Mr. Jared Lazerson reports

MGX MINERALS AND ENGINEERING PARTNER PURLUCID NEARING COMMISSIONING OF OILFIELD LITHIUM RECOVERY AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS

MGX Minerals Inc. and its 51-per-cent-owned engineering partner PurLucid Treatment Solutions Inc. have provided a progress report related to the deployment of lithium recovery and waste water treatment systems in Alberta, Canada. To date, MGX and PurLucid have completed commercial-scale trials with multiple oil field 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 waste water treatment and lithium recovery system. Sufficient data have 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 cubic metres per hour) 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 with 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 cogenerator design facilitated by this treatment approach, heavy oil production will have a lower GHG (greenhouse gas) footprint than conventional oil.

The third system is a larger-scale version (35 cubic metres per hour) 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 waste waters. The projects represent significant cost savings for oil field operators in water handling and revenue for MGX and PurLucid in waste water 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, collectively demonstrating performance superiority over other processes typically used to remove contaminants. The technology allows ultrahigh-temperature water treatment (up to 700 C) at 10 to 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.

About MGX Minerals Inc.

MGX Minerals is a diversified Canadian resource company with interests in advanced material and energy assets throughout North America.

We seek Safe Harbor.