Mr. Peter Pascali of PyroGenesis reports

PYROGENESIS ANNOUNCES PUREVAP(TM) PROCESS BREAKTHROUGH

The early test results of PyroGenesis Canada Inc.'s Purevap quartz vaporization reactor have demonstrated that it can transform high-purity quartz into silicon metal.

As previously noted, Purevap is a proprietary process that uses a plasma arc within a vacuum furnace to produce high-purity, metallurgical-grade silicon (MG Si), solar-grade silicon (UMG Si) and polysilicon from quartz in just one step.

In September, 2015, PyroGenesis announced that it had filed for a provisional patent for the Purevap process, which it noted was able to produce silicon, at a lower cost, while generating less carbon dioxide emissions than current processes.

"We are very pleased by these early results," said Pierre Carabin, director of engineering of PyroGenesis. "Our ability to demonstrate that our process can produce metal at such an early stage is encouraging and is the first step towards the company's objective to produce a silicon product of solar-grade purity."

The silicon metal, solar-grade silicon metal and electronic-grade silicon metal markets combined formed a $12-billion (U.S.) per year industry in 2014. Metallurgical-grade silicon metal world consumption topped 2.25 million tonnes in 2014, exceeding $6-billion in sales. Propelled by increased demand for photovoltaic (PV) solar panels systems, metallurgical-grade silicon metal consumption is expected to grow by over 6 per cent per year.

In 2014, nearly 10 per cent of the global metallurgical-grade silicon metal produced was further refined into solar-grade silicon metal and polysilicon, worth an additional $6-billion (U.S.). GTM Research estimates that installed PV demand will grow 15 per cent to 23 per cent annually and access to solar-grade silicon will be a limiting factor in PV growth.

"PyroGenesis' Purevap is a disruptive process that has the ability to revolutionize the way the mining and metallurgy industry produces metals," said P. Peter Pascali, president and chief executive officer of PyroGenesis. "PyroGenesis has once again demonstrated its ability to use plasma as a solution in industries that have not yet had the luxury to consider its many benefits. We look forward to the final results of our testing program and advancing to the pilot stage with [Uragold Bay Resources Inc.]."

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