Business
BQE Water Response and Update to COVID-19
(via TheNewswire) VANCOUVER, BC - TheNewswire - March 23, 2020 - BQE...
About this update from Bqe Water Inc
[{"type":"text","content":"BQE Water Response and Update to COVID-19(via TheNewswire)\n \n \nVANCOUVER, BC - TheNewswire - March 23, 2020 - BQE Water Inc. (TSXV:BQE). As COVID-19 reshapes our reality, we wanted to provide an update on the corporate measures we have taken to respond to the virus and to answer the many questions we have been receiving relating to our operations. \n\n\n \nCorporate Measures\n\n\n \n\"More than anything, the health and safety of our staff, families, clients and partners are paramount to the steps we have taken,\" said David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water. \"Last week, we initiated a work from home policy and asked staff to engage in active social distancing. Other steps we took were to cancel all non-essential travel, put into effect self-quarantines for any out of province travels and reduced face-to-face contact by holding all meetings online.\"\n\n\n \nOperations\n\n\n \nThe water treatment plants in Jiangxi province are operating as scheduled. These plants, which discharge water into the environment, were not impacted by the travel bans and lockdowns in China as water treatment is an essential service. The treatment plant at the Guoda smelter in Shandong province stopped operating in January due to the lockdown and resumed operation in late February. This plant does not discharge water and instead operates in a fully recycled loop. Construction of the SART plants at Zhongkuang and Zhaojin were suspended for two months but have since resumed. Delays of approximately one quarter are expected to bring each plant into operation. \n\n\n \nOur Canadian operations have experienced some travel delays recently but services for our clients are ongoing as these sites have water that require treatment. The new Selen-IX(TM) plant in Northern BC remains on schedule to complete commissioning in Q2. All BQE Water staff working at each project site are local with travel organized by the mine owners on chartered flights. This minimizes possible future interruptions in our ability to provide operational services due to either domestic travel restrictions and/or reduced availability of commercial flights. \n\n\n \nEngineering design work for the two new Selen-IX(TM) projects in the US continues uninterrupted. Delays in the fabrication and construction stages may occur if interruptions to North American supply chains and constru...