Vancouver-based wastewater technology company BioteQ Environmental Technologies Inc. (TSX: BQE) announced this morning that it has signed an agreement with an undisclosed European engineering firm to advance a cyanide regeneration and recovery project at a gold mine site in Central Asia.
Under the terms of the agreement, the engineering firm has contracted BioteQ exclusively to provide project evaluation, process design, supply of process technology, plant equipment and commissioning services for the cyanide regeneration and recovery components of the new plant.
BioteQ will design and provide a SART process plant for copper-complexed gold deposits that recovers copper and recycles cyanide to the gold operation, resulting in improved gold yields and lower operating costs.
The SART process was developed by SGS Lakefield and Teck Corp.; BioteQ has permission to use it.
BioteQ hasn’t confirmed the value of the deal, but has stated that a project of this size would typically range in price from $16.5 to $27.5 million.
“We are pleased to be working with our engineering partner to apply our cyanide regeneration and SART expertise for this new project,” BioteQ CEO Brad Marchant said in a press release.
The first stage of the three-stage project, preliminary investigation, is complete. The second stage – site due diligence, testing and engineering – is expected to begin in August. The timing of the third stage – supply and commissioning of the plant – will be determined by the customer; BioteQ expects it to commence within the year.
Calls to BioteQ for comment were not returned by press deadline.
Earlier this year, BioteQ told Business in Vancouver that it was expecting four new projects to increase its revenue by 25% in 2011. (See “Vancouver’s BioteQ courting strategic alliances to clean up after global resource extractors” – Business in Vancouver; issue 1117, March 22-29.)
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV