about the commercial value of the deposist, naturally i was hallucinating
as the presentation stated, Orbite's $7.4M pilot plant produced its first tonne of high-purity alumina in one day
Orbite's website states Orbite will focus on the higher margin, higher-purity (99.99%+) segment of the market. It expects to begin producing 1 tonne per day in 2012, growing to 5 tonnes per day in 2013
5 tonnes per day = 1,500t per year
Mackie broker report costs the 5tpd plant at $20m
Mackie broker report costs the operating expense per tonne at the High-Purity Alumina smelter of $1,000.
(yes- $1,000/t, which is difficult to believe - wait for an email from Orbite about operating costs)
Mackie broker report states, for 2010, High-Purity Alumina global production was 7,500 tonnes
i spoke to AKA who said high-purity alumina is niche market, with producers generally using their own technology
AKA said the Bayer Process, the principal industrial means of refining bauxite to produce alumina, prohibits the manufacture of high-purity alumina because it cannot remove the impurity sodium from the process
so (just my personal guess) if AKA could produce 300 to 600 tonnes per year and if the various producers controlled production to not over-supply the market, at $100/kg the revenue before costs could come to $30m to $60m per annum
of course, at $200/kg, the revenue doubles
operating costs of $1,000 per tonne seem too cheap
but if the operating were $10,000 per tonne, that still leaves a 90% profit margin (before tax)
example, $8m in capex for 300tpa plant on $10,000/t opex on 200m shares @ $150/kg revenue = 15 cents EPS
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(20min delay)