Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - September 24, 2026) - BQE Water Inc. (TSXV: BQE), a leader in the treatment and management of mine impacted waters, is pleased to announce the successful restart and operation of the selenium removal treatment plant at the Kemess Project in collaboration with Centerra Gold Inc. ("Centerra").
This was the first plant built using the Company's patented Selen-IX™ process. The award-winning, full-scale Selen-IX plant was in support of Centerra's development of the Kemess Project. The plant was constructed, fully commissioned, and successfully operated for several months in 2020. As the new mine development plans evolved, the water treatment plant was placed under care and maintenance by the owner, and the operation services agreement was amended to enable our team to provide periodic site visits to maintain the facility as a viable asset, without altering the original agreement, including the 5-year operations term.
Commissioning activities began in late summer of 2026, and seasonal operations have now commenced and are expected to continue for the next few months. As of September 14, 2026, we have received the first official test results confirming that selenium concentrations in the water treatment plant effluent are below the detection limit of less than 2 parts per billion.
Luke Jalsevac, EVP Major Projects commented: "As part of early site activities ahead of a potential Kemess restart, Centerra is pro-actively restarting the seasonal selenium water treatment plant. We are pleased to work with BQE and their deep technical expertise in restarting the world class selenium water treatment plant, bringing selenium concentrations well below the permitted limit, which the site is already operating within."
"As the first of its kind, we are thrilled to be back on site alongside Centerra improving water quality locally, removing selenium to below detection limits as per our design. The process start-up was smooth, and we are looking forward to the next 4+ years of operations at Kemess," said David Kratochvil, President & CEO of BQE Water.
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 the 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 new 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.