Orbite receives Canadian fly ash patent and allowance for Russian red mud patent

Orbite Technologies Inc. today announced that it has been advised by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (ROSPATENT) that its Russian patent application No. 2014131946 pertaining to its red mud monetization technology and titled "Processes for Treating Red Mud", has been deemed allowable. Further to its September 28, 2015 press release, patent No. 2,862,307 titled "Processes for Treating Fly Ash" has been granted by the Canadian Intellectual Property Office ("CIPO") and received by the company.

Additionally, the United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") recently advised the Company that its patent application No. 14/413,940 titled "Processes for Preparing Titanium Oxide and Various Other Products" has been found allowable. Furthermore, Australian patent No. 2012231686 titled "Processes for Recovering Rare Earth Elements from Aluminum-bearing Materials" was recently issued by IP Australia.

The ROSPATENT allowance covers the company's process for the treatment of red mud and provides protection in a region with one of the world's largest alumina industries, and hence red mud stockpiles. This allowance is in addition to red mud related patents already granted in the U.S. and Canada, allowed in Australia, and with applications pending, and expected to be granted, in other areas such as Asia, Europe and Latin America.

The Canadian patent covers the selective extraction and recovery of valuable elements from fly ash, the residue from coal combustion, using Orbite's chloride-based technology. As opposed to other extraction technologies, Orbite's process has the potential to recover all valuable constituents of a feedstock, including gold, scandium, gallium, rare earths and rare metals, alumina, magnesium oxide and titanium dioxide. As indicated in the January 12, 2016 press release, fly ash can contain on average up to 7.5 grams of gold per tonne.

The USPTO patent allowance covers the leaching of an aluminium or titanium-bearing material with hydrochloric acid, separating the feedstock into a solid containing mainly silica and titanium and a leachate, the latter being subsequently processed using Orbite proprietary technology to allow the selective separation of valuable materials. Optionally, the solid fraction can be further processed to separate titanium from silica.

The Australian patent covers the selective extraction of at least one rare earth element and/or at least one rare metal chosen from indium, zirconium, lithium and gallium from a leachate obtained from contacting an aluminium-bearing material with hydrochloric acid.

"Application of the technology described in the American patent allowance enables us to further increase the potential asset value of feedstocks treatable by the Orbite Process, such as aluminous clay, kaolin, red mud and fly ash," stated Glenn Kelly, CEO of Orbite. "The Russian patent provides us with additional leverage in a market where we have identified considerable potential for our waste monetization technology due to the sheer size of industrial waste production relevant to our technology. The Australian and Canadian patents cover important aspects of our specialty products and waste monetization strategies. Our growing intellectual property portfolio, both technologically and geographically, has created significant interest from industry, waste and other feedstock owners, positioning us well to pursue our expansion strategy."

These patents, once delivered, will entitle Orbite to the exclusive use of these inventions for a period of twenty (20) years following their respective filing dates.