments. |
• Capex | = capital expenditure. |
• R & D | = Research and Development. |
The company thanks its long-term shareholders for their patience and confidence. We are very confident about the future of Pro-Or in the industrial recovery of metals.
Pro-Or's President, Sylvain Boulanger, comments "We are very pleased with the progress that has made the process robust and reliable. With these results, potential (CC) suppliers will be interested in a strategic commercial alliance with Pro-Or where they can increase their profit margin on (CC). These alliances will help establish stable prices for the supply of catalytic converters and generate lucrative profits for Pro-Or".
About CIR Laboratory:
CIR Laboratory is a private corporation that offers efficient and cost effective quality control solutions for the refractory, carbon and metallurgical industries, including post-mortem analyses and simulation tests.
Its team of experts also offers turnkey R&D solutions to problems related to the élaboration and the use of industrial materials at high températures in order to optimize the most demanding processes.
With ample expérience in both the industrial (principal scientist at Alcan International-CRDA) and académie field (teaching master and chair holder of the NSERC chair known as REFRAL), Dr. Claude Allaire oversaw the Pro-Or sampling and results on behalf of CIR Laboratory. Dr. Allaire heads a team that has recently contributed to some successful R&D achievements, such as:
- The development of a new process for clay decarbonation;
- The strength maximization of a no-cement backfill paste for the mining industry;
- The development of a new aluminum non-wetting additive for high température applications;
- The development of a castable new silicon carbide-graphite.
About the Pro-Or technology
Founded in 1986, Pro-Or undertakes exploration on its properties at the Menarik deposit and at Lake Ewart. Pro-Or became a pioneer in technology and has developed two unique patents since 2000 in collaboration with the INRS (National Institute for Scientific Research). Investment in R & D totaled more than $ 4M for 6 years to develop and patent the technological process for recovering PGE from ores and concentrâtes rich in PGE mainly by recycling automobile catalytic converters. This environmentally friendly process requires a small amount of energy to recover PGE compared to current conventional smelting processes. This process is very impressive and has the potential to transform current practices of the PGE industry Worldwide. At today's value, the content of precious metals in a ton of ceramic (CC) may exceed $ 100,000 per ton.
Current prices per troy ounce today for the precious metals are in the table below:
New-York market Feb 22, 2012 (US $/ oz troy)
Pt (platinum) | Pd (palladium) | Rh (rhodium) |
$1,723 | $721 | $1,475 |
Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts
responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Sylvain Boulanger President
[email protected]
Tel: (514) 849-7336
Fax: (514) 849-9260
Website: www.pro-or.com
Robert Mullins, Investor Relations
[email protected]
First Canadian Capital Corp.
Tel: (416) 742-5600 ext. 228
Cell: (416) 317-4538
Web site: www.firstcanadiancapital.com
Max Sali IR (west coast)
Baccarat Investments Inc
Tel: (604) 367-8117
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