Minto Contracts with BioteQ for Treatment Plant
BioteQ Environmental Technologies, Inc., has signed a definitive agreement to design and build a water treatment plant at the Minto copper mine owned by Minto Explorations Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Capstone Mining Corporation.
BioteQ will provide process design, engineering and project management services on a fee basis. Minto Explorations is providing the capital and operating cost of the plant, which is expected to be installed at the mine site before spring runoff in 2010.
Brad Marchant, BioteQ's chief executive officer stated, "We are pleased to be working with our new customer, Minto Explorations, and adding to our portfolio of water treatment projects in the mining sector. This contract will generate incremental revenue without impacting our capital reserves, and enables us to expand our operating footprint in Canada."
The Minto Mine is an active high-grade copper mine with gold and silver credits, located 240 kilometers north of Whitehorse in the Canadian Yukon. Water treatment operations are seasonal, typically from May to October. BioteQ has provided water treatment services for the 2009 season, treating water containing suspended solids and dissolved metals, and has worked with Minto Explorations to assess long-term water treatment options for the site.
The new water treatment plant will be designed to treat up to 4,000 cubic meters per day of water. It will employ the company's sulphide treatment process to meet extremely low concentrations of metals in treated water that is discharged into the environment. Minto Explorations selected this treatment alternative based on the improvements to water quality achieved during on-site testing this past summer, and the relative ease of the system installation, which allows the new permanent treatment plant to be ready for the 2010 operating season. BioteQ provides a guarantee of the treatment plant performance, provided that it operates the plant.
The company has built eight plants at sites in Canada, the United States, China, Australia and Mexico, with additional projects in design and construction.