Construction launches at high purity alumina plant in Quebec
by Canadian Manufacturing Staff
Orbite plant in Cap-Chat, Que., will produce three tonnes of high-purity alumina per day, company said
MONTREAL—Construct has officially begun at Orbite Aluminae Inc.’s high purity alumina (HPA) production plant in southeastern Quebec.
According to the Montreal-based company, the first phase of construction of the facility in Cap-Chat, Que., involves structural reinforcement “required for the subsequent installation of the Outotec calcination equipment.”
The contract for the work was awarded to Atelier de Soudure Gilles Roy Inc., a local contractor from the Gaspe region of Quebec.
“Following more than six months of design review and detailed engineering, we are pleased to begin … construction at our HPA facility,”Denis Arguin, Orbite’s vice-president of engineering and operations, said in a release.
“The site has been prepped for construction and our construction management team is in place and operational. We look forward to driving towards commissioning and start-up of the facility according to our timetable.”
The company said it is now evaluating bids for both refractory and mechanical installations and expects to award contracts in the coming weeks.
The HPA project, which the company said represents an investment of more than $28 million, will make Orbite the only producer of alumina in Canada.
Orbite received a $4-million loan from the federal government in January to purchase equipment for the plant.
Demand for alumina in Quebec alone has grown to more than six-million tonnes annually, the company said.
Orbite estimates the plant will produce three tonnes of high-purity alumina per day.
