Mr. Marc Johnson reports

ORBITE RESPONDS TO RECENT TRADING

Orbite Aluminae Inc. is confirming that the company is not aware of any material information that would justify the recent share price movement. The company has issued this press release following unusual trading that occurred after the market open this morning and as a result of IIROC's halt.

The company would like to take this opportunity to summarize pertinent information that was included in its consolidated annual financial statements, management discussion and analysis (MD&A), and annual information form (AIF) for the year-ended Dec. 31, 2012, all of which were filed on March 28, 2013.

The highlights of the year-end financials as of Dec. 31, 2012, or for the year ended are:

• Cash and cash equivalents of $40.2-million;
• Total current assets of $48.5-million;
• Accounts payable and accrued liabilities of $28.6-million;
• Comprehensive loss of $16.9-million or nine cents per weighted average share outstanding;
• Cash flows used for operating activities of $11.9-million;
• Cash flows from financing activities of $30.4-million;
• Cash flows used for additions to PP&E of $40.1-million;
• Cash flows used for additions to exploration and evaluation assets of $11.2-million.

Outlook for Cap-Chat HPA plant

Orbite owns and operates a facility in Cap-Chat, Que., that was originally operated as a pilot plant up to and until March, 2012. The 2,600-square-metre pilot plant has since been converted into a full-scale 5,903-square-metre high-purity production plant, designed to produce alumina at a purity level of 99.99 per cent (4N) and greater, which began commissioning on Dec. 18, 2012. On Jan. 22, 2013, Orbite announced that it had produced and independently verified the production of one tonne of HPA.

Although the commissioning and optimization activities are expected to continue further into 2013 than the company previously anticipated, the plant is expected to achieve commercial production of three tonnes per day in fourth quarter 2013, thus completing Orbite's conversion from a prerevenue development company into an alumina producer.

The corporation is now focused on process optimization, which consists of gradually increasing production while preserving and increasing purity. Customer HPA samples of 4N or greater are being shipped to prospective customers, and such shipments are expected to continue as material of the appropriate purity and characteristics becomes available to satisfy the customer purchase orders. The HPA plant is expected to produce progressively purer samples to 4N5 and 5N throughout the remainder of phase I. Customers are expected to test their respective HPA samples, a process which can take several months, prior to submitting purchase orders for commercial supply.

As a result of a recent management review of the project timelines, the HPA plant commissioning and optimization activities are now expected to continue into the second half of 2013. The procurement and installation of a new circulating fluid bed (CFB) calcinator, to supplement the existing rotary kiln calcinators, were previously anticipated in second quarter 2013 and are now anticipated in the second half of 2013. Given the foregoing, the HPA plant will operate throughout the second quarter of 2013 at a phase I capacity averaging less than one tonne per day, and following the commissioning of the new CFB calcinator, will increase to the phase II capacity of three tonnes per day, anticipated in the last quarter of 2013, followed by a gradual increase to the full production capacity of five tonnes per day, expected in early 2014. The declaration of commercial production, for accounting purposes, is anticipated at the beginning of phase II. Construction of the scandium and gallium separation facility is expected to also coincide with phase II.

Once in phase II, the HPA plant will begin operating using the same processes as the proposed SGA plant, and as such, is also expected to act as a demonstration plant for the SGA processes.

In its management discussion and analysis for the period ended Sept. 30, 2012, management provided forecasts of capital costs for construction, equipment and installation ranging between $26-million and $30-million net of projected refundable income tax credits (RITC) (or $43-million to $50-million before RITC) for a production capacity of three tonnes of HPA per day (tpd). Subsequent to this estimate, management strategically opted to expand the HPA plant's production capacity from three tonnes per day to five tonnes per day to take advantage of the extra nameplate capacity of the new calcinator. Orbite expects incremental costs of $25-million net of RITC (or $35-million before RITC) to adapt the process and equipment to a five-tonne-per-day capacity. The corporation's decision to proceed with a capacity increase at this stage of the project was driven by a cost benefit analysis versus implementing it once the plant will be operating at a three-tonne-per-day commercial production level. As a result, the total approximate projected capital cost for Orbite's HPA production facility, provisioned at a five-tonne-per-day capacity, is currently forecasted at $55-million net of RITC (or $85-million before RITC), to be fully incurred by the end of 2013, while maintaining an equivalent total capex-per-tonne ratio and improving operational costs. As at Dec. 31, 2012, $62,730,937 had been incurred and paid by the corporation, of which approximately $19,932,275 represents RITCs.

Outlook for proposed SGA plant

The corporation proposes building and operating an SGA production plant using clay mined from the corporation's Grande-Vallee deposit. The SGA plant site selection has not been completed at the time. The SGA plant design is based on the parameters of the preliminary economic assessment with an expected production of 540,000 tonnes per year of smelter-grade alumina as well as byproducts that include high-purity hematite, silica, magnesium oxide and individually separated rare earth and rare metal oxides. The SGA plant design is based on Orbite's patented and patent-pending proprietary processes which involve hydrochloric acid leaching and a closed-loop acid recovery and regeneration system.

The basic design of the SGA plant has been completed, whereas the detailed engineering is expected to be completed following the selection of a joint venture partner(s) and SGA plant site. The corporation anticipates the completion of a National Instrument 43-101-compliant feasibility study technical report by the first quarter of 2014, subject to securing sufficient financing. Permitting for the mine site and SGA plant site is expected to move ahead in parallel to the detailed engineering.

The company is pursuing discussions with prospective joint venture partners in connection with the SGA plant project, including UC RUSAL.

Outlook for Veolia red mud demonstration plant

On Feb. 4, 2013, Orbite and Veolia Environmental Services signed an exclusive worldwide collaborative agreement for the treatment and remediation of red mud from stockpiles or from the effluent of existing alumina refineries. The terms of the partnership include the preparation of a study confirming the viability of a red mud treatment plant using Orbite's proprietary processes, as well as specific milestones for the selection of a plant site, capacity, structure of the ownership and financing, of such a plant, with the intent to initiate construction in 2014. Discussions in respect of site selection, management of a co-enterprise and financial terms associated with the first plant are continuing.

Outlook for exploration and evaluation activities

Orbite intends to initiate a grassroots exploration program on its newly acquired aluminous clay claims near Rimouski and Cap-Chat in Quebec, to complete exploration activities on its kaolin clay claims under the Chaswood option agreement in Nova Scotia, as well as complete geotechnical drilling at Grande-Vallee in Quebec.

Outlook for financial requirements

Orbite is still a development-stage company with multiple projects, each with different capital requirements. In light of the numerous projects that the company is developing, the company continuously assesses financing options, including joint venture partnerships, project debt financing and equity offering.

Notice to the reader

The information provided in this press release is entirely qualified by the disclosures in the company's consolidated annual financial statements, management discussion and analysis (MD&A), and annual information form (AIF) for the year-ended Dec. 31, 2012, which are available from the company's website and on SEDAR.

We seek Safe Harbor.