BQE Water Awarded Second Operations Contract for Selen-IX™ Water Treatment Plant at US Mine

VANCOUVER, BC, Dec. 13, 2022 /CNW/ - BQE Water Inc. (TSXV: BQE), a leader in the treatment and management of mine impacted waters, has signed an Operating Services Agreement to provide operations services for a water treatment plant utilizing its award winning Selen-IX™ process technology for selenium removal at a base metal project in Southwestern USA. The plant will treat impacted waters to remove selenium and dissolved metals in compliance with permitted water quality requirements.

Under the agreement, BQE Water will provide plant commissioning and operations services for an initial period of three years upon completion of the plant performance test. Compensation for plant operations services will consist of a base monthly fee per volume of water treated that meets discharge specifications and a supplemental fee for additional water treated for discharge.

"As we move towards decarbonization, projects such as this will play an important role in producing the metals essential for a low carbon future," stated David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water. "We are proud to be providing vital and comprehensive water management services for modern mining. From our Selen-IX™ process that satisfies key project criteria for low single digit parts per billion of selenium while being able to ramp up and down in response to treatment needs, to our operational expertise that guarantees plant performance as designed, we are excited to be contributing to the shift to clean energy."

Operating 24/7 year-round, the plant has the capacity to treat up to 4,500 gallons of water per minute. The plant will first remove dissolved metals followed by selenium removal to below 2 parts per billion to produce clean water for discharge to the environment. Selen-IX™ as a non-biological technology offers superior water quality, operational flexibility and lower operating costs than competing biological selenium treatment systems.

Prior to this agreement, BQE Water conducted laboratory testing in 2019 to successfully demonstrate the capability of Selen-IX™. This resulted in a contract partnering with Black & Veatch in early 2020 to design the Selen-IX™ water treatment plant which is now in the construction phase with commissioning expected to commence in the first half of 2023.

About Selen-IX™
Selen-IX™ is a patented, award-winning process technology that is currently the only commercially available non-biological treatment system that has been applied on a large scale to remove the selenate form of selenium from wastewater. Selen-IX™ removes selenium to below detection limits, has zero risk of acute and chronic effluent toxicity and the by-product of treatment is a stable solid residue with offtake potential. Selenium removal and its management is an environmental issue of concern in mining, metallurgical processing and power generation where process water comes into contact with selenium bearing compounds contained in mineral deposits and fossil fuels. In recognition of its disruptive nature, Selen-IX™ is the recipient of the 2021 Environmental Award from Engineers & Geoscientists British Columbia, a 2021 Kirkpatrick Chemical Engineering Achievement Honor Award from Chemical Engineering Magazine and a 2022 Top Project Award from Canada's Clean50.

About BQE Water
BQE Water is a service provider specializing in water treatment and management for metals mining, smelting and refining. We are helping to transform the way industry thinks about water in the context of natural resource projects by offering services and expertise which enables more sustainable water management practices and improved overall project performance at reduced risks. BQE Water invests in innovation and has developed unique intellectual property through the commercialization of several technologies at mine sites around the world for organizations including Glencore, Jiangxi Copper, Freeport-McMoRan and the US EPA. BQE Water is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada and trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol BQE. Visit www.bqewater.com for more information.

The Toronto Venture Exchange has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of this release.

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SOURCE BQE Water Inc.

BQE Water Inc., Suite 250 - 900 Howe Street, Vancouver BC Canada V6Z 2M4; David Kratochvil, President & CEO, [email protected]; Heman Wong, CFO, [email protected], 604 685 1243 or 1 800 537 3073