According to BQE, the SART process enables cyanide consumed by base metals to be recovered and recycled, thus lowering the cost of gold extraction and reducing the environmental footprint of gold mining projects.
The company said the second plant in China was headed for state-owned Zhaojin Mining Industry, one of the largest gold smelting companies and among the leading gold producers in the country.
BQE officials said the terms of the deal were similar to the first, which was with Shandong Zhongkuang Group. The project will have two phases: the first for initial engineering design, procurement, construction and plant commissioning; followed by a second phase for onsite operations support services for a period that will initially extend for five years.
Also under the contract, BQE will be paid a service fee quarterly based on performance of the plant, as it will oversee both construction and operation.
"The two back-to-back multimillion-dollar SART contracts with recurring revenues from ongoing plant operations will allow us to expand our China office and develop a comprehensive platform for delivering our expertise in one of the most active metals extraction, smelting and refining markets globally," president and CEO David Kratochvil said.
"We are also appreciative of research and development funding and advisory services from the National Research Council of Canada Industrial Research Assistance Program (NRC IRAP)."
BQE Asia vice president Songlin Ye added that its partnership with MWT Water Treatment Project Limited had given it opportunity to establish a commercial framework built on combined core competencies.
"Together, these capabilities are highly suitable to the mining market conditions and requirements in China and will support BQE Water in the acquisition of additional contracts from the deployment of our know-how," Ye said.
BQE confirmed that gold output for the Shandong province reached 120 tonnes, or 3.8 million troy ounces, in 2018. That represents approximately 30% of China's total gold production.
