MGX Minerals and Engineering Partner PurLucid Nearing Commissioning of Oilfield Lithium Recovery and Wastewater Treatment Systems
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, May 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MGX Minerals Inc. (“MGX” or the “Company”) (CSE:XMG) / (OTCQB:MGXMF) / (FSE:1MG) and its 51% owned engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc. (“PurLucid”) are pleased to provide a progress report related to the deployment of lithium recovery and wastewater treatment systems in Alberta, Canada. To date, MGX and PurLucid have completed commercial-scale trials with multiple oilfield operators and are now preparing to deploy systems.
The first scheduled deployment is with a major oil and gas operator in Alberta to operate an integrated wastewater treatment and lithium recovery system. Sufficient data has been collected to allow for engineering designs specific to the deployment site and PurLucid has completed fabrication of the combined system. Delivery of the system remains on track and is scheduled for commissioning shortly.
The second scheduled deployment represents a contract and agreement between a consortium including government, oil and gas operator, MGX and PurLucid to receive and treat evaporator blowdown wastewater (“EBD”). The contract will include installation of three treatment systems.
The first system is an EBD treatment system (10 m3/hr) which will take highly concentrated evaporator brine and treat it to a level suitable for reinjection on site.
The second system is a high temperature system that will be installed to treat produced water following oil-water separation. The technology provides superior treatment outcomes when compared to conventional technology and can do so without cooling water first. This will result in significantly less energy use for water treatment and also eliminate the single major operational challenge of a steam assisted gravity drainage (“SAGD”) facility, which is heat exchanger fouling. By eliminating the need for cooling, heat exchangers are also eliminated. The high temperature system will also be used to test the patent-pending combined power generation design. This design will fill the void in electrical capacity as coal is phased out while generating enough steam for a combined heavy oil recovery project. With the high-pressure water treatment and co-gen design facilitated by this treatment approach, heavy oil production will have a lower GHG footprint than conventional oil.
The third system is a larger-scale version (35 m3/h) of the first system and is intended for deployment to treat one-through steam generator (“OTSG”) boiler blowdown. This blowdown represents the largest water loss at any SAGD facility.
The goal is to create treated water suitable for reuse, saving the majority of water loss in most SAGD projects. The system will also greatly reduce both the complexity and cost for new and expansion SAGD projects while at the same time demonstrating large-scale treatment capabilities suitable for other thermal and industrial wastewaters. The Projects represent significant cost savings for oilfield operators in water handling and revenue for MGX and PurLucid in wastewater treatment with additional opportunity for lithium and mineral recovery.
Nanoflotation and Nanofiltration Technology
PurLucid and MGX systems utilize a highly charged Replaceable Skin Layer (RSL™) membrane related to the nanofiltration and High Intensity Froth Flotation (HiFF) system, known as nanoflotation, which collectively have demonstrated performance superiority over other processes typically used to remove contaminants. The technology allows ultra-high temperature water treatment (up to 700°C) at 10-30 times the efficiency of existing ultrafiltration systems and offers numerous environmental benefits, including contaminant removal, mineral recovery, reduced energy demand and smaller footprints. The technology has been chosen as a finalist for the 2018 S&P Global Platts Metal Breakthrough Solution of the Year Award. Winners will be announced at a black-tie celebration on May 17, 2018 at the Marriott Grosvenor Square in London. For more information visit https://gma.platts.com/Finalists/Finalists2018.
About PurLucid
PurLucid’s exclusively licensed and patented nanoflotation technology was designed specifically for oilfield environments. The technology separates impurities from oil and gas wastewater and produces clean water as a final product. This allows for the recycling or controlled release of oilfield wastewater and reduces or eliminates downhole and associated transportation costs. Water handling costs are one of the largest operating costs in the oilfield and oilsands operations today. Learn more at www.purlucid.com. MGX maintains the right to acquire 100% of PurLucid through successive future investments.
About MGX Minerals
MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America. Learn more at www.mgxminerals.com.
Contact Information
Jared Lazerson
President and CEO
Telephone: 1.604.681.7735
Web: www.mgxminerals.com
Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: "believe", "expect", "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", "potentially" and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by the Company is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking information as a result of various factors. The reader is referred to the Company's public filings for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects which may be accessed through the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.