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Grande-Vallée aluminous clays

January 24, 2010 - 00:00 GMT

KEYWORDS: Orbite , aluminous clay , alternative to bauxite , Grande-Vallée , Canada

Montreal-based Exploration Orbite VSPA. Inc. is working towards producing alumina at its Grande-Vallée property, an aluminous clay deposit located in the Gaspe region, Quebec, Canada. The project will come as good news for alumina industry players looking for alternatives to bauxite

The Canadian company acquired the former Alpha Quartz Systems plant located in Cap-Chat for around $300,000 in 2009. Trials at its Cap-Chat pilot plant for the transformation of alumina clay into alumina are expected in Q4 2010. Orbite owns the rights to the process.

Geology & mineralogy

The Grande-Vallee property is situated in the southern part of the Cambrian-Ordovician land of the Appalachian geological province and is atypical because the glaciers seem to have only slightly eroded the sector’s Appalachian landscape. “Such formations are rarely found in northern latitudes, such as the Quebec and Ontario area,” Orbite underlined.

The property covers an important fragment of rock attributed primarily to the Moose formation of the middle-Cambrian. This formation is characterised by lithological assemblages that include green and red mudstones in addition to claystones, siltstones and slate.

According to the company, the work conducted on the Grande-Vallee property...

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